Congratulations, you’ve just completed an awesome new content resource for your company! SaaS marketers know that creating valuable content that will get shared, promoted, and downloaded is no easy task. But finishing the piece of content is just the beginning. How will you promote your newest piece of content in order to get the most leverage out of it and reach your prime audience?
As SaaS marketers ourselves, we know getting content out there can be a trick – but if you do it successfully, the content can pay dividends in terms of leads, opportunities, branding and exposure, and closed won business. From our experience, here are 5 ways SaaS marketers can promote content effectively:
1. Spread the Word With 3rd Party Relationships
Developing strong third party relationships can be incredibly valuable for your SaaS company – especially when it comes to partnering on events or content promotion. Relationships with those that offer a complimentary technology but don’t compete with your business can offer an expanded reach to individuals that will likely benefit from the content that’s shared.
Having trusted third party companies or thought leaders help spread the word about your newest piece of content can accomplish a few things: 1) When others share your content, it adds an additional “stamp of approval” for both companies participating 2) It creates brand exposure for both companies, as well as the potential for inbound leads that can be shared between the two companies 3) It create a 2-way relationship where the other company or thought leader may approach you for help in the future.
Third party relationships have many benefits, but perhaps the most powerful is the ability to help each other succeed and expand both audiences at the same time.
2. Leverage the Email Signature
Email signatures are a key part of every email your employees send. Several organizations have caught on to the fact that email is the lifeblood of their company (an average employee sends 10,000 emails a year), and a huge opportunity to drive incremental awareness and engagement with their marketing content. By automatically appending calls to actions to your newest piece of content directly to employee email signatures, marketers are finally breaking down the barriers of the employee email, and leveraging it to gain millions of brand impressions. Check out a free trial of Sigstr here.
3. Give LinkedIn Sponsored Updates a Try
If you haven’t used LinkedIn Sponsored Updates, give it a try. For SaaS marketers, it’s likely that your audience uses LinkedIn on a daily (if not hourly) basis. LinkedIn lets you post an update, then similar to other social media networks, you can sponsor the update and tailor the audience so it appears only to those that meet your criteria, such as: location, job title, education level, number of employees, and so on. In addition, you can use more characters than Twitter and can also include a catchy image to promote your newest piece of content. Once you define your audience, you can then “bid” on how much you’d like to spend on either individual clicks or overall impressions. Then, just set the campaign and watch the results come in once the update is approved! SaaS marketers loved LinkedIn for promoting content, so give it a try when you launch your next big piece.
4. Promote with Email Marketing & E-newsletters
Though email service providers (ESPs) such as ExactTarget, MailChimp and others have been around seemingly forever, email marketing is often forgot about as a channel for promotion of new content. SaaS marketers should leverage this easy way to send mass email to subscribers, especially since marketers can customize with dynamic information to target only those interested (such as Sales teams, Marketers, IT, etc). When using an ESP or Marketing Automation tool to send out emails to promote content, be sure to include a large image of the content, 3-4 key takeaways, and a quick summary – all “above the fold” so the information isn’t lost in the shuffle. But most importantly, include a call-to-action for the reader to download the content and share with peers.
5. Send Direct Mail Packages to Executives
Getting the attention of busy executives can be very challenging. While calling and emailing are always an important part of the prospecting mix, try breaking through to their desk by sending a direct mail box that includes the printed piece of content, a cover letter from the rep or an executive from your company, along with an object they can keep on their desk (hint: everyone loves a good coffee mug!). Once the package has arrived (be sure to use tracking), begin your follow-up process. Remember, follow-up is key! It’s unlikely that the executive will be the first to reach out, but since you took the time to send a package and tailor the note, you are likely to get a response – or even a shoutout on Twitter!
If you’re a SaaS marketer, what are some tips and tricks you use to promote your newest piece of content? What have you tried in the past that hasn’t worked?
For more information on how to promote your most important content and initiatives, check out these recent Sigstr resources:
10 Ways to Promote Your Most Important Initiatives
Studio Science Case Study
Sign up for Sigstr and start your free 30-day trial today to begin using the power of email signature marketing.
