Should You Use Social Media for SaaS Lead Generation?

Some SaaS companies can be somewhat social media shy. 

Perhaps it's the industry you're in, or you just can't see the link between your software and the social media landscape. What many businesses fail to see are the great talking points around their product or service, and that by opening up these conversations through the appropriate social media channels, you are also generating leads who share common interests and have very valid use cases for your software. 

Social media as a relevant lead generation tool should not be ignored by any business; this is because many (if not all) of your potential customers are already active social media users, making these virtual platforms some of the most active commercial messaging gateways. The number of social media users grew by 9% in 2019 – that's 3.484 billion people. Does that figure include members of your target audience? Almost certainly. 

Let's take a look at the more specific ways social media can bolster your SaaS lead generation. 

A quick and efficient way of directing traffic to your content

Unless you have a very impressive email list, how are you driving leads to your content? What if your email list is starting to stagnate, with lower engagement and a declining open rate? How can you re-engage your audience? By making a friendly drop-in on their social media feeds, of course. 

Share pictures, infographics, videos and blog links on your social media platforms and be sure to place the appropriate calls-to-action that bring customers back to your website. 

Your competitors may be producing plenty of useful content, but if they're only promoting it through conventional methods, you could have the significant advantage of tapping into a much wider audience. 

Another bonus for marketers is that social media is a cost-effective way to drive traffic to your landing pages because this can, with the right strategy, be achieved organically. 

Build trust

We live in an age where consumers are accustomed to interacting with businesses through social media. Customers like to follow their favourite brands and keep up to date with new releases and industry developments through the content that companies share. If your organisation doesn't have a social media presence, it could almost be misconstrued as a little... suspicious. 

Platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn have allowed businesses to build communities around their brands. These kinds of spaces allow companies to show a little more personality, have a slightly more informal rapport with their audience and form a deeper emotional connection between their brand and customer. This can be hugely beneficial for a SaaS business whose products are often perceived as a little dry. 

What's more, social media allows you to talk about broader topics that may still be relevant to your industry, but don't necessarily push for a hard sell. This will help customers to see you as a source of useful information that they can turn to, and not just another organisation trying to flog their wares. 

Enhance your communication

With so much commercial messaging being aimed at consumers, it's not unusual for your advertising to get lost in the deluge. There's nothing more disappointing than spending tonnes of resources on creating marketing content that doesn't end up getting the attention it deserves. By leveraging social media, you can support your promotional campaigns and get your message out further. 

Social media also provides your customers with a convenient way to directly communicate with you. If there are 1.4 billion daily Facebook users, each spending an average of 41 minutes on the platform (per day), then, chances are, Facebook is their preferred medium of communication. Make it easy for them to comment and interact with your content by having a presence on the platform. 

Video: the medium that SaaS should optimise for social media

The SaaS industry benefits significantly from explainer videos when it comes to marketing their services. Videos allow these businesses to demonstrate how their product creates value in a visceral way that makes sense to the average Joe. 

But not every SaaS business has the budget for television advertising – nor is that the most effective channel for your content. Social media, however, is the perfect location for your entertaining and informative SaaS explainer videos. 

Gain more customer insights

If you're only relying on your website to study traffic and engagement, you could be missing out on some crucial metrics. Apart from the engagement insights, you may find that customers are more responsive to any quick opinion polls you throw out, and you will immediately be able to gauge whether your campaigns are working purely based on the reactions and comments you receive. This will help you to take a more proactive approach to your digital marketing strategies and enable you to keep a finger on the pulse of your campaigns. 

There are many exciting ways to use social media to your advantage as a SaaS business. You have just as many interesting and relevant contributions to make to the world of social media as influencers and physical product vendors do. Taking the initiative to make yourself visible on social media could feedback positively into all your other marketing campaigns. 

At SpotDev, we have plenty of experience in helping SaaS businesses use social media to generate high-quality leads, often at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. If you'd like to find out more, just get in touch or book an exploratory call with us where we can get an overview of your current social media insights and see whether there's room for improvement.