In the competitive world of B2B SaaS, creating compelling editorial content is crucial for brands to stand out, connect with their target audience, and foster loyalty. However, producing unbiased, informative, and high-quality content can be a challenge when your primary goal is to sell your product.

This is where hiring an external journalistic person comes into play. By collaborating with professional journalists, you can prioritize serving your audience first. Journalists can spot early shifts and trends, synthesize data, and connect the dots for your readers. This helps your content not only sell your product but also educate and inspire your audience, which is key for audience development.

From the beginning of launching our owned media property at AudiencePlus we’ve been dedicated to audience building and development sans the traditional SaaS sales funnel. We believe in the power of brand, educating and inspiring an audience, and allowing buyers to raise their hand about the product when they’re ready.

With this commitment, we decided to bring in outside contributors to share their points of view while remaining true to our belief that every company is becoming a media company - that is to say, operate like a media company.

You can check out a few examples of this by watching The Media Marketer with Kaleigh Moore, or reading this article from Justin Simon about distribution being key in scaling your business.

We’ve found this strategy can elevate your editorial content and boost your brand’s credibility. Here are a few of our learnings around this practice six months in and why this strategy can be effective.

Objectivity and Impartiality

The importance of unbiased content in B2B SaaS. Professional journalists are trained to present information with objectivity and impartiality. By hiring an external journalist, you can ensure that the content you create is balanced and unbiased. This not only increases the credibility of your brand but also fosters trust with your audience.

Competition is fierce and customers often have multiple options to choose from, establishing trust is vital to stand out and secure long-lasting relationships with your customers.

Demonstrating thought leadership. Creating impartial and objective content that is backed by data can position your company as a thought leader in your industry. Thought leadership is highly valued by B2B customers, as it showcases your expertise and understanding of the industry landscape.

By collaborating with external journalists, you can develop content that demonstrates thought leadership, effectively setting your company apart from the competition and keeping your brand top of mind when your customer is looking to buy.

Storytelling Expertise

The power of storytelling in B2B SaaS. Journalists are experts in storytelling, which is essential for creating captivating editorial content. They know how to hook the audience, craft a narrative, and maintain interest throughout the piece.

By collaborating with a professional journalist, your company can benefit from their storytelling skills and create content that resonates with your target audience. In the world of B2B SaaS, where technical jargon and complex concepts can be overwhelming, storytelling is an effective way to convey your message and demonstrate the value of your product in a more relatable and engaging manner - ultimately inspiring your audience to action.

Humanizing your brand. Employing storytelling techniques can help humanize your brand, making it more relatable and memorable. By sharing stories of your team, customers, or even the challenges and successes you’ve encountered, you can create a more personal connection with your audience.

This connection can lead to increased trust, brand loyalty, and long-term customer relationships.

Diverse Perspectives

The benefits of diverse perspectives in B2B SaaS. Hiring external journalists means you can tap into a wide range of perspectives and experiences, which can lead to richer, more engaging content. Journalists often come from various backgrounds and have covered a multitude of topics, providing a wealth of knowledge and fresh ideas.

This can help your company explore new angles, identify trends, and craft compelling narratives that may not have been considered otherwise. In an industry where innovation is paramount, diverse perspectives can foster creativity and set your company apart from competitors.

Encouraging innovation and staying ahead of trends. Working with external journalists can help your company identify emerging trends and stay ahead of the curve. By incorporating these insights into your content strategy, you can ensure that your brand remains relevant and engaging to your target audience.

In addition, the collaboration between your internal team and external journalists can encourage innovation and creative problem-solving, leading to the development of cutting-edge solutions and content that showcases your company’s expertise.

Fact-checking and Research Skills

Ensuring accuracy and credibility in B2B SaaS content. A key aspect of journalistic integrity is fact-checking and thorough research. By working with professional journalists, your company can ensure that the information presented in your editorial content is accurate and up-to-date. This not only enhances the credibility of your content but also prevents potential pitfalls and embarrassment that could arise from publishing false or outdated information.

In the B2B SaaS industry, where decision-makers rely heavily on accurate and reliable information to make informed choices, maintaining a commitment to fact-checking and research is essential.

Building a solid knowledge base. Journalists possess the skills and experience needed to gather and analyze data, interview experts, and synthesize complex information into easily digestible content. By partnering with external journalists, your company can build a solid knowledge base that serves as the foundation for your editorial content.

This not only improves the quality of your content but also positions your brand as a trustworthy and reliable source of information.

Audience-first Approach

Focusing on education and inspiration in B2B SaaS content. Journalists are trained to put the needs of their audience first. They understand that the purpose of their work is to inform, educate, and entertain readers. By hiring an external journalistic mindset, your company can prioritize serving the audience and meeting their needs, rather than focusing solely on promoting your product.

This audience-centric approach can lead to stronger connections with your target market and improve overall brand perception. By focusing on educating and inspiring your audience through content, you can foster an environment of trust and credibility, which is crucial for audience development and long-term customer relationships.

Tailoring content to audience needs. External journalists can help your company identify the most pressing needs and interests of your target audience. By focusing on these areas, your content becomes more relevant and valuable to your readers, making it more likely that they will engage with your brand and share your content with their networks.

Through this practice we’ve already seen numerous benefits including increased objectivity, storytelling expertise, diverse perspectives, and a commitment to accurate research. Most importantly, it allows your company to focus on serving your audience before self-interest, ensuring that you’re not only focused on selling your product, but also educating and inspiring your audience.

JK Sparks | About the Author

Head of Marketing, AudiencePlus

JK is allergic to the words “guru, ninja, and hack” when used to describe anything marketing related. Instead of chasing the latest “growth hack,” he’s focused on building sustainable and predictable levers that fuel long term success. By implementing this approach over the last decade, JK has helped organizations in both bootstrapped and well-funded environments scale from <$100K to more than $100M in revenue. You can follow him here.