🎥 SaaS meets media: Growth unlocked

Why SaaS companies are acting like media businesses

Author

Ian Ito
June 21, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Issue #239

Hey SaaS Weekly reader 👋,

Here's the scoop. SaaS companies are acting a lot like media businesses these days. Every biz (and their side project) has a Substack, newsletter, or video-hub. Why?

Because building an audience is a growth hack. But don’t just take my word for it (but hey, actually do, I wrote about it 🤝). Check out the examples below.

This week's theme is all about media-led growth:

  • Are SaaS companies becoming media companies (hmmm, maybe)

  • How to leverage a media-led growth strategy (a build case)

  • Should you buy a media business (that's what I did 🤷🏻‍♂️)

Let's dive in!

Ian at SaaS Weekly

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4 articles to bookmark

• Databricks is growing 60%+ at $2.4 billion in ARR. And accelerating (Link)

• For buyers of GTM tech, the #1 consideration is integration (Link)

• Content marketing, unpacked 🧳 (Link)

• When and how to run a billboard campaign (Link)

3 reads on media-led growth

In today's crowded landscape, where it's harder to stand out and easier to be forgotten, SaaS companies are embedding a media business inside them.

HubSpot acquired The Hustle, Pendo acquired Mind the Product, and Salesforce launched Salesforce+. Here's why.

👉 Treating content as a core product. When SaaS companies focus on content that serves the reader (not to service the funnel), they build trust with an audience and a community around their brand.

👉 Owning your distribution. Like traditional media, SaaS companies opt to 'own' the relationship with their audience – instead of relying on third-party players for distribution.

SaaS companies are shifting their focus to owned media, opting to control their messaging and build stronger customer relationships.

Here's how to build a media engine for your company.

👉 Build a hub-and-spoke content model. Create blogs, videos, and newsletters that push a consistent message, extending the entry points for brand discovery.

👉 Host community events. Organize meetups, webinars, and workshops to build trust and gather feedback.

👉 Create a data feedback loop. Track subscriptions and measure interactions to gather first-party data, helping to inform the customer journey.

Scott Barker @ GTMnow [media-growth]

Building an in-house media arm isn’t the only way to get started. SaaS companies are opting to acquire them as well. Here's why.

👉 Side-stepping the cold start problem. These acquisitions are low-risk experiments and provide immediate audience engagement, which can take years to build in-house.

👉 Efficient audience acquisition. Media assets offer an efficient growth engine, attracting highly engaged audiences for minimal cost.

👉 Acquiring the right talent. Along with the audience, media companies are a great source for content creators and community builders.

2 growth stories

What do Semrush, Synthesia, Wix, Canva, and HubSpot have in common? These five companies used content to enable their PLG motion. Here’s how your company can too.

👉 Create educational content. Develop in-depth guides and tutorials to showcase your product’s capabilities and build trust.

👉 Leverage diverse formats. Use blogs, webinars, and videos to reach a wider audience and cater to different preferences.

👉 Foster community engagement. Build an active online community and encourage UGC to strengthen brand loyalty and inspire new users.

Taher Batterywala @ Product Marketing Alliance [growth]

Not the sexiest growth strategy, but this technique is one for the playbook.

Datadog optimized its product pages to make them SEO-friendly, increasing the chances for organic search discovery. Steal this strategy.

👉 Optimize pages for keyword clusters. Focus on high-value mid- and long-tail keywords to attract high-intent visitors.

👉 Follow linking best practices. Use meta tags, internal linking, and backlinks to improve search engine rankings.

👉 Add in different content formats. Use videos, screenshots, and recordings to make product pages more engaging. This improves user experience and keeps visitors on the page longer.

Ethan Crump @ Foundation [growth]

Podcasts I'm listening to

• My First Million | How To Master Storytelling (Link)

• Kalungi | Scaling smart with marketing spends from $10-100K/mo (Link)

SaaS Weekly Resources

1) The SaaS Weekly Database: Search Thousands of the Best SaaS Articles and Resources

2) Generative AI Tracker: B2B SaaS Companies Adding GenAI Capabilities

SaaSy Social Posts

Last issue’s most clicked-on links

• A startup’s guide to launching on Product Hunt (Link) 🔥🔥🔥

• How to launch a SaaS product: Your SaaS go-to-market strategy (Link) 🔥🔥

• 20+ amazing SaaS product launch emails (Link) 🔥