-- How do SaaS providers use blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, SEO, PPC, and PR? -- How can SaaS providers generate buzz and viral content? -- Which online channels have the highest ROI? -- How should SaaS providers integrate social media into their marketing process? Gilad David Maayan, a SaaS marketing and social media expert, reviews how today's online marketing channels work together to generate high impact for growing SaaS providers.

1. SAAS MARKETING: BLOGGING, SOCIAL & SEARCH G ilad David Maayan IGT SaaS WG Meeting www.cloud.org.il

4. Online Marketing Basics

5. Online Marketing Basics

8. Online Marketing Basics

12. Online Marketing Basics

15. The SaaS Marketing Process Online Marketing Process Acquisition Conversion Retention

30. Blogging, Social and Search

31. Blogging, Social and Search More specifically…

32. Blogging, Social and Search Blogging Social Public Relations Search Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog We’ll focus on…

33. Blogging, Social and Search Public Relations Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog How do these channels work together? Your Site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords

34. Blogging, Social and Search Public Relations Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog SEO, PPC, social networks, PR and Twitter generate traffic to your site. Your Site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords Acquisition Acquisition Acquisition Acquisition

35. Blogging, Social and Search Public Relations Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog Blogs and PR help SEO by attracting links; SEO drives traffic to your blogs. Your Site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords Traffic Traffic Links Links

36. Blogging, Social and Search Public Relations Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog Blogs feed content to social & receive traffic. Twitter also generates blog traffic. Your Site Traffic Content Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords Traffic

37. Blogging, Social and Search Public Relations Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog Blogs can also generate traffic through references in the blogosphere. Your Site Traffic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords Blogosphere

38. Blogging, Social and Search Public Relations Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog Blogs build readership, and gradually bring qualified visitors to your site. Your Site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords Acquisition

39. Blogging, Social and Search Public Relations Corporate / Founder’s Blog Product Blog Product blogs, Twitter and social networks are also used for retention. Your Site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Google AdWords Retention Retention

42. Blogging | Corporate Blog Example: 37signals Corporate Blog Advertising (usually not recommended) Drives traffic to Product Blog Subjects that interest a broad relevant audience RSS subscription & Twitter Participation through comments is crucial Author (one of several) Low-key corporate branding Corporate call-to-action (Alternatively, personal Founder’s Blog)

44. Blogging | Product Blog Example: 37signals Product Blog Author (one of several) Focus on product features and benefits Choose the product that interests you RSS subscription & Twitter Links to knowledge base

46. Blogging | Twitter Example: Freshbooks Twitter Page Author (one of several) Large base of followers 140-character bio “ Lists” - groups of followers with common interests Clear branding for quick identification Updates by SMS Leveraging positive customer Tweets Customer support questions Special offers Typically also links to blog posts and other relevant content

48. Social | Facebook Example: SalesForce.com’s Facebook Page Pushing compelling content Contests to encourage participation Integration with media sharing Building a large fan base Encouraging customer comments

50. Social | LinkedIn Example: Atlassian’s “Confluence Users” LinkedIn Group Encouraging user discussion Sharing new product features Building membership

51. Social | LinkedIn Example: Weekly E-mail from SaaS Group Below the fold, all recent content E-mail from highly trusted sender Essentially it’s a dynamic newsletter Encourages click-through to discussions Active discussions on top

53. Social | StumbleUpon Example: Profile of “Korayem”, Web Dev Enthusiast Moderately influential, 344 followers Websites he stumbled upon 4K visits for this site. Some sites get 200K Interested in cool/new web dev stuff Follow him and he might follow you

55. Social | YouTube Example: SalesForce.com Channel on YouTube Videos updated every few days Big archive Short and sweet

56. Social | YouTube Example: SalesForce.com Channel on YouTube Large subscriber base Encourage and reply to comments Link to site (drives traffic) Links to Facebook, Twitter, etc. Graphic call-to-action (more traffic)

58. Social | Public Relations Example: Coverage of GigaSpaces by InfoQ Industry terms in title, high relevance Link to website using category name (SEO) Links drive traffic to corporate site Targeted professional publication Potential for social sharing

60. Search | SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Example: GigaSpaces Ranking for “In-Memory Data Grid” Author (one of several) #1: HazelCast, small open source solution #2: Oracle, the heavyweight #5: GigaSpaces #3 and #4: news and images Major product category for GigaSpaces

61. Search | SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Example: GigaSpaces Page Ranking #5 for “In-Memory Data Grid” Author (one of several) This page is part of GigaSpaces’ wiki documentation Large content site with 1000s of pages Search term in title Search term in summary Search term in initial text Link to corporate site “ Real” content, over 500 words per page

63. Search | Google AdWords Example: QuickBooks Pay-Per-Click Ad QuickBooks have bid their way to the top Top ranking ads appear on top of results QuickBooks is not in page 1 of the organic results The rest of the ads are here Title of ad repeats the search term Text of ad states a benefit and calls to action Highly competitive generic keyword

64. Search | Google AdWords Example: QuickBooks Pay-Per-Click Landing Page Short, clear message Short form ROI: % who click this * % who purchase after trial Short, clear message Details of offer and key benefits Objection handling (security) Typically there are customer logos for validation Call to action – conversion goal is free trial More info below the fold if you’re not convinced

65. Summary What you bring to the table How it’s perceived in the market How you pitch it to customers Landing pages, blog posts, press releases Gone full circle? Back to the drawing board