This McKinsey playbook, based on lessons from the B2B SaaS sector, lists marketing and demand generation as one of the seven ‘boosters’ for scaling from startup to standout.

Are we surprised? Absolutely not – but we’d go further to say that marketing isn’t just a booster. It’s an essential part of the scale-up journey. And, wrapped up within this is tech content marketing.

After all, content is key to every marketing asset you create. It’s the voice of your brand. It shapes how you communicate with your target audience, and ultimately how you scale.

Here’s why, based on our insights from delivering B2B content marketing services to some truly inspiring tech scale-ups.

5 benefits of tech content marketing for scalers 

1. Create an engaged audience 

Why:

Tech content marketing doesn’t necessarily mean writing about your product’s specifications again and again. You have an opportunity to connect with your audience.

A brilliant example of this in action comes from HubSpot. The tech giant creates groups for marketers to ask questions and share tips, and even participates by recommending resources that relate to users’ comments. In doing so, HubSpot embeds itself in its audience’s minds, without constantly promoting its CRM.

How:

Here are some content types that could engage your target audience.

• Thought leadership content that starts a new conversation or gives a fresh perspective on an existing one.
• Social media captions that give customers insight into your brand perspective and encourage them to share their own.
• Mission-driven website copy that helps readers understand the why, how, and what of your offering, and how it maps to key decision-makers’ pain points.

For inspiration: 5 tech brands doing sustainability marketing, perfectly

2. Turn researchers into customers 

Why:

According to Gartner, B2B buyers spend almost half of their time in the lead up to a purchase doing independent research, online and offline. This means that having a bank of informative content – whether a blog post or brochure – can put you in front of prospects who may one day become customers.

Content marketing is your opportunity to engage audiences from the very beginning of their journey. For instance, your prospects might not know that they need a SaaS cybersecurity platform just yet, but they might be under pressure to comply with new cybersecurity regulations. By providing answers to their initial questions (e.g. ‘When does XXX come into force?’ ‘How to comply with XXX?’), you can become their go-to resource from the start.

How:

Here are some content types to help you establish trust throughout the B2B buyer’s journey, and ultimately support your lead generation efforts.

• Awareness blogs that capture prospects’ attention as they begin to ask questions or educate themselves on related topics.
• Guides and whitepapers that support readers as they dig deeper into these topics and explore the solutions available.
• Visually engaging infographics or product sheets that present the key benefits of your technology in an easily digestible way.

For inspiration: 6 health tech marketing tips: translate your tech into customer-friendly content 

3. Grow a team of aligned employees 

Why:

If you want to scale, you need a team of talented people!

You might not realise it, but content marketing can help. Done well, recruitment-focused content marketing can get people excited about the prospect of working with your tech. It can help you target people with the skills, experience, and mindset to help you scale, by articulating your values and giving your company a personality.

How:

Here are some content types that could help you attract people with the necessary growth mindset.

• Employee-owned content, such as thought leadership articles that share unique perspectives from inside the company.
• Social media captions that highlight team days, company policies, work perks, and anything else that shows off your culture.
• Culture-focused webpages, such as a ‘Meet the team’ page with small bios for each member.

For inspiration: 6 ways to craft your culture content  

4. Highlight your successes with social proof 

Why:

B2B buyers want to know that they’re investing in the right technology, so they look around. What are their competitors using? Which B2B companies are trusted the most within their industry?

That’s why social proof should be a key element of all tech content marketing strategies. Even before customers begin actively comparing solutions, they may be interested to know that you’ve provided a great service to others in the industry.

How:

Here are some content types that can be used as social proof. 

• Case studies that explore how your product or solution meets customers’ needs and has had a positive business impact.
• Customer testimonials that can be shared across social media.
• Submissions to awards that will give you credibility, including local, sector-specific awards.

For inspiration: 5 tips to help you create an outstanding case study 

5. Attract investors for essential funding 

Why:

A key part of your scaling up journey will be to compel investors to provide funding. Whether you’re developing a product or hiring your first team members, your growth will depend on this financial injection.

Content marketing can support this process, too. How you communicate your brand’s vision and your product’s value proposition will either grab, or lose, investors’ attention.

How:

Here are some types of content that could help you attract investors.  

• Pitch decks that show your value proposition, the market for your technology, and how you plan to put funding to use.
• Company announcements that highlight milestones or achievements – from award nominations to major recruitment decisions.
• An investor-focused webpage that explores your future ambitions and gives investors a clear route to getting in touch.

For inspiration: How marketing has supported health technology brand EarSwitch™ as it scales 

How to find B2B content marketing services for your scaleup

The right content can help you engage your target audience, nurture prospects, attract investors, and ultimately help you grow. But if you’re not sure how to create a strategy that achieves these goals, hiring an agency to deliver B2B content marketing services could be an effective route forward.

Outsourcing your content can also free you up to focus on more important things, like developing your products and services further, or networking with potential investors and partners.

When it comes to finding the right agency for you, make sure you find one with the skills and expertise to:

1. Turn complex technology ideas into digestible concepts.

When it comes to shortlisting agencies, look for those that can help you develop messaging and a long-term content strategy, as well as produce informed blogs, guides, and other content pieces. These are the agencies that will be able to get under the skin of your product and figure out how it should be communicated to your target audience.

For more inspiration: Turn your scientific concept into an investible business – in 3 steps

2. Connect with the right audience, in the right place, and at the right time. 

The most effective content drives meaningful action by sharing a compelling message with the right audience, across the channels they use to research and buy products. As such, the right agency for you should have an in-depth understanding of your B2B buyers’ journey, so that they can deliver content marketing services tailored to it.

3. Help brands to scale with measurable results and milestone achievements. 

As a scaleup, your goals are likely to keep evolving – and potentially quite quickly. You might need to pivot your pitch deck based on an investors’ advice, for instance. Your chosen agency should have a proven track record of supporting scale-ups on these journeys, so that they can provide the advice, consistency, and content services needed to help you achieve these goals, and grow.

One way to check if an agency ticks these boxes is to ask for content marketing case studies. These will help you understand which other tech brands they’ve worked with, their experience across audience groups and channels, and perhaps most importantly, the results they’ve achieved.

We’ve developed a portfolio for this very reason. If you’re interested in seeing which B2B tech brands we’ve supported, download our Content Marketing Services Portfolio here.

Support your scale-up journey with tech content marketing 

Interested in how to attract investors and scale your business with targeted inbound marketing? 

Our free guide, ‘B2B marketing: How to attract investors while scaling up’, is full of helpful tips. 

You can get your copy below.