How to foster SaaS thought leadership

What is thought leadership?

Thought leadership is the expression of ideas that demonstrate you have expertise in a particular field, area, or topic. It takes dedication, patience, strategy, and education. To be a thought leader, you not only have to have a command of your subject area, but you must be passionate enough about it to share your knowledge with others. Nowadays, the software that leading SaaS companies provide tends to be very useful for most businesses—meaning innovative ideas, opinions and insight gained from experience and study are both respected and sought after. 

Many executives and business leaders strive to become a thought leader in their respective fields, aiming to gain social media followers, become a LinkedIn expert, or have their content widely shared.

What is the value of thought leadership to SaaS businesses?

Thought leadership is a powerful tool, with two-thirds of marketers (66%) considering it to be a “top priority” for their marketing strategy. While almost everyone can attempt to be a thought leader in their field, it is only those who consistently produce and put out high-quality content that will succeed in building trust with new audiences. Once this trust has been gained, the SaaS PR work is done primarily by the customers, whether this is by sharing content, building up a social media following or advocating for the business through word of mouth.

To be an effective thought leader is to possess a depth of knowledge others struggle to compete with. There are several key benefits to this:

• Thought leadership qualifies you as a reliable source of insight and information that can successfully influence others.
• It boosts your industry presence and builds brand awareness.
• Sharing your in-depth knowledge allows you to establish credibility in your field. 

Thought leadership encourages you to focus on what you know best and look for opportunities to express it. As a leader in the SaaS field, you are able to offer unique guidance, inspire innovation and promote forward thinking.

Examples of SaaS thought leaders

👤Brian Halligan

Founder and CEO of Hubspot, Brian has helped revolutionize the way marketers go about their business. With more than 15,000 companies now using HubSpot to increase visits, leads, and customers for their business, thought leadership has helped HubSpot set their company apart from competition.

👤Neil Patel

Co-founder of multi-million dollar software companies Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, Kissmetrics and Quicksprout, Neil is a well-known digital marketing expert who has garnered a huge following on social media and his blog, where he shares his expertise on topics like SEO, content marketing, and social media.

Both men are considered to be thought leaders in the SaaS industry. And, throughout this process, have helped to raise the profiles of their businesses. But how did they get there? 

Strategies to foster SaaS thought leadership

1. Bylined articles

One way SaaS business leaders have become thought leaders is by getting their bylines out into the public sphere. This can be done simply by pitching guest articles to editors of tech-focused or SaaS-related publications, most of which welcome contributions. 

Publishing articles that carry an aspiring thought leader’s byline can be a great way to include a company backlink in an article.

2. White Papers 

For leading SaaS companies looking to foster thought leadership, another way to become a voice of authority is to start publishing white papers—the most useful type of content that educates and persuades the audience on a subject (especially complex topics).

The goal of creating a SaaS White Paper is to provide potential clients with the information they need to make an informed decision about a product or service. As such, this type of document should be detailed, professional, and well-crafted. 

3. Newsletters

Newsletters allow SaaS companies to curate their content in an easy way for customers to digest, helping them to package their thought leadership around industry debates and conversations in the best way possible. Not only do newsletters create loyal communities, they are also a good way to show off any infographics and audiovisual material that the company has produced, which also help with engagement.

4. Blogs 

Best-practise blogs offer SaaS companies an easy and fast way to build up thought leadership. Providing businesses with a platform for sharing ideas, blogging can give industry experts a voice and means of demonstrating their SaaS expertise.

5. Webinars 

Given that webinar hosts must have some level of industry authority, webinars are a great chance to showcase that talent and thought leadership. As a marketing tactic, webinars can also be useful for building up email lists—which can be used for newsletters—they can be recorded and used to encourage customers to revisit, and there’s also the opportunity for them to become paid products eventually.

6. Video content

Video content reigns supreme! By creating engaging and informative videos, such as tutorials, product demonstrations, and industry insights, your SaaS company can showcase its expertise and position itself as a trusted authority in the field. These videos can be shared on various platforms, including social media, YouTube, and your company's website, to reach a wider audience and attract potential customers. 

A final thought

SaaS thought leadership can provide a number of exciting opportunities for your SaaS business, whether your approach is to write guest articles in SaaS niche publications, produce a series of white papers, or create in-house thought-pieces.

For more information on how you can build thought leadership and expand your brand through digital marketing, check out our Ultimate Guide.