The Content Strategy Playbook for SaaS and B2B Teams

A lot of companies talk about content strategy. Fewer have one.

If your current approach feels more like guesswork than a plan, it’s probably time to take a closer look at how strategy fits into your content marketing efforts.

This article will break down what a great content strategy is, how to create a content marketing strategy that serves your business long term, and which tactics are worth trying if you're looking to improve performance. 

We’ll also touch on where design fits in, especially if you’re trying to scale without hiring a full creative team.

Let’s start with the basics.

What is a content strategy?

A content strategy is a documented plan for how your business creates, distributes, and manages content across channels. It’s a system, not a collection of blog topics.

If you’ve ever found yourself scrambling to come up with a new article idea the day before publishing, or pushing out content with no idea who it’s for, you’re not working from a real strategy. You’re improvising.

Let’s answer ‘what is a content strategy’ by laying down 5 key pillars:

• Who you’re creating content for (buyer persona)
• What types of content should be prioritized
• Where the content will live and how it will be distributed
• What goals is the content supposed to achieve
• How success will be measured and reported

The goal isn’t just to generate traffic. It’s to build a repeatable process that supports customer acquisition, lead nurturing, and brand visibility across the entire customer journey.

Marketers who document their strategy are more likely to consider their content efforts effective, according to the Content Marketing Institute. When you have a clear plan, content stops being reactive and starts delivering real results.

How to create a content marketing strategy in 7 steps

If you want to create a content marketing strategy that works, not just in theory but in practice, you need more than a list of blog ideas. You need a system that supports your team, reaches the right people, and contributes to real business goals. Here’s how to build it.

1. Identify your business goals

Start by defining what success looks like. If your goal is to drive more sign-ups for your SaaS product, you’ll approach content very differently than a company focused on expanding into a new industry vertical. 

Examples of business goals your content might support:

• Increase inbound leads from organic search
• Reduce churn by improving onboarding education
• Build authority in a new niche or category

A strategy that doesn’t serve a business goal is just a to-do list.

2. Define your buyer persona

Building a content strategy without a clearly defined audience is just noise. Buyer personas help you understand who you’re talking to, what they care about, and how they make decisions.

These personas shouldn’t be based on guesswork. Pull data from sales calls, CRM records, product usage patterns, and support tickets. The more real-world insight you include, the better your content will perform.

Once you understand your audience, you can map content to their needs at different stages (awareness, evaluation, and decision).

3. Run a content audit

Before you plan anything new, take stock of what you already have. A content audit will show you what’s performing, what’s outdated, and where you have gaps.

This step is essential. According to SEMrush, companies that regularly audit their content are more likely to see improvements in SEO, engagement, and conversions.

Look for:

• Articles that could be updated to improve performance
• Duplicate content competing for the same keywords
• Strong performers that could be repurposed or expanded

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but even something like this simple spreadsheet can help you keep track and take action:

4. Choose topics and content types

Content planning starts with understanding what your audience needs and how they prefer to consume information. Some will want detailed guides. Others want checklists or quick how-tos.

Here are a few common types of content to consider:

• Blog articles
• Case studies
• Video explainers
• Lead magnets (templates, calculators, checklists)
• Newsletters
• Webinars

For B2B content marketing, formats like whitepapers and in-depth guides tend to perform well when targeted at decision-makers. In contrast, shorter how-to content and checklists may be more effective for users or implementers lower in the buying process.

Topic selection should be rooted in business goals, keyword research, and buyer needs. 

5. Develop your SEO content strategy

SEO should be part of your broader content strategy, something that’s woven into the very fabric of your digital persona.

A strong SEO content strategy means choosing topics and keywords based on actual demand and business relevance. That includes looking at search volume, competitive difficulty, and intent.

Focus on:

• Queries with clear commercial intent
• Long-tail keywords tied to product categories or pain points
• Topics that give you a chance to showcase expertise or use cases

The NYT Licensing content marketing report points out that high-ranking evergreen content tends to outperform newer, trend-based pieces over time. So, pick topics that have long-term relevance in your industry, and hammer them into your SEO content strategy.

With SEO, you do have to be somewhat careful, though. The idea is to attract leads, which all come from an increase in traffic. BUT, traffic alone isn’t going to make much of an impact. It’s what many call a vanity metric, while conversions (or micro-conversions) are what really drive revenue and improve ROI. More on this in point #7.

6. Build a distribution plan

Publishing without a plan to distribute your content is one of the fastest ways to waste your time. It’s often not enough to post a blog on your website and tweet about it once.

A proper distribution plan includes:

• Email marketing (weekly or monthly newsletters, drip sequences)
• Social media platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, depending on your audience)
• Paid promotion (retargeting, sponsored posts)
• Internal distribution to sales and customer success teams

Your plan for sharing your content should reflect how your potential customers consume content. If you’re selling into enterprise teams, LinkedIn and email may be your top channels. If your audience is more visual or community-driven, video and Slack groups might work better.

7. Track the right metrics

A strategy is only as good as its results. You need to know what’s working and what’s not.

Start with metrics that connect to business goals:

• Conversion rates (email sign-ups, free trials, demo requests)
• Organic traffic growth tied to specific content (e.g. bottom-of-funnel blog articles)
• Engagement signals (scroll depth, time on page, bounce rate)
• Assisted conversions (content that supports deals, even if it’s not the last touch)

Five Content Tactics to Try Now

If your strategy is set but you’re looking for fresh ideas, these five tactics are working well across industries.

1. Create bottom-of-funnel content that converts

It’s easy to focus on top-of-funnel content because it’s typically very surface-level, and it still drives traffic. But if you want to support the sales process, you need content that speaks to buyers near the point of decision.

This includes:

• Product comparisons
• Objection-handling articles
• Implementation guides
• ROI calculators

This kind of content doesn’t always go viral. It may only generate a few clicks per month. But if it’s done right, those few clicks could turn into a few customers.

2. Repurpose long-form content into smaller pieces

If you’ve put time and effort into an in-depth guide or webinar, don’t let it live in one format.

Slice content into multiple formats: carousels for LinkedIn, tip posts for Twitter, pull quotes for newsletters, and short-form videos for Instagram. This saves time and gives your message more chances to land.

3. Create visual assets to support key content

You don’t need custom design for every blog post, but strong visual content increases engagement and time on page.

Subscription-based design services offer flat-rate design support for things like infographics, lead magnets, and social content, without the overhead of hiring.

4. Build resource hubs for specific personas

Instead of organizing content by publish date or category, try building collections around personas or use cases. This helps readers find what’s relevant faster and improves your ability to guide them through a decision.

You might build hubs like:

• Content for CMOs in SaaS
• Getting started with email marketing
• Managing remote teams

The clearer your structure, the easier it is for people to find what they need and keep exploring.

5. Regularly update evergreen content

Old content often performs better than new content.. IF it’s maintained.

Once a quarter, audit your evergreen content, refresh examples, update stats, and add internal links. If something’s generating traffic but not conversions, tweak the CTA or add a stronger lead magnet.

This is one of the lowest-effort, highest-impact tactics you can implement.

Real-world content strategy examples worth borrowing

1. HubSpot: organic social that isn’t cringe

Instead of treating LinkedIn like a formal press wire, HubSpot turned it into a playground. They publish short, witty posts, memes, punchy commentary, and sometimes just one-liners that tap into daily marketing life. It’s not promotional, but it keeps their brand at the center of conversation. 

The result? Regular viral posts and a growing community that doesn’t need to be sold to because they already trust the brand.

2. Salesforce: thought leadership that leads somewhere

Salesforce doesn’t rely on shallow blog content. Their team produces detailed research reports, whitepapers, and even a web series, positioning them as a resource, not just a vendor. These content pieces don’t exist in isolation. 

They’re built with distribution in mind, promoted through email, repackaged for social, and repurposed into sales collateral. This creates an ecosystem of high-leverage content that drives both authority and pipeline.

3. Liquid Death: content with a pulse

Liquid Death’s brand is built entirely on content, and not the kind you'd expect from a water company. They use outrageous stunts, hilarious social media content, and unapologetically weird storytelling to create demand and loyalty. 

They push forward with the idea that everything they produce should be unforgettable. The result is a fanbase that actively shares their content, talks about the brand, and buys because they’re entertained, not targeted.

Bonus: Add design without adding headcount

Content and design work best when they’re aligned. But most teams don’t have a designer available for every campaign or article.

Manypixels offers a solution here. Starting at only $599/month, you get access to a professional design team that knows marketing. That means faster turnaround, more consistent branding, and content that looks as good as it reads.

Use them to create:

• Blog illustrations
• Graphics for social media channels
• Infographics for data-heavy content
• + a lot more

When your visuals look pro, people take your content more seriously.

Wrapping it Up

A content strategy is not a stack of to-do lists. It’s a framework for creating high quality content that supports your business, reflects your brand, and earns attention from the people you want to reach.

When done well, it keeps your team focused, your message clear, and your results measurable.

So take the time to build it right. Use your business goals as your filter. Talk to your customers. Plan with intention. Track what matters. And when you need help scaling content that converts, make sure your execution is backed by great design and a clear strategy.