Handbook
Marketing

Social Media (Build in Public)

Social media is our top-of-funnel awareness play. We reach our ICP, SaaS founders and product teams where they already spend time, building brand recognition and driving inbound interest.

This play is currently our least systematized. We're posting organically without a concrete SOP or defined conversion workflow. Systematization is a near-term priority.

Current approach

Our social media efforts are product-led and organic, focusing on two primary content types:

1. Product announcements

We share new features, updates, and milestones to:

  • Keep existing users informed and engaged

  • Demonstrate momentum and velocity to prospects

  • Generate social proof through engagement and shares

  • Drive traffic back to the Ferndesk website via profile links

2. Building in public

We share behind-the-scenes progress, insights, and learnings including:

  • Product development decisions and trade-offs

  • Growth metrics and traction updates

  • Customer stories and feedback

  • Lessons learned from running Ferndesk

  • Technical insights about AI, documentation, and SaaS

Building in public aligns perfectly with our ICP, founders and makers who value transparency and authentic storytelling over polished marketing.

Why this approach works (when systematized)

Product-led social content is effective for our audience because:

  • Authenticity: SaaS builders trust real updates over promotional content

  • Relatability: Our journey mirrors the challenges our customers face

  • Education: Technical insights position us as experts in our domain

  • Community: Conversations attract like-minded founders and potential customers

What we're NOT doing (yet)

We currently lack defined processes for:

  • Posting cadence: No set schedule or frequency targets

  • Content calendar: Posts are ad-hoc rather than planned

  • Conversion tracking: No clear path from social engagement to product signup

  • Engagement strategy: Not systematically responding, engaging, or nurturing relationships

  • Performance analysis: Not measuring what content drives results

The absence of these SOPs means we're leaving significant value on the table. Social media could drive more consistent awareness and inbound if we systematize execution.

Platforms

While not formalized, we naturally gravitate toward platforms where our ICP is most active:

X (Twitter)

Primary platform for SaaS builders, indie hackers, and tech founders. High concentration of our ICP, strong culture of building in public.

LinkedIn

Effective for reaching B2B SaaS decision-makers, particularly at slightly larger companies or with more formal buying processes.

Other platforms (lower priority)

Communities like Indie Hackers, Reddit (r/SaaS, r/startups), and Product Hunt serve niche purposes but aren't core focus areas.

Content themes (working list)

When we do post, we tend to focus on:

  • Feature releases and product updates

  • Customer wins and use cases

  • Documentation and knowledge base best practices

  • AI and automation insights

  • Startup and founder journey moments

  • Metrics and growth milestones

Systematization roadmap

To make social media a reliable growth channel, we want to do the following:

  1. Define posting frequency: Set minimum viable cadence (e.g., 3-5 posts/week)

  2. Create content buckets: Template categories for announcements, insights, metrics, etc.

  3. Implement basic tracking: UTM parameters and referral tracking to measure social-driven signups

  4. Engagement SOP: Define how and when to respond, engage with others' content, and nurture relationships

We also want to explore:

  1. Paid experiments: Test LinkedIn ads or X promotion for high-performing organic content

  2. Influencer collaboration: Partner with SaaS voices and communities to amplify reach

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