Why Awareness Levels Are Your B2B SaaS Ace
A 1966 copywriting framework is the most underused ace in B2B SaaS marketing. Here's what awareness levels are and how to put them to work.
Hey 👋🏼 I’m Fabian, nice to have you here. In my newsletter “Get Hooked! Marketing”, I share proven tactics from the trenches of B2B SaaS advertising every week. Built to make you a top 5% marketer.
A few years ago, I was auditing social media ads for a B2B SaaS client. Solid targeting and sufficient budget. But the numbers remained flat.
When I looked at the copy, the problem became obvious: every ad was written for someone ready to buy. We were talking past 80% of the market.
The fix came from a 1966 copywriting book most B2B marketers have never read. One framework. One rule: match your message to where your audience is mentally.
This article breaks down that exact framework and shows you how to play it as your B2B SaaS ace.
Table of contents
The five awareness levels explained (for B2B SaaS)
Why awareness levels beat the marketing funnel
7 tactics to apply awareness levels to your B2B SaaS marketing
Tactic 1: Tap into the hidden growth lever with Meta ads and unaware audiences
Tactic 2: Make solutions tangible for problem aware audiences with testimonials on paid social and your blog
Tactic 3: Introduce your product to solution aware audiences with Google ads
Tactic 4: Test and optimize your hero section to better convert product aware audiences
Tactic 5: Turn product aware audiences into users with LinkedIn retargeting ads
Tactic 6: Double down on video to educate your usage aware audiences on YouTube
Tactic 7: Close most aware audiences with email, WhatsApp and in-product messaging
The five awareness levels explained (for B2B SaaS)
Eugene Schwartz was a copywriter who understood one thing better than almost anyone: your message only works if it matches where your audience is mentally.
In his 1966 book Breakthrough Advertising, he broke every market down into five levels of awareness. Each level represents a different state of mind and demands a completely different message.
Here is what each level looks like in B2B SaaS:
Unaware. In a newer software category, this can be the largest segment in your entire market. In a mature one, it is smaller but always present. What defines this audience is not disinterest but ignorance of the problem itself. They are not ignoring your product. They just do not know it solves something they experience. Curiosity is your only entry point.
Problem Aware. The pain exists but no one has gone looking for answers yet. Before introducing any solution, call out what is going wrong. A team drowning in manual work. A pipeline that leaks at every stage. Revenue that is harder to predict than it should be. Acknowledge the problem first. The solution comes second.
Solution Aware. The prospect has started looking. A few Google searches have been run and some category pages have been read. What is missing is a compelling reason to choose one product over another. Clear positioning and a strong value proposition are what move this audience forward.
Product Aware. Specific products are now being compared. Your prospect is no longer asking which category of software to buy. They are asking which product. Pricing has been reviewed. Competitors have been shortlisted. At this stage, removing doubt through social proof, case studies and clear differentiation is what drives a decision.
Most Aware. The finish line is in sight. Your prospect knows what your product does, believes it can solve their problem and is ready to subscribe. Make the next step obvious and get out of the way.
Schwartz’s original framework stops there. But B2B SaaS adds a level he couldn’t have anticipated.
The sixth awareness level: Usage Aware
This part of your market is inside your product right now, testing it through a free trial or reverse trial. What these users need is to reach their first moment of real value before the trial runs out.
This sixth level is unique to SaaS. It sits between Product Aware and Most Aware. A Product Aware prospect is still evaluating your product alongside alternatives. A Most Aware prospect has already decided to buy. Usage Aware is the stage in between, where the prospect has chosen to test your product but hasn’t committed to paying for it yet.
Why awareness levels beat the marketing funnel
The marketing funnel and awareness levels are built on the same sound logic. Segment your market to communicate more effectively. That part is not up for debate.
What is up for debate is how the funnel gets applied in practice.
Most content you will find online treats the funnel as a channel-first model. Channels get mapped to stages like this:
Awareness stage: paid social
Consideration stage: search
Decision stage: email
Loyalty stage: in-product messaging
Clean. Logical. And largely misleading.
Misleading because channels are not stage-specific. Email can reach a cold audience that has never heard of your product. Meta ads can close a warm lead who is ready to subscribe. Search can introduce a brand to someone deep in the problem aware stage. Assigning a channel to a stage misses the point.
The stage does not determine the channel. The stage determines the message.
That is exactly what Schwartz’s framework addresses. It does not prescribe channels. It prescribes how to write for each state of mind. Channels are delivery mechanisms. Copy is what converts.
Copywriting is the fundamental marketing skill for B2B SaaS marketers. Get the message right and every channel performs better.
Getting the message right starts with one rule: your hook must match the awareness level you are targeting. The copy that follows then does the heavier work, moving the prospect through the remaining stages, ideally all the way to product aware.
📚 Reading Tip: Learn how to write irresistible marketing hooks with my 7+1 commandments.
7 tactics to apply awareness levels to your B2B SaaS marketing
The following seven tactics translate awareness levels into concrete B2B SaaS marketing moves. Each one comes with hands-on copy examples and suitable marketing channels to get your message in front of the right audience.
All copy examples are built around a fictional B2B SaaS product: a mobile-optimized landing page builder for marketing agencies.
Read them in order or jump straight to the awareness level most relevant to your business right now.
Tactic 1: Tap into the hidden growth lever with Meta ads and unaware audiences
For many B2B SaaS businesses, unaware audiences are the biggest growth lever they are not using.
Unaware buyers are often the largest segment within any target market. Especially in newer software categories and for startups still building brand recognition. And yet, most B2B SaaS marketing focuses entirely on feature-driven messaging that only resonates with audiences already close to a decision.
The majority of the market never even gets a look in.
Why Meta ads?
Paid social is one of the most effective channels for reaching cold audiences at scale. Meta in particular stands out because of its ad delivery algorithm. No other social network comes close to matching your copy with the right people as efficiently.
The algorithm does the heavy lifting. Your job is to give it two things to work with:
Hooks that stop an unaware audience in their tracks
Conversion events that signal high-quality intent to the algorithm
📚 Reading Tip: Stopping an unaware audience in their tracks starts with the right hook. Master the 7+1 commandments for writing irresistible marketing hooks.
📚 Reading Tip: The wrong conversion event trains Meta’s algorithm to find the wrong people. Learn how to set the right Meta ads objectives and performance goals.
💡 Tip: Video is the stronger format for reaching unaware audiences. It creates more space to introduce the problem, present the solution and position your product, all within a single ad.
Copy examples
Meta ads are made up of four distinct copy elements. Each one plays a different role in converting an unaware audience.
The hook lives inside the creative itself, the static image or the opening seconds of a video. It is the first thing your audience sees and its only job is to spark enough curiosity to stop the scroll.
The body follows the hook inside the video. It builds the case while the prospect is still watching, moving them through the remaining awareness levels before the ad ends.
The ad description is one of Meta’s primary copy elements. Depending on the placement, it can appear above or around the creative. It is designed for prospects who need more context before they click.
💡 Tip: Test at least one long-form ad description. Unaware audiences are at the very beginning of the buying journey. They need more context than any other awareness level to be moved forward. A longer description acts as a bridge between the ad and the landing page, moving the prospect from curious to convinced. Some buyers act on a single strong cue. Others need more substance before they commit.
The ad headline works as an extension of Meta’s predefined CTAs. Meta limits you to a fixed set of CTA buttons. The headline gives you extra space to strengthen that call to action with your own copy.
Here is how all four look for our fictional product: a mobile-optimized landing page builder for marketing agencies.
Hook
Short, curiosity-driven and free of any problem, solution or product reference. The goal is to stop the scroll.
Copy this landing page trick for your agency...
Body
Continues directly from the hook inside the video. Builds the case for prospects who are watching, moving them from curious to product aware before the ad ends. Written to fill a 30-second video ad.
The best-performing marketing agencies are moving to mobile-first landing pages. Because over 70% of website traffic now arrives on mobile. Agencies still building for desktop are losing conversions before prospects even read the page.
That’s exactly why we built [Product Name]. An intuitive mobile-first landing page builder developed specifically for marketing agencies.
Click below and get your free demo.
Ad description
Where the body educates viewers inside the ad, the description persuades hesitant buyers outside of it. It picks up after the creative and gives undecided prospects the additional context they need to click.
🚨 Most marketing agencies build landing pages the same way they did five years ago. One template. One layout. One experience for every device.
The problem? More than 70% of your clients’ prospects arrive via mobile. And most landing pages were never built for that.
⚠️ Slow load times. Broken layouts. Forms that are impossible to fill on a small screen. Every one of those friction points is a conversion your client never sees.
There is a faster way to build landing pages that actually work on mobile, without starting from scratch every time.
✅ [Product name] is a landing page builder built specifically for marketing agencies. Mobile-optimized by default. Fast to deploy. Designed to convert the traffic your clients are already paying for.
Trusted by 500+ agencies across Europe and North America.
👇 Click below and receive a free demo!
Ad headline
Short, benefit-driven and written to reinforce the CTA.
Book your free demo now...
Tactic 2: Make solutions tangible for problem aware audiences with testimonials on paid social and your blog
Customer testimonials are one of the most powerful trust-building assets in B2B SaaS. They let your customers speak on your behalf. And a customer voice will always be more credible than a brand voice.
Most businesses deploy testimonials on their homepage or to existing followers on social media. Both make sense. But there is a significant missed opportunity in stopping there.
Problem aware audiences have not yet started searching for a solution. A peer who felt the same frustration and found a way through carries more weight than any product claim. That is what makes the problem feel solvable.
Why paid social?
Paid social is the strongest channel for reaching cold problem aware audiences with video testimonials at scale. Both Meta and LinkedIn let you target professionals who match your ICP but have no prior exposure to your product.
The hook must match the problem aware stage. No solution pitch. No product mention. A peer naming a frustration your audience experiences every day. That is what stops the scroll and earns the view.
Why your blog?
A blog article or case study embedding a customer testimonial can rank for problem aware search queries. This puts your message in front of buyers who are actively searching for answers, without any ad spend.
It also creates a natural internal linking opportunity toward your product pages, moving organic readers further down the funnel over time.
Copy examples
The marketer does not write the testimonial. The customer does. But getting the right words out of a customer requires direction.
A testimonial brief is the tool for that. It is a short set of instructions you send to the customer before they record. It tells them what to focus on, in which order, and why. The brief follows the same awareness level logic as every other tactic in this article: open at the problem aware stage and close at the product aware stage.
Here is what a strong testimonial brief looks like for our fictional product:
Testimonial brief
Thank you for agreeing to record a testimonial for us. This will take no more than 60 to 90 seconds to record. Here is a simple structure to follow:
1. Open with the problem (10 to 15 seconds)
Describe the challenge your agency faced before using [Product Name]. Be as specific as possible. What was going wrong? What was the impact on your clients’ campaigns?
Example: Before [Product Name], we were rebuilding landing pages from scratch for every client campaign. Mobile performance was always an afterthought. And our clients’ conversion rates showed it.
2. Introduce the turning point (10 to 15 seconds)
Describe the moment you decided to look for a solution and how you found [Product Name].
Example: We knew there had to be a better way to handle mobile. That’s when we came across [Product Name].
3. Share the outcome (20 to 30 seconds)
What changed after you started using [Product Name]? Be specific. Use numbers or concrete results if you have them.
Example: Within the first month, our clients’ mobile conversion rates improved significantly. We now launch new pages in a fraction of the time.
4. Close with a recommendation (10 seconds)
Would you recommend [Product Name] to other marketing agencies? Why?
Example: If you run campaigns for clients and mobile performance matters to you, [Product Name] is worth testing.
Tactic 3: Introduce your product to solution aware audiences with Google ads
Solution aware audiences have identified their problem and are now actively researching which solution category fits best. The copy job shifts from sparking curiosity to making a strong first impression and positioning your product as the obvious choice.
Why Google ads?
Google Search lets you bid on the exact queries solution aware prospects use when comparing options. Queries like “landing page builder for agencies” or “best mobile landing page tool” signal active evaluation mode.
The copy must match that intent immediately. A solution aware prospect is comparing. If your ad does not instantly communicate what makes your product the right choice, they click a competitor.
Copy examples
Google Search ads are built around three copy elements. Unlike Meta ads, there is no hook or body. Everything works within tight character limits. That constraint forces clarity.
The headlines do the stopping and positioning. Google allows up to 15 and rotates them to find the strongest combinations. Each headline is capped at 30 characters. Group them by angle to give Google the best material to work with.
The descriptions do the persuading. Up to 4 available, with 1 to 2 shown at a time. Each capped at 90 characters. Write each one to stand alone alongside any headline combination.
The display URL is your last chance to signal relevance before the click. Two optional path fields of up to 15 characters each. Use them to reinforce who the product is for and what it does.
Think of a great Google Search ad as a mini offer. The headline groups below follow a deliberate persuasion sequence: relevance earns attention, benefit builds desire, offer stacking amplifies value, risk reversal removes the final barrier.
Here is how all three look for our fictional product:
Headlines
Grouped by angle. Google rotates them to find the best performing combinations.
Relevance - search term (match the query):
Mobile Landing Pages
Landing Page Builder
💡 Tip: Use Google’s dynamic keyword insertion to automatically fill a headline with the prospect’s search query. It signals immediate relevance and typically improves click-through rates.
Relevance - target audience (address your ICP by name):
Built for Marketing Agencies
For Agencies Running Paid Campaigns
Benefit (what changes for them):
Launch Pages in Minutes
Convert Mobile Traffic Faster
Stop Losing Mobile Conversions
Offer stacking (features + audience):
50+ Templates for Agencies
Multi-Client Dashboard Included
Risk reversal (remove the final barrier):
Try Free for 14 Days
No Credit Card Required
Descriptions
Build mobile-optimized landing pages your clients’ campaigns actually deserve. Fast to deploy. Easy to manage.
Stop losing mobile conversions. [Product Name] is built specifically for agencies running paid campaigns.
Display URL
The display URL shows on every impression, no matter which headline or description Google picks. That makes it the safest place to include risk removal.
yourdomain.com/agencies/free-trial
Tactic 4: Test and optimize your hero section to better convert product aware audiences
A product aware prospect has already encountered your brand. They have clicked an ad, a search result or a peer testimonial. They know your product exists. What they are still missing is conviction.
Why your hero section is so important?
The hero section is the area at the very top of your website. A headline, a subheadline, a CTA and a trust signal. All visible before a single scroll.
Only a small fraction of visitors scroll past it on their first visit. That makes it the highest-traffic, highest-leverage copy asset on your entire website. A small improvement here outperforms any optimization made deeper on the page.
For usage aware and most aware audiences, the hero section matters less. Those prospects have already crossed the commitment threshold. But for everyone else, it is where the copy either earns their trust or sends them to a competitor.
The hero section has one job. Answer this question in five seconds or less: what does this product do for me?
Copy examples
The most common B2B SaaS hero section mistake is leading with features instead of value. Feature-led headlines tell. Benefit-led headlines sell. Here is what that difference looks like across three examples for our fictional product.
Example 1: Tech-led vs. outcome-led
Before
Headline: The AI-powered mobile landing page builder.
Sub-headline: Built with smart templates, drag-and-drop editing and multi-client management.
CTA: Get started
Trust signal: 500+ customers
After
Headline: Turn your clients’ mobile traffic into conversions.
Sub-headline: The landing page builder built specifically for marketing agencies. Mobile-optimized by default. Up and running in minutes.
CTA: Book a free demo
Trust signal: Trusted by 500+ agencies across Europe and North America
The before headline describes a feature: AI-powered. The after names the outcome: more conversions from mobile traffic.
Example 2: Vague vs. specific
Before
Headline: Building better landing pages for modern businesses.
Sub-headline: The complete platform for landing page creation and optimization.
CTA: Sign up
Trust signal: Join thousands of users
After:
Headline: Launch mobile-first landing pages in minutes. Not days.
Sub-headline: Built for agencies running paid campaigns. No dev resources needed. Full mobile optimization out of the box.
CTA: Start your free 14-day trial
Trust signal: Rated 4.9/5 by 500+ marketing agencies on G2
The before headline could apply to any product in any category. The after is specific, audience-targeted and communicates speed.
Example 3: Category descriptor vs. problem-led
Before
Headline: The landing page platform for digital marketing.
Sub-headline: Create, publish and optimize landing pages for all your client campaigns.
CTA: Create account
Trust signal: Loved by marketers worldwide
After
Headline: Stop losing your clients’ paid traffic to slow landing pages.
Sub-headline: Over 70% of your clients’ prospects arrive on mobile. [Product Name] ensures every one of them lands on a page built to convert.
CTA: Get your free demo today
Trust signal: Used by 500+ agencies across Europe and North America to convert mobile paid traffic
The before headline is a category descriptor. It positions the product but sells nothing. The after opens with a problem the reader feels immediately.
Tactic 5: Turn product aware audiences into users with LinkedIn retargeting ads
A product aware prospect visited your website and left without converting. That is expected in B2B. Decisions involve multiple stakeholders, internal approval and more than one touchpoint before a commitment is made.
Retargeting covers those additional touchpoints. And the free or reverse trial is the strongest offer SaaS businesses have at this stage. The prospect can experience the product before paying a cent.
Why LinkedIn retargeting?
LinkedIn retargeting keeps audiences exact. Meta uses retargeting lists as a starting suggestion and expands them when it predicts better performance. LinkedIn does not if you disable Audience Expansion.
Advertisers can also filter by time spent on the website, targeting only visitors with genuine intent. For a tight B2B retargeting list, that precision is worth more than reach.
💡 Tip: LinkedIn single image ads are the go-to format for this tactic. Across CTR benchmarks, they consistently outperform video and carousel. They also carry lower CPMs than video and are faster to produce, making format testing more accessible.
Copy examples
A LinkedIn single image ad has four copy elements. The hook is inside the image and stops the scroll. The introductory text is the primary copy field above the image. 150 characters is the recommended limit before truncation on mobile, but going slightly longer works if the copy justifies it. The headline sits below the image at 70 characters maximum and supports the predefined CTA button.
Lead with the offer. Make the trial feel like a no-brainer.
Hook
No introduction needed. The prospect knows the product. Show the offer clearly.
Your [Product Name] free trial is waiting.
✅ 14 days free access
✅ Unlimited landing pages
✅ Mobile-optimized by default
✅ No credit card required
Introductory text
[Product Name] is free for 14 days. You get full access to unlimited mobile-optimized landing pages, 50+ agency templates, a multi-client dashboard and dedicated onboarding support. No credit card. No commitment. Cancel anytime.
Headline
Try [Product Name] now for free! 👉🏼
CTA button
CTA buttons on LinkedIn are predefined. Sign Up aligns best with a free trial offer since it signals low commitment and matches the next step naturally.
Tactic 6: Double down on video to educate your usage aware audiences on YouTube
Usage aware audiences are inside the product. The persuasion job is done. What determines whether they convert is activation, reaching a first moment of real value before the trial runs out. No other format explains how software works as effectively as video. A written guide tells. A video shows.
Why YouTube?
Usage aware prospects actively search for product tutorials at the exact moment they need help. A YouTube library of educational content captures that intent directly, on YouTube and on Google, since YouTube videos rank in standard search results too.
The repurposing value is significant. A well-produced YouTube tutorial does not stop at YouTube. The same video can be embedded in-product during onboarding, added to a help center or included in an activation email sequence. One production effort creates multiple touchpoints across the entire trial window.
Copy examples
YouTube gives marketers three copy elements to work with. The thumbnail hook is the text overlay on the thumbnail image, the scroll-stopper that determines whether the prospect clicks. The video title is the headline equivalent, optimized for search on both YouTube and Google. The video description expands on the title, supports SEO and sets expectations before the view.
The title is your highest-leverage variable. Every high-performing B2B SaaS tutorial leads with a specific outcome or question, not the product name.
Here is how all three look for our fictional product, grouped by content angle:
Getting started / onboarding
Thumbnail hook: Build your first page in 10 minutes
Video title: How to Build Your First Mobile Landing Page in [Product Name]
Video description: New to [Product Name]? This tutorial walks you through building your first mobile-optimized landing page from scratch. From template selection to publishing, you will be live in under ten minutes.
Real-world example: See how GoHighLevel frames its onboarding content with a setup-first title, a clear step-by-step flow and no long intro before the user gets to the process.
Feature spotlight
Thumbnail hook: Manage all clients in one place
Video title: How to Set Up the Multi-Client Dashboard in [Product Name]
Video description: Learn how to set up and manage multiple agency clients inside [Product Name]. Covers dashboard setup, client permissions and campaign organization in three steps.
Real-world example: See how HubSpot structures its product update video around the new feature, with a benefits-first title and a fast path into what changed.
Use case / workflow tutorial
Thumbnail hook: From brief to live in 30 minutes
Video title: How Marketing Agencies Use [Product Name] to Launch Paid Campaign Pages Faster
Video description: A step-by-step workflow for building a mobile-optimized landing page for a client paid campaign. From template selection to final QA, everything you need to go live fast.
Real-world example: See how Notion presents its workflow tutorial with a role-agnostic beginner title, a practical task-based structure, and an immediate focus on how to use the product.
Troubleshooting / FAQ
Thumbnail hook: Page not converting? Watch this
Video title: Why Your Landing Page Is Not Converting (And How to Fix It in [Product Name])
Video description: Low conversion rates on your landing pages? This video covers the five most common reasons agency landing pages underperform on mobile and how to fix each one inside [Product Name].
Real-world example: See how HubSpot handles common issues content with a problem-first title, a support-oriented structure and direct guidance instead of broad explanation.
Tactic 7: Close most aware audiences with email, WhatsApp and in-product messaging
Most aware prospects have already decided. They know your product, believe it works and are ready to subscribe. What stands between them and a paid subscription is a well-timed offer.
B2B SaaS gives you something most industries do not: behavioral data. Session frequency, feature adoption, the specific in-product actions that correlate with a subscription decision. You do not need to guess who is close to converting. Your product already knows.
Both are typically collected before the trial even begins, through signup forms or early onboarding touchpoints. That data, paired with those direct messaging channels, makes this the highest-precision tactic in this article.
Why direct messaging?
Direct messaging closes the loop between intent and offer. No algorithm. No targeting estimate. A specific offer reaches a specific person because your data told you they were ready.
Three channels do this work:
Email is the default for most SaaS businesses, and for good reason. Trial users provide their address at signup, sequences are easy to automate and results are simple to measure. The main challenge is visibility. Open rates for B2B SaaS trial emails typically land between 20 and 40 percent, so a well-crafted sequence matters as much as timing.
WhatsApp is an emerging alternative with a significant visibility advantage: open rates are reported well above 90 percent. The channel demands more restraint in frequency than email. WhatsApp lives alongside personal conversations, so a brand presence that appears too often will feel intrusive in a way a marketing email rarely does. Use it selectively for high-stakes moments rather than replacing a full email sequence.
In-product messaging operates on a different logic entirely. Banners, popups, modal prompts triggered by specific in-product actions. No separate inbox required. The offer appears at the exact moment the prospect is inside the product, which makes the timing more precise than any sequence can replicate.
Copy examples
Most aware prospects do not need convincing. The only copy job here is to place a timely, highly specific offer.
Lead with the positive outcome they have already achieved. Then make the offer feel personal to that result.
Subject: [First Name], your pages have already generated [X] leads!
Hi [First Name],
Your landing pages in [Product Name] have generated [X] leads for your clients over the past [X] days.
Your trial ends on [date]. Subscribe before then and keep everything running: all your pages, all your templates, your full client dashboard.
Because you have been an active builder during your trial, we would like to offer you 20% off your first three months.
[Claim my 20% discount -- Subscribe now]
Any questions? Just reply to this email.
[Name] from [Product Name]
Hi [First Name] 👋🏼 Your landing pages have generated [X] leads for your clients this month!
Your [Product Name] trial ends on [date]. To thank you for the work you have put in, we are offering you 20% off your first month.
Subscribe here and lock in your discount: [link]
In-product message
Triggered when: user publishes their third landing page during the trial window
Banner headline: Your pages have already generated [X] leads. Keep them live after your trial!
CTA button: Upgrade and get 20% off
Really interesting article! Especially about the sixth stage of awareness unique to SaaS. I’m still early in my product development but this definitely sparked my curiosity!