Content marketing still works — what's broken is the old playbook. Generic SEO blog posts written for algorithms are dying as AI answers absorb them. Content built on a real point of view, distributed where buyers actually are, is more reliable than ever. The channel isn't broken; the commodity version of it is.
Yes — the founders who make it work run a repeatable system, not random posting: a clear content mix, a consistent post structure (strong hook, one idea, one takeaway), a soft lead magnet, and a cadence they actually keep. Here is what that system looks like end to end.
Brand awareness makes people know you exist; demand gen makes them want what you do; lead gen captures the contact info of people already interested. Early-stage B2B SaaS founders should put most of their effort into demand gen — creating interest through content — because only a small fraction of buyers are in-market at any moment.