Gated Content: How To Use It For Lead Generation?

Gated content or Ungated content, that is the question.?We will answer this great debate and provide you with the know-how to implement your own strategy.

It's a common dilemma for marketers today: do the benefits of putting up premium content outweigh the drawbacks of asking your visitors for personal information?

What Is Gated Content?

Reserved content is media placed behind a lead capture form.?In other words, the user must provide personal information to access the content - usually an email address, phone number or the answer to a question.

You will notice that the majority of this content is premium content, which provides direct value based on the needs of our audience.?In addition to providing them with a resource, restricted content allows us to collect qualified leads by asking for more information about our audience - whether it's an email, your name, your title, your company, a telephone number, etc.

If some sites limit access to all their content by requiring a subscription or subscription to their newsletter, many of them offer content such as ebooks.

Examples of gated content:

• Competition
• Model or template
• check list
• E-book
• Webinar
• Training video

Examples of open access content:

• Blog posts
• Infographics
• Press Releases
• Testimonials

Gated Content or Not: How To Decide Detween The Two?

Marketers can't agree on whether to use protected materials or not, and for good reason.?We have trusted experts and industry leaders on both sides of the spectrum;?on the one hand, marketers believe that the benefits of getting a qualified lead outweigh the disadvantages of turning away potential visitors.?On the other side, it is believed that by asking them for personal information, you lose the potential reach of your content, SEO value, and linking opportunities.

Let's examine the two arguments...

Benefits Of Gated Content

Let's say you really want to know more about search engine optimization (SEO).?Scrolling through your Twitter feed, you notice that a great post on the future of SEO trends has been written by Investis Digital.

This post is exactly what you are looking for, but before you can get the free guide, you need to provide the following information:

• Last name First Name
• E-mail
• Company Name
• Position Title

You get access to that content 10x, while the company gets the benefit of getting to know you better (and bringing you closer content in the future).?Think about your own company and how you could benefit from access to high-quality content:

• A Better Understanding Of Your Audience:?By gathering more details about the people who accessed the content, you can accurately target and nurture those leads in the future.
• Establish A Relationship Of Trust:?Those who invest in reserved content by providing their own information may see it as having more value, which establishes your brand as trustworthy and authoritative.
• Streamline Your Sales Process:?Approaching people who have accessed your reserved content is much more effective because you have more qualifying information about them.

Disadvantages Of Gated Content

• You Risk Reaching A Limited Audience:?It's a bit more difficult to get restricted content to reach your entire audience unless you put significant effort and budget into promoting it. .
• Depending On Your Industry?And The Needs Of Your Audience, it may be difficult to get a large portion of your audience to fill out the conditional access form.
• Earning Links Can Be More Difficult:?Your audience will generally avoid linking to a secure landing page.?It makes sense, though.?Many people shy away from sharing conditional content because their audience isn't ready to give their information to your brand (or another).
• Some readers may be you

Putting An End To The Debate On What Content To Download or Not

Despite the long debates among marketers, the answer is quite simple: Delivering the wrong content at the wrong time in the customer journey can discourage potential customers from continuing to engage with your brand.?On the other hand, delivering the right content at the right time can help you nurture budding leads, while fostering a relationship of trust and potentially increasing revenue down the road.?Consider this simple formula of:

"If audience size, reach, and future marketing benefits are more important than detailed leads as a metric or as a value, then you need to provide open-access content. If the reverse is true, if detailed leads are more valuable to you than audience size, potential reach, amplification, and link…then you need to go with gated content."

How To Use Gated Content?

We've established that brands use reserved content to generate leads that can be nurtured and (hopefully) turned into new customers.?But how do you effectively use the downloadable document to generate as many leads as possible without losing traffic to your site?

Create Effective Landing Pages

Creating effective landing pages is essential for any downloadable document.?A strong landing page is the best way to reduce bounce rates and get people to trade their personal information for content while building your email list.

Here are some essential characteristics of an effective landing page:

• The page immediately establishes a "need" for the audience.?In other words, it prompts the user to provide basic information and access content
• Expectations are clear.?The homepage does not use bait techniques.?The reader fully understands what to expect from the content
• The lead capture form is clear and easy to find.?It asks for non-binding information (name, e-mail address, company name and function)
• The call to action is clear and bold

Create A Thank You Page

The thank you page (often referred to as the "Thank You Page") is an overlooked, but extremely valuable page for any website.?This is another great way to "close the deal" with your audience.

Think of it this way: visitors to your thank you page are the closest thing to a paying customer.?Since they've already decided to take the next step in your customer journey and provided their personal information, these are leads you can't ignore.

If your website's conversion rate is 5% (meaning only 5/100 of your site visitors make it to a thank you page), visitors who make it there should be taken seriously!?Thank you pages can look different depending on how you decide to deliver reserved content.?For example, you can thank the reader for downloading the reserved content, or confirm that an email will be sent to the email address provided with the content.?Here are some best practices to consider:

• Say Thank You:?Let your visitor know that they filled out the form correctly and that you're glad they did.?If appropriate (he may have downloaded your latest eBook), congratulate him!
• Set Appropriate Expectations:?Tell her what's going to happen next.?Surprises can be fun in life but are generally bad for business.?Setting expectations in all aspects of the business is critical, and this is an opportunity to do so, and then work with your sales team to ensure those initial expectations are exceeded.?Small quick wins can be very helpful at the start of a relationship
• Provide Clear Next Steps:?A typical next step might be for your sales team to contact the newly acquired lead.?But you don't have to do it that way!?If this is a prospect who is ready to move forward and speed is important, offer them an easy way to complete the next steps on their own.?If not, continue to interview the prospect and offer them even more interesting content in your email.
• Use The Right Tone:?As your audience navigates your site and continues their customer journey, setting a consistent tone is just as important as setting appropriate “next step” expectations.?Sending the wrong signals at this stage can hurt contact rates

When To Use Gated Content or Open Access Content?

Both techniques should be part of your strategy.?What's often referred to as the front door debate isn't so much a debate about whether you should use content vs. data or free, but rather under what circumstances you should use each type of content.

The best content marketing strategy uses a mix of protected and unprotected content to educate buyers and give them confidence in your brand.

So when should you stream content??Let's see that.

When To Use Gated Content

• Later In The Buyer's Journey:?The further along your prospect is in their buyer's journey, the more likely they are to engage with your brand.?It is more than likely that he has already learned about the products and services you offer and the options available to him.?If they got there, there's a reason they searched for your brand.?It's important to not just nurture the trust you've already built with those prospects by offering them even higher value content.?It is equally important to capitalize on this opportunity by capturing their contact details.
• Content Topic Is Driving High Traffic:?If you have content that is driving a ton of traffic, it might be time to take advantage of it.?Take note of the topic and why people are interested in it.?This high level of engagement is a strong sign that restricted content could generate the same level of interest.?It's proof that what you offer is valuable enough that a user is willing to share some information with you to download it.?Keep in mind that the restricted content or offer you create shouldn't just be a blog post about the subject.?It must be of extreme value to the user, and offer something that they cannot get by bouncing around on the website or blog of
• Content Has A Lot Of Added Value:?A great opportunity to offer content is when you have exclusive information or ideas.?Do you have original research, such as market research or data insights??Consider publishing a downloadable report.?Do you work with authoritative figures in your sector??Interview them and create an exclusive video that users can download.

When evaluating whether or not you should create an upload document, consider the answer to the following question: Is data sharing a fair exchange for the value of this content??Evaluate the answer to this question by analyzing the following characteristics:

• Content quality
• Content format
• Objectivity of content
• Usefulness of content

When To Offer Self-service Content

Let things be clear.?We're not saying self-service content has to be low-quality content.?All of your content should be of high quality and of value to the reader.?But that content may provide a different kind of value – and therefore may not make sense to be hidden behind a lead generation landing page.?Here are the cases in which you should not hide your content:

• Your Goal Is To Achieve Awareness: If the goal of a piece of content is to increase brand awareness, it's best not to hide it.?When you hide a piece of content behind a landing page, you limit its shareability.?Users are much more likely to share content or link to it if it is free.?If you're an emerging brand, you need to start with unverified content.?This is how you will plant the seeds that will allow you to gain a reputation as an authority, which can eventually be used as an opportunity to spread content.?Already an established brand??That doesn't mean you shouldn't focus on building your brand awareness.
• Your Content Is Limited:?It's often helpful to think of content as a product or service that you're selling.?In general, you like to have a taste of what you are going to buy before you buy it.?It can be a free sample at the store, or just picking up a product and smelling it.?The same goes for content.?How can you expect a prospect to "buy" content if you don't have "free" content on your site that gives them a taste of what they can expect??Before you start creating reserved content, make sure you have a solid library of information on your site that proves that your brand is authoritative.
• When Your Download Isn't Performing Well:?If you've created great content, but it's not generating interest, it might be time to unlock it.?Once you establish that your information is valuable and worth it, it will be much easier for you to open your content in the future.?Another tip??Consider including a downloadable version of your unlocked content.?If you think it's really valuable to the reader, why not give them the opportunity to take it with them??Just ask for an email address so you can download the PDF.?It's the best of both worlds for your reader, and a good test of the value of your content.?If it is worth it, it will pay the price.

Gated Content: Best Practices

The best content strategies use a mix of protected and unprotected content to entice prospects who come to your site.?But every method requires a method for insanity.?Here are some best practices to follow if you decide to put your content online:

• Evaluate If It Is Worth It:?First of all, carefully examine what you are offering.?Make sure it's worth it.?Does your content teach the user something??Will he emerge more educated and more independent than before?
• Keep Forms Short:?Ask for only the most important information.?Don't complicate them with required fields.?For your first request, collect only the essential information, such as name and email address.?You will be able to learn more about the prospect during the follow-up.
• Use Progressive Profiling:?Don't ask your prospect for the same information twice.?Let them fill themselves.?When you collect specific information about a user, Progressive Profiling uses cookies to remember that information and automatically populate it the next time you request the same information.

Leaving your content unattended??That doesn't mean you're ruling out all chances of capturing leads.?Consider integrating strategically placed CTAs.?At the bottom of your content, you can include specific calls to action such as:

• "Contact us"
• "Schedule a demo"
• "Request your sample"

Make these CTAs clear, aligned with your content, and easy to click.?This type of content strategy can set a good precedent with your users, which will lead to more effective premium content down the road.

Understand The Customer Journey

Knowing what type of content someone is looking for during their customer journey can help you understand when restricted content is appropriate.

With the customer journey in mind, take the following steps to determine whether protected or unprotected content is appropriate:

• Match Your Content To The Stages Of Your Sales Funnel:?Your ideal content funnel may be different from others.?You need to have different content for each stage of the buyer decision process.?It starts with general thought leadership and helpful top-of-funnel guidance.?Bottom-of-funnel content helps customers evaluate your products or services before making a purchase decision
• Identify Where The Lead Is In The Sales Funnel:?A well-thought-out funnel model helps you understand that too.?Certain types of content cater to certain levels of the funnel.?You understand where they are in the decision-making process based on the type of content they view
• Decide Whether To Skip The Content:?There comes a time in each funnel where the prospect intends to evaluate purchase options.?Think of "gate" content as a way to "make a move" on your audience.?Activating content at the right time can help you nurture leads while fostering trust with your brand

Use Gated Content Strategically

Don't get too caught up in the debate between protected and unprotected content.?The right answer is a combination of protected and unprotected content aimed at advancing your prospects through the buyer's journey.?As long as you use protected content strategically, you will start to see results from your content offerings.

Remember, this is about providing a valuable experience for your user.?Earn your prospects' trust from the get-go by using unprotected content early in their journey.?Once you've established that your brand is insightful and your insights are valuable, use protected content strategically to capture quality leads.