How do I use gated content?
You can use gated content in a handful of ways; before determining your route, it’s important that you’ve determined your business objectives.
Below are some ideas for how to use gated content:
- Lead generation: Make generating leads the priority with additional information. For example, if you have a well-performing blog post, consider creating an eBook that goes deeper on a topic. Understand the path they’ll take to a conversion and optimize accordingly.
- Collecting and segmenting data: Once you’ve collected user information, leverage data and study what you have in depth. Then, segment your leads according to metrics that make sense for your marketing strategy. Tailor your messages for these segments.
- Expertise: Use gated content to demonstrate your knowledge in a specific area, especially if you focus on complex topics. For example, consider recording a webinar if you sell a course about a subject. Give users a taster of what they can expect from the full product.
Why are people turning away from gated content?
Gated content can still be a useful marketing tool, but some businesses are shifting away from it. Consider factors such as privacy, user experience, and the amount of free information online before creating your own content.
- Free information: While the internet provides a plethora of information on diverse subjects at no cost, some may still find it beneficial to exchange contact information for access to more exclusive content. If you create gated content, you must ensure that it’s truly unique and not something the user can search for in a few seconds.
- Privacy: A growing emphasis on privacy means that you should offer the utmost value to convince someone that they should share their contact information with you.
- User journey: Identify aspects of the form that may cause friction during the user’s journey and explore potential solutions to minimize these issues.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of gated content?
Considering the pros (e.g. lead generation) and cons (ongoing processes) of gated content is crucial for deciding whether it’s right for you.
Let’s now look at the benefits and drawbacks of gated content in more detail.
Benefits:
- Lead generation: Gated content can help you generate higher-quality leads, but you must ensure that the content they download provides significant value.
- Audience segmentation: Understand your audience’s needs and preferences to segment them.
- Trust/credibility: Create gated content that builds authority within your niche. Look at what others are doing, and try to find gaps that you can fill.
- Personalized marketing: After segmenting your audience, personalize your marketing messages based on user interests.
Drawbacks:
- Deterrence: Be careful not to deter visitors; you can do this with non-intrusive messaging and promising significant value.
- Ongoing content creation: Create a few pieces of gated content each year and update them as needed.
- Privacy: Consider privacy regulations and think about how you can ensure users that their contact information is safe with you.
- Friction: Address the friction that can be caused when someone needs to share their contact information and then go to their emails.
How do you promote gated content?
How you promote gated content will depend on your audience and the channels on which they’re active.
- Social media: Share snippets from your gated content. Use infographics and other visual cues with a clear call to action (CTA).
- Email marketing: Share gated content in your newsletters with CTAs encouraging users to download it.
- Content upgrades: Promote gated content in blog posts; tell users that you go into even more depth with the topic they’re currently learning about.
- Paid advertising: Use paid ads on social media and in search engines to target users who might be interested in your gated content. Be as specific as possible.
How can I create better-gated content?
Knowing how to create good gated content is crucial for ensuring that it’s actually effective.
- Understanding your audience: Know what your audience is interested in and the problems they want you to solve for them. Then, create your content accordingly.
- Unique value: Use original statistics, key stakeholder quotes, and a unique angle.
- Landing page optimization: Simplify your landing page to include just one CTA. Keep your copy concise and make sure the user knows why they should download your gated content. Remove as much friction as possible.
- CTAs: All of your copy, whether paid advertising or in your newsletter, needs to highlight the unique selling point (USP) instantly.
What are some tips for optimizing gated content for SEO?
Besides promoting your gated content via different channels, understanding how to optimize it for search engines is also crucial. First and foremost, demonstrate expertise and authority. Adhering to Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines is crucial.
Do keyword research before creating your gated content and incorporate relevant keywords. These should be included in the content itself, and it’s important to optimize your meta tags as well.
Be proactive in sharing your gated content with others. Send outreach emails to people in your field with similar audiences (e.g. newspapers and publications). Consider also writing guest blog posts for backlinks.
Conclusion
Gated content can be a crucial lead-generation vehicle, but you need to consider multiple factors before creating it. With so much free information out there, gated content must be unique and align with your business goals.
Rather than focusing on one or the other, include a mix of gated and ungated content. Provide value first and foremost, before then optimizing with keywords. Use concise copy and appealing visuals when promoting your gated content, too.
Focus on building a relationship with your audience via gated content, as opposed to just collecting emails.
