While inbound marketing is focused on creating the kind of helpful and empowering experience a customer wants to have, the ultimate goal is still to generate leads for your business. And one of the most effective ways to do that is with gated content.
In this blog, we’ll take a look at how to use gated content to its maximum advantage.
What is gated vs. ungated content?
Gated content is valuable online material that users can only access in exchange for providing some details about themselves. The purpose is to generate leads by gathering useful information about potential customers and prospects.
Picture content sitting behind a wall where users gain entry by filling out a form, and you have the basic idea. The form can be very simple, requiring only the user’s name and email address. Or, the form can require more detailed information, such as the user’s job title, company and organization, areas of interest, and even intent to buy certain products or services and the purchasing timeline.
On the other hand, ungated content is material that is offered to users upon request. While there may be an incentive attached — such as the option to sign up for a newsletter — a user can access ungated content without providing any information.
What are some types of gated content?
Gated content can be any kind of valuable asset your business wants to offer. However, some common gated content examples include:
- White papers
- Trade publication articles
- Videos
- Tutorials
- Ebooks
- Case studies
- Podcasts
- Industry reports
- Webinars
- Product demos
- Free product trials or consultations
Gated content is usually introduced in a call to action; it may be on your website or in an email, a social media ad, or a blog post.
The call to action takes the user to a landing page, where the content offer and its benefits are detailed. From there, the user must complete a form to gain access to the content.
When should you put content behind a gate?
It is true that ungated content is downloaded more often than gated content — 20 to 50 times more often, according to marketing strategist David Meerman Scott. In addition, since Google does not “crawl” content that is behind a wall, fewer users are likely to find content that is gated.
But while there is a whole wide world of information that is freely available, there are times when it is appropriate and desirable to put content behind a gate. How, then, do you decide when to offer content freely — with “no strings attached” — and when to ask for information from your website visitors in return for access to gated content?
The key is to consider where users are in the sales funnel and how deeply they have explored your brand before you ask for their information.
If your goal is brand awareness, ungated content is often a better option. When users are just beginning to explore your website and learn about who you are, most likely they are not ready to decide/buy (i.e., they are at the top of the funnel). In that case, their contact information may not have much value for you. And, top of the funnel visitors may not be ready to share their contact information.
In fact, if you start calling or emailing right away, you risk turning the user into a turned-off prospect. Or, a user who is still in the discovery process may put you off by providing a fake email address or phone number — and that, of course, will get you nowhere.
Instead, think about using content in a way that is focused on the needs of your users and on drawing them deeper into your website. Once they have reached the middle of the funnel, they will be eager for more content — and that is when you have a better chance to generate meaningful leads through gated offers.
For example, for users at the top of the funnel, offer ungated content such as thought leadership blogs and helpful tips. Further down the funnel, offer gated content that will help users evaluate your product or service in order to make a purchasing decision.
The tricky part is knowing where your website visitors are in the sales funnel and what their needs are. That’s why buyer research is a prerequisite to creating content assets.
Learn more: Buyer Persona: How NOT Knowing Your Buyer Impacts Your Bottom Line
How does gated content work?
Gated content succeeds in generating solid leads — ones that are primed to be nurtured into making a purchase or signing on the dotted line — when it:
- Comes from a place of demonstrated expertise, where your website and ungated content has already shown users that you know what you’re talking about
- Anticipates and addresses more specific questions that users have as they get closer to a purchasing decision
- Opens up opportunities to use CRM, email, workflows, and other strategies designed to help you close sales
How can you use gated content more effectively?
Below are a few more gated content best practices that can help you get the most value — and better leads — from your high-quality content assets.
- Provide breadcrumbs of helpful content on demand to attract and educate, then follow it up with an even more appealing piece of content later — this time requiring a name and email address.
- When asking users to fill out a form, limit the number of fields so the task not only is quick and easy, but also feels less invasive. Ask only for the information you really and truly *must* have to nurture a lead.
- When choosing content for gating, pick something that will appeal to someone who is close to making a purchase. Look at past experience and think about what questions prospects have asked right before they buy — then create gated content that addresses those questions.
- Think of gated content as a way to start a conversation — providing information that will lead your prospect to want to talk to you as the next step.
- Make sure your content delivers enough value to merit being gated. If you expect your prospects to hand over their contact information, they must feel they are getting something significant in return, like an ebook, a research report, or a free trial.
With careful planning, the use of gated content is a great strategy for generating leads and creating opportunities to move prospects and customers through the sales funnel. As an added bonus, it also gives you a greater return on your investment in developing and producing high-quality content assets.
Wondering how gated assets fit into an inbound marketing strategy? Get our informative guide to learn how it all works!
