We have heard for a few years that content is king. It is a great value in today’s marketing strategies. It is used to acquire potential customers for your company. Content in its strategies is now used by most B2B companies, publishers and entire e-commerce. Gated content is a simple way to use the power of your high-quality content to convert visitors. In the marketing world, obtaining content on the form is necessary to get customers from your website.

What is gated content?

Gated content is a popular way to acquire qualified leads that can be easily redirected to buyers after convincing them to continue their sales journey. The implementation of the download gate filters most of the traffic from those who are really interested in your offer. The better you demonstrate the promise of value, the more you register to get your content. Some examples of gating include account registration, sharing on social media, and more.

Marketers in terms of B2B use mostly gated content to generate leads, providing potential customers with valuable information in exchange for their name, e-mail address, industry, title and other contact details. This type of content may include various content marketing resources, such as white books, videos, e-books, product presentations, or case studies. Gates are the foundation of content marketing because they are a powerful tool for generating leads.

Types of Gated Content

eBooks – this is an easy way to display longer content in an organized and attractive way. It is also a powerful leading magnet that you can use to convert guests daily. The most effective ebooks attract almost all visitors to your site.

White papers – is another form of longer content that usually contains valuable data and information. These in-depth reports help build credibility and trust in potential customers. White papers are widely used in B2B marketing, especially as a fragment of closed content.

Infographics – visual form of content. Infographics receive a lot of commitment and the ability to take photos. They also show many values ​​in a clear and fun way. If you have an infographic, chances are that I am downloading it.

Videos – medium that appeals to today’s consumer and is effective. Instructional videos, whiteboard sessions, webinars, and even a trailer for an upcoming product are great pieces of content to fill in on the e-mail registration form.

Marketing and design materials – Another type of gated content would be all marketing and design materials. People and companies are always looking for things that will help them be more productive.

Benefits of Using Gated Content

Increased engagement and email lists – Presenting visitors to some of your most valuable content can significantly increase user engagement because you attract their attention with something that interests you. When content displays the immediate value of site visitors, users will probably agree. Using gateway content can accelerate the growth of the list of email addresses.

A call to action addressed to your ideal client – Thanks to segmentation and targeting, it is very easy to identify specific pages, user activities and even people to increase engagement. For example, on your camping and outdoor blog, you can submit a more detailed ebook about the survival of wild animals.

Pre-qualification of potential clients – Measures that perform an action to gain access to content automatically show interest in what you sell. It is a great way to get contacts that are more likely to turn into a paying customer.

Displaying more than your product – No matter what type of online business you are, you sell something. Embedded content allows you to provide additional value in a different form. Now you not only sell products, but also provide additional content that can increase your value in the eyes of the guest.

When and why marketers use gated and ungated content

When choosing the content you use, you have to answer whether you are betting on potential sales or increasing brand awareness. . The ideal scenario is generating potential customers, while increasing the number of content views.

Here is the minus of gated content. It is not always the best strategy to maximize the viewership of your e-book or report. Requiring potential customers to complete the ebook download form can drastically reduce the number of downloads, as some online users are still unable to share their personal data in exchange for your offer. If you care only about building brand awareness, then offering content without a goal is probably a better strategy. The content allows visitors to access content without completing forms or providing any information. Typical examples of unusable content are blogs, infographics, videos and case studies. Content without a gateway can increase trust in potential customers because it removes road blocks for valuable information. However, this is a compromise because, although insufficient content can increase the number of views, generating potential customers may suffer if you do not use contact capture.

That’s why you can try to mix solutions or not use them everywhere. One of the ways is to use gates only at certain points of the marketing path. Here are the three main steps of the marketing path and the types of content that match each of them:

• Awareness stage: at this stage, potential customers know they have a problem, but they do not know much about their company. Useful content for this stage includes blogs, infographics, podcasts, e-books and white books.
• Consideration stage: at this stage, potential customers begin to see your brand as an industry body and a potential solution to their problems. The content of this stage includes webinars, software downloads and case studies.
• Decision-making stage: at this stage of the journey, the buyer decides whether the products and services of your brand can meet their needs. Powerful offers for this stage include free consultations, product presentations and free trials.

Sending content at the beginning of the marketing path can scare away potential customers who can use your company as a solution to their problems. Waiting for later use of gates, you increase the visibility of your brand at the top of the marketing path, and at the same time generate leads in the middle and bottom of the path.

At the stage of awareness, most potential customers know very little about your brand and do not believe you yet. Removing a gateway from content at this stage can improve the visibility of your brand and increase its credibility among potential customers. When customers come down the marketing path and are more interested in your business, they will be more willing to fill out a form to access content such as books and webinars. Let’s analyze some examples of gated content to see how companies use forms to generate leads.

The key to effective gating is to understand the intentions of customers and to prepare ready-made high-quality content that your ideal customer is willing to exchange their personal information about.