Making use of both gated and ungated content can maximize your company’s content marketing strategy. Most marketers are looking to not only increase lead quantity, but also lead quality, and can do so by making use of both forms. Furthermore, tailoring your content gating strategy to each stage of the buyer’s journey can grow your audience while gathering customer insights.
What is gated and ungated content?
Gated content requires registration from the user before access is granted. For example, the user must fill a form collecting data such as their email address and industry before the content is available. In fact, 75% of content marketing assets are gated. This ratio is similar regardless of company size or industry. Gated content is usually highly detailed and specific and allows your company to gather leads, generate sales or discover consumer insights. Those insights can help you segment your email lists, which can lead to a 39% increase in open rates.
Ungated content does not require any action from the user to gain access and can be shorter and more general, with the goals being to increase brand awareness, improve search engine optimization and drive website traffic. Ungated forms of content, such as infographics or case studies, are valued by 94% of B2B marketers for increasing brand awareness and demonstrating results. Some content, such as recorded webinars, may be ungated on some platforms, like YouTube, but gated on others, like the company website.
How to make the most of your content gating strategy
To leverage your content, you need to understand what others in your industry are doing, and what your buyers expect of you. Publishing multiple forms of gated and ungated content ensures that you can reach prospects in all stages of the buyer’s journey.
1. Create content for each stage of the buyer’s journey
Your content should guide the prospect through the buyer’s journey. Ungated articles can introduce prospects to your brand, and gated eBooks can help them research your company. Brief, ungated explainer videos can move a prospect through the consideration stage, and gated product demos can give confidence in the buyer’s final choice in the decision stage.
2. Do a competitive analysis
It’s important to note which content is gated by your competitors and which content is not. Analyzing your competitors’ strategy will give you an idea of how to compete with it. It may also reveal market gaps you can fill and market trends you can cater to.
3. Make it worthwhile
Your content should always mean something. The landing page, headline and copy should be meticulously crafted so they are compelling and valuable. The information you provide must be accurate, interesting and informed by your prospect’s pain points.
Conclusion
Use your gated and ungated content together to bring in more leads, expand your company’s audience and convert more buyers. Your content gating strategy should be tailored to your industry and your ideal buyers, so that you can guide them along every stage of the buyer’s journey and bring them to your company.
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