What is gated content and how to use it effectively

If you run your online business you must be wondering how to increase conversions and let your business thrive. You may think you have done all that was necessary and doable – you have created a high quality and engaging landing page with a landing page builder, you have tailored your marketing campaigns to your customers’ needs using a url builder and you have created an effective marketing funnel.

If you have done all the above you have done a good piece of work. However, the competition does not sleep and you cannot rest on your laurels. In order to run a successful business, you need to take care of it constantly and try to get new clients. One way to complete this mission is to use a tactic that still has not been widely popularized. Have you ever heard of gated content?

What is gated content?

To put it as briefly as possible – gated content is any online content you decide to lock behind a form. Gated content can be an extract of a lengthy article, a report, an ebook, a case study, a video, an animation or any other material that requires your visitors to fill out a lead capture form before they are able to enter it. Since it creates an aura of mystery and exclusivity visitors tend to get curious and complete the lead capture form to get access right away.

Gated content turns out to be an excellent tool to collect emails, names or interests for your leads lists – sometimes even more efficient than landing pages. As you know – the information about your customers let you design highly powerful marketing strategies for your business what makes gated content extremely prominent marketing tool.

What gated content is used for?

As mentioned above – gated content is most often used to increase conversions and get useful information about your potential customers. However, it is not the place where the list ends as gated content can be used also for other purposes such as:

• better segmenting your leads basing on information you get from the lead form,
• making your visitors feel special once you provide them with exclusive value,
• showing the value of your work to potential customer.

What needs to be emphasized is the fact that although gated content is a powerful tool you should never overuse it. It is all about striking the right balance between gated and non-gated content in order not to drive visitors away.

The issue with gated content is that it does not improve your SEO and if you gate all your materials Google thinks you produce barely fresh content. Secondly – not all your visitors are keen on giving out their personal information. Bear these two facts in mind and use gated content wisely.

Case studies

Case studies are an awesome method to present your business’ expertise and proficiency basing on examples from the past. They can serve as an excellent source of information for potential customers who can compare existing companies. If you incorporate a positive feedback or a testimonial about your product or service got from the past project you may increase your credibility in the customer’s eyes.

Ebooks

Another great idea to be put in gated content is an ebook. Similarly to case studies it can present your expertise to potential customers but also it is one of the most effective lead magnet that may trigger non-decisive people to purchase from you. If you create a brief ebook and visitors fancy it they will be more prone to buy your product or service.

Infographics and checklists

Infographics and checklists are shorter forms than case studies and ebooks but they can be equally effective. They both convey only crucial information in a concise manner what makes them extremely helpful and easy to digest for visitors. If you are not sure what your infographic or checklist should be all about, think about your customer’s main problem and try to address it.

How to promote gated content?

As you can see gated content may truly be an excellent way to increase your conversions, get to know better your customers and show value of your work. However, in order to do all of that your audience needs to know that you have actually prepared gated content for them. Let me give you some promotion tips you can make use of:

1. Promote gated content on your landing page. Since they remove every distraction and assist in boosting conversion they can also be a great place to inform your visitors about gated material you prepared for them.
2. Use visual elements of promoting to attract visitors. These days customers are definitely more visual-driven and images work better than a block of text. One of the best visual enticement is a mockup of your lead magnet.
3. Link to your gated content wherever you can. Since your goal is to let your visitors know that you created gated content you should put this information visible in many places. This way you increase your chances of reaching with this information most of your audience.
4. Think about a brief promotional video, for example with testimonials that you can put on your landing page. People love videos so it can be an excellent way to promote your gated content.
5. Invest in in paid promotion – paid promotion on Facebook has already proven to be an extremely beneficial tactic when it comes to marketing strategy. You should think about using them when it comes to gated material as well.

Summary

Summing up, gating your content is a great tactic to increase conversions and get valuable feedback about your visitors. However, note that it can genuinely improve engagement and produce reliable leads only if you don’t go over the edge. You need to strike the right balance between gated and non-gated material as locking everything behind a closed door won’t work miracles for your business. Take advantage of the concept smartly and your business performance will improve rapidly.