You face a difficult choice as a digital marketer in 2024. Do you gate your content or make it freely accessible? With the landscape rapidly shifting, you must decide quickly about gating. This is essential to balance generating leads and nurturing your audience.
In light of your business's objectives and available resources, we offer an approach in this article to help you determine whether content gating makes strategic sense.
Gated vs. Non-Gated Content
What is Gated Content?
This refers to any digital content that requires the user to provide some information before accessing it. The "gate" is the form users fill out to access the content. It's effective for lead generation as it captures contact details in exchange for valuable information. 80% of B2B content marketing assets require users to fill out a form or complete an action before accessing them.
What is Non-Gated Content?
Non-gated content is freely accessible online, like blog posts, videos, and social media posts, without requiring user information. It attracts more traffic and shares due to its easy accessibility. However, it generally converts at a lower rate compared to gated content.
When to Use Gated vs. Non-Gated Content
Both these types of content play crucial roles in a content marketing strategy. Gated content includes specialized resources like whitepapers, ebooks, and webinars, requiring user information. Non-gated content, such as blog posts and social media updates, is freely accessible. Choose based on goals: gated for lead generation, non-gated for brand awareness and traffic. Often, a combination of both can effectively increase awareness while capturing leads.
When to Use Gated Content for Maximum Impact
Attracting High-Intent Leads
Certain gated content requires users to provide their contact information in exchange for access. Such content includes research reports, whitepapers, and webinars. This allows you to capture lead information from audiences demonstrating a high level of interest in your content and solutions.
Qualifying Leads
Gated content helps qualify leads by identifying those willing to engage deeper, as visitors who download premium content indicate interest and intent, enabling sales teams to prioritize promising leads.
Building Authority and Trust
By producing in-depth, highly valuable gated resources, you establish your brand as a trusted leader in your industry. Your audience comes to rely on your content, strengthening their connection to your company. Over time, this authority and trust translate into new customers and client loyalty.
Gated content offers benefits but reduces exposure and traffic. To maximize impact, mix gated and non-gated content, reserving premium, specialized content for gating. A good rule of thumb is to gate 20-30% of total content, capturing high-quality leads and building authority while maximizing content reach.
Implementing Gated Content in 2024: Tips and Best Practices
In 2024, implementing gated content requires a strategic approach to maximize value. Carefully consider why you want to gate certain content by determining how it benefits both your business and your audience. For example, gating premium content or resources that require significant investment to produce allows you to generate revenue to offset costs. Gating content also provides an opportunity to capture lead information in exchange for access.
Choose Content Wisely
Select content that offers highly valuable information or resources that your ideal customers want or need. For example, gating a comprehensive how-to guide, toolkit, template, or video training series on a critical business process. Avoid gating content that does not provide substantive value or that can be easily found elsewhere for free. If your landing page conversion rates are below 3%, consider removing the gate to evaluate if the increased traffic outweighs the number of leads previously captured.
Offer a Free Preview
Allow visitors to view a preview or excerpt of the gated content before submitting their information. A preview builds interest and trust in the value of your content. Consider allowing people to access a few pages of a guide, the first video in a series or a few key templates.
Keep the Lead Capture Simple
Make gated content accessible with minimal details like first name, last name, email address, and company name, as this will make it easier for people to access and generate more leads.
Promote and Market Well
Build interest in your gated content through social media, email marketing, and search engine optimization. Promoting the content, its value and any previews or excerpts will motivate more people to submit their information to gain access. Use an enticing and specific headline and thumbnail image to capture attention.
Final Thoughts
As you look to 2024, carefully weigh the pros and cons of gating your content. While lead generation remains crucial, building trust and establishing thought leadership have become equally vital. Analyze your audience, content goals and business objectives. Test gated and ungated content to determine what converts best. Let data guide your strategy, not assumptions. Consider a hybrid model, offering a mix of open access and gated assets. With an agile, personalized approach, you can unlock content's full potential in 2024 and beyond.
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