Content Marketing: Gated Or Not?

A common challenge facing many companies is determining what content should be generally

available to all website visitors and, then, which content should be reserved as gated assets, requiring users to provide information about themselves before being able to access it. While there are pros and cons to having gated assets, requiring users to fill out a form with their contact information is an easy and proven way to get quality leads that have some level of interest in what your company has to offer.

But before you restrict access to content, it is important to determine which assets should be gated. Blogs and pages that describe the companys products and services should always be instantly available so these materials can be seen by the broadest audience possible and create traffic through search engine optimization. However, content that underscores your organizations thought leadership, such as whitepapers, webinars or eBooks, as well as free product trials and demos, should all be gated. If someone is interested in accessing these items, they are likely to be higher visitors with some potential to become customers.

The next step in gating content is to create forms that provide the customer data you need to initiate and maintain contact with the leads. One of the main things to consider is the length of the submission form. While a short form will result in a higher number of leads, a longer form may result in higher quality leads. Keep in mind, though, that if too many questions are asked, the form can turn away even the most promising leads.

Another crucial step is figuring out exactly what questions to ask. While asking for the users name and email address are integral for including leads in an email list marketing campaign, additional fields should be used to further qualify the lead and determine how likely they are to become a customer. Questions regarding the users role in their organization, industry and number of employees in their company are helpful in determining the quality of the lead. Additionally, asking one or two open-ended questions can further assist in determining how your companys solutions can help solve the users problems.

Gating key assets is an effective strategy in identifying potential customers who are seriously interested in what your company has to offer. And once you have collected the contact information for these promising leads, you can develop effective email list marketing campaigns targeted to their concerns and showing how your company can meet them. Although gated assets might drive some users away, they can be part of a highly effective strategy for getting promising leads through the door.

by: Cindy Lanzendoen

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