As much as 80% of B2B content marketing assets are gated. Why? Because gated content can generate leads by providing prospects with valuable and sought-after information in exchange for their name and contact information.
Gated content can include white papers, guides, videos, eBooks, webinars, or case studies. Master the following three areas to make the most of your gated content campaigns:
- Amplification
- Optimization
- User Experience
Amplify your content to drive traffic to your landing page
Digital assets such as case studies and eBooks are a staple of inbound marketing. Not only do they deliver value to your readers, they also establish your company/brand as a thought leader and authority. But in order to capture the all-important contact information, you’ve got to let people know the information is available using tools such as social posts, sponsored posts, blog posts (with a strong call to action linking to the landing page), and retargeting ads. And don’t forget to link to your landing page within your own website using various engagement tools like information bars, banners, and CTA buttons.
Optimize your landing page for conversions for organic search
Driving traffic to your landing page is only half the battle. Once they get there, the experience needs to be optimized for conversions or your visitors will bounce.
Be sure to include a value proposition and briefly list/summarize the benefits of entering their information and downloading your content, such as what they will learn, pain points addressed, or the steps needed to reach a goal.
The form itself should also be optimized for conversions. Burying the form at the bottom of the page, requiring too many fields to be filled out, asking for too personal of information, or not styling your form to match your brand are all reasons visitors will bounce without completing the action.
Provide a great post-click experience to promote further engagement
Once the form is completed by a visitor, you need to create a great post-click experience. One approach is developing a “thank you” page featuring a prominent download button. Take that one step further by creating more value (and interest) with additional links (and visuals) to suggested blog content. Give the reader more than they were asking for! Don’t forget to use marketing automation to send a follow-up email with a link to download. Encourage your newly engaged audience to also follow your brand on social media and/or connect personally via LinkedIn.
Interested in learning more? Click here to read Four Ways to Overcome B2B Conversion Roadblocks.
