The Gated Content Strategy for Video: What to Do to Unlock the Potential of Success (+Platforms)

If you've been to any webinar, or taken part in an online class for free and noticed you usually had to enter your name and email address (and possibly other information) in order to gain access.

Videos that reside behind form forms for lead capture are referred to as gated content for video -- and they're effective at helping businesses get new customers.

In this document we will explore:

•         What is gated video content?    
•         Benefits of content with a gated access
•         The types of content for gated videos
•         Content strategy for gated videos      
•             SEO is the process of promoting gated video content
•         Best practices for videos that are gated
•         Gated video platforms      
•             Choosing the right gated media platform
•         Measuring the success of your gated video strategy
•         Make your company more efficient using video content that is gated
•         FAQ

What is gated video content?

Gated content consists of videos that are free and which users can access after they submit the necessary information about themselves like their name and email address via the contact form. The nature of the video content and the product(s) the business provides, the lead capture form might ask for more information than just a name and email address. The form may also request the user's job title, organization size, and industries.

If people provide their email addresses they are granted access to important user information, which allows you to personalize your interactions with your customers. If you can make your customers believe that the content you send them is specific to their needs, they'll be more inclined to open your email and engage with your brand.

The benefits of gated video Content

Video content can be one of the most effective strategies an organization can implement to increase its customer base. Here are some reasons why:

Lead generation

Content that's gated in contrast it is concealed behind a form. Many people aren't happy with an inbox full of emails, so when someone gives you their email address to get access to your website is a sign that they're interested in your brand. These people are more likely to appreciate your marketing efforts than visitors that just came across your site.

Audience segmentation and content personalization

By securing your video content, it allows you to segment your target audience, and develop marketing assets with them in their minds. By using your lead capture forms it is possible to collect information like their name, email address, demographic, position, the size of your organization, as well as industry, which gives you insight into the interests of your customers and interests.

This information can be used to create buyer personas for every subset of your clients. This gets rid of any guesswork. You'll know exactly who you're targeting, which helps you create material that meets their requirements that solve their problems making their lives simpler.

Increased perceived value

Web users often place greater importance on video content that is gated because they're providing their details to gain access to the content.

Between one's longing to satisfy desires, and the satisfaction of being able to access exclusive content, and other advantages you provide your subscribers via email, gated content can be the perfect way to improve the image of your company. If done correctly this can allow you to increase leads that are of high-quality as well as increase trust among your customers and make you appear as a professional in your industry.

There's a caveat, though. If you're asking people to provide their contact information, they expect high-quality quality content back. If your video's gated contents aren't filled with relevant facts, you're at risk of alienating your audience and ruining the image of your company.

Analytics and data collection

Gated videos provide an organized method of collecting statistics on the behaviour of your viewers. Measures such as time to engage, click-through rates, and completion rates help you figure out the kinds of videos that are popular with your target audience. Based on this information it is possible to improve your marketing strategies and content to yield better results.

Better ROI on content

The use of gated videos will help you gain a greater return on investment (ROI) to produce content and for marketing. Because the videos are concealed in a form, you are able to measure how impactful they are in terms of the amount of leads they bring in and the way they move throughout the funnel to sales.

Types of gated video Content

The content of Gated Video is available in a variety of formats. They include:

Webinars

Through webinars, you are able to present other experts in your field, teach people how to achieve their objectives in real time and interact with the audience and promote your product and get high-quality leads. They typically have a few slot availability, creating a sense fear of missing out (fear of missing out) that drives participants to sign up.

For example, Hotjar is hosting a live event that will let web strategy experts teach attendees how to build a highly-converting web page using Hotjar as well as HubSpot.

On the landing page, Hotjar clarified the importance of the topic as well as what people will learn from the webinar if they decide to attend. Then they embedded an lead capture form that users can fill in some details about themselves and get a Zoom link invite delivered straight into their email.

Online courses

To get the most out the online learning experience, pick an industry-related skill/topic that aligns with the overall marketing plan and make a set of detailed videos explaining that topic. This not only attracts potential customers however, it could help people familiar with your brand further along the funnel of sales.

In this case, Semrush, the SEO company, works with industry experts to create marketing-based courses, like this one from Brian Dean.

The landing page breaks down who the intended audience is for the course, how they'll learn, and the course structure. The site concludes with a form interested users must fill out to gain access to the course at no cost.

Exclusive interviews

Like webinars, exclusive interviews feature productive conversations with industry experts as well as thought leaders or the key players. In addition, these discussions assist in building your brand's and authority, but they boost brand recognition by drawing those who follow the expert(s) whom you're interviewing.

If you're interested in creating ideas that inspire others to your brand, conducting exclusive interviews is the best option because you'll get first-hand experiences, analogies, and cases studies that aren't available elsewhere. Furthermore, you'll improve the level of engagement among your viewers by having your interviewees to answer the viewers' most urgent questions. This encourages people to join, view the video, and then send their questions.

Tips: A few firms like Omniscient Digital interview subject matter experts, and upload the audio interview on their podcast, and also upload the video interview on the YouTube channel as well as their website. This is an effective method to reuse your interview.

Product demos

Demos for products (or demonstrations) show how a product or service works, highlighting its features functions, capabilities, and benefits users will enjoy if they purchase the product/service. The purpose of these demonstrations is convincing potential buyers who may be unsure that your product can address your needs and address their issues better than rivals'.

Gating your product demos allows you to gather prospects from those who are at the bottom of your funnel who are actually interested in your service. Like, Demio, a company that offers webinar software for marketers, provides interested buyers the possibility of scheduling a product demo.

By gating its demo, Demio only gets high-quality prospects who will have a one-on-one meeting with a Demio specialist.

Case studies and successful stories

Although most businesses make their case studies freely accessible, gating some of them is an excellent way of gaining prospects who are looking for specific usage cases.

The rationale behind this is that cases studies can be a very persuasive type of content because they provide real-world examples of how your products/services have benefitted customers from the past or present. They address the fundamental question any potential buyer must ask before buying: "Will this product deliver on its promise?"

The case studies you have created can work really well at filtering potential customers, particularly when your service or product is targeted to a specific kind of audience.

Content strategy for gated videos

If you're planning to restrict your content Here are some actions to take to ensure that you reap the maximum benefit of this marketing tactic:

Define your goals

When recording video or planning an event, establish your objectives. Based on the original CoSchedule research, marketers who set goals are 376% more likely to be successful.

When you are defining your objectives, be granular. For example, if you're planning to hold a webinar, your goal may be to have 100 attendees. Or if you're releasing an online class, your goal might be to get 1000 students within the span of six months. Specificity in your goals lets you know what you're trying to accomplish when it comes to marketing your video content that is gated.

Identify your target audience

GA provides demographic details regarding your viewers, including age, gender, interests as well as their location. GA also provides information on which pages are visited the most on your site and can prove useful for brainstorming topic ideas to use in your videos. If you're active on social media platforms, you could look at your social media analytics to get more insights.

Examining your competition's target audience is also an effective way to know the people that you need to target, their demographics, and the way they shop. This way, you can make content that is tailored to their needs and solves the issues they have better than competitors.

Select the appropriate videos topics and types

Based on your audience research, brainstorm content ideas that align with your goals and resonate with your target people.

Study the analytics of the various channels for promotion that you employ, such as search as well as social media and emails, in order to determine which topics your target audience is engaged on the highest. If you have sales and customer service teams solicit their opinion on the problems that existing as well as potential customers try to resolve with your service.

In the case of example, if your service is a web maker, you might create an instructional video that teaches people with no coding knowledge how to use your drag-and-drop site editor to make a fully functional website. Also, if you find that your prospects and customers often ask customer support how to integrate their current technology stack to your service, you could host an online webinar that teaches users how.

Once you've selected your topics, select the video content formats that will best convey your message, including webinars, online courses, tutorials, interviews, and behind-the-scenes (BTS) video.

Create compelling content

After you've chosen your topic(s) and the content format(s) you'll use, it's time to create high-quality material. Here are some tips to consider:

• Make use of a camera that is high-quality to record your videos. The camera doesn't have to cost a lot, but it should be. If you're unable or unwilling to spend the money for professional cameras, then an iPhone and a tripod as well as a great light source will suffice.
• Offer value to viewers. The first few minutes of your video content will decide if viewers be interested to watch until the very close of the video. You can use stories, analogies or shocking data to reel people in at the beginning. In the next step, add impact throughout your video(s) with expert insight, research that is original as well as proprietary information, as well as a detailed explanation of your process depending on the situation.
• Hire professional editors, animators and graphic designers, when you can. They'll be knowledgeable and have access to quality editing and design tools, which results in a well-put-together video that viewers will love.
• Integrate interactive elements in your videos. If you're making your online courses, quizzes or assignments as well as polls are great ways to get your viewers to take part during the learning process. If the course is a webinar an interactive Q&A format allows participants to interact with the attendees and provide value to them with real-time interaction.

Make a special landing page

The most successful landing pages include three aspects consisting of persuasive copy, compelling design, and a strong calling-to-action (CTA). A great illustration is the landing page for CXL's Brand Marketing mini-degree.

Although the hue immediately stands out, what's more compelling is how the hero section outlines everything that you'll gain from the minidegree. It also explains to those who will be teaching the class and how they're qualified for the job.

Next, the page outlines the benefits of subscribing to CXL which is then which is followed by a contact form that allows users to see the pricing options and to request a demonstration. The landing page ends with a comprehensive FAQ section that answers the most frequently asked questions prospective clients might have.

Just like CXL's landing page, yours should include an online form (or CTA) which users must act upon before accessing the video.

Promote your video content that is gated

When your landing page is online and your video safe to be accessed, you're now ready to market your video. There are various marketing channels that you could use, including:

• search: Even though Google's algorithms can't crawl gated content, they can crawl the contents of your dedicated landing page and determine its ranking using the correct terms, which can increase its visibility, and increase visitors to your page.
• Social media: You could increase the momentum of your video's gatekeeper before you create it. Let your viewers be part of the video creation journey and explain the value that they will get from the finished product. In this way, when the landing page goes live, there'll be people ready to sign up.
• Paid advertisements: Gaining momentum with organic SEO and social media marketing can require time. If you'd like to see faster results and you have a budget, run pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements for your site's page for search engines and social media.

Analyze and repeat

Once you start getting emails that convert through your video content that is gated You can monitor the performance of your content with analytics tools. Monitor the most important metrics of performance (KPIs) including viewing retention, conversion rates and the quality of leads.

Use the insights you gather to refine your strategy to improve your video creation techniques or adjusting the content type, changing distribution channels, or changing your targets.

Doing SEO on gated video content

The algorithms of Google don't crawl and index content that's in an application. So, if you block your videos will not be ranked on the search engine results pages (SERPs). You can, however, use SEO to increase the exposure of your gated videos by

• Optimizing your site for the search engines
• Embedding your lead capture form within non-seo-optimized, unrefined content such as blog articles
• Optimizing the videos themselves

For the best reach, you'll have to use the three types of SEO: on-page SEO, off-page SEO and technical SEO.

In-page SEO

This involves doing keyword research to identify appropriate, high-volume keywords with low competition which your intended public is likely to be using to search for relevant content to your film.

To optimize your landing page, blog posts and videos, use these keywords in your title tags, (sub)headings pages copy, image alt texts, Meta (and video) descriptions, and URLs, if applicable.

When Google's algorithms crawl your website, these keywords will provide them with some background so that they can rank your web pages for the correct search terms/query.

Off-page SEO

It is argued that backlinks are the most significant part of off-page SEO since Google sees them as a core ranking factor. An effective backlink profile is the "T" in E-E-A.T. (trustworthiness) that is the basis Google utilizes to determine the credibility of content on a website.

The process of building backlinks is to get reputable websites to link to the website or blog where people are able to join your newsletter for gated video content. If this occurs Google's algorithm interprets it to mean that your offering is pertinent to the user's needs and is valuable. It also fulfills search intent.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves making the technical aspects of your website in order to boost your rank on SERPs. It includes making your site mobile-friendly, increase your page loading speed, including video or website schema markups, and submitting your video sitemap and website to Google, creating an SEO-friendly web structure and fixing duplicate content.

These techniques are not only some of these strategies (like increasing site speed and making your site responsive to every device) ranking factors, but they also help Google to index and rank your website.

Pro tip: Make your videos easily accessible to both humans as well as search engines, with accurate transcriptions as well as closed captions.

Best practices for videos that are gated

If you're creating video content that is gated, here are some best techniques to remember:

Maintain videos at an optimal length

It's impossible to regulate every aspect, however there are certain aspects you could improve on, like your sales funnel and the content format you use.

As an example, those who are in the Awareness stage of your funnel might be hearing about your brand at first, so they're likely not ready to take in a long-winded video. In this phase, people typically are more benefited by untagged media, including blogs and video clips on social media.

However, prospects who are considering your product or trying to weigh your product's value against the competition will be open to attending your expert-led webinars, purchasing online courses and watching stories of success and scheduling product demonstrations.

The lengths of these various video content formats differ, also. As an example, video content of the online courses can range from three to 20 minutes in length and the whole course running for a few hours. Exclusive interviews and webinars typically run for 1-2 hours. Likewise, cases study videos usually run five to ten minutes long.

Pro tip: Create multiple edits. Once you've recorded your first video, you'll end up with a lot of video. You'll need to edit the video several times in order to remove any unnecessary fluff, off-the-tangent commentary and filler words. Additionally, you'll be able create animations as well as add other interactive, engaging components to the video.

Create compelling thumbnails and titles

Your title and thumbnail are the first things users see upon visiting your landing page, or blogs in which you embed your gated video. These components must catch your readers' attention and entice them to sign up to gain access to the video.

You can create your thumbnail yourself if you possess excellent graphic design abilities. If not, it's best to hire a graphic designer or marketer with design skills to do it for you.

Pro tip: Don't use clickbait titles. Your title should accurately represent the content in the video. If it's not accurate, it will create an unfavorable user experience damaging your brand's credibility and reputation.

Streamline your lead capture form

Some companies just ask visitors to provide their personal information and email address in order to gain access to their restricted content while others ask for additional details, such as job title the size of the organization, as well as the industry. Many companies even require their users to fill out a brief questionnaire to be granted access.

The name-and-email address approach does a great job since it lets you send personalized (by name) emails to the subscriber's inbox. However, if you're trying to segment your email subscribers according to their profession and the title of their job, it is best to ask for that information, also. This helps you create specific content for each group, which, in turn, improves the likelihood of having people interact with your brand, and ultimately purchasing your products.

The best advice: a long application form is often rejected. So if it's not necessary, take the name-and-email address method.

With clear calls to action

For your landing pages Make use of persuasive and simple language to prompt action, e.g. "Access expert insights today" and "Download the course now". In your video, you could encourage viewers to go to your website/social media or subscribe to your YouTube channel depending on the goal you're aiming to accomplish.

Whatever the CTA should be, make sure it's actionable, specific, and easily accessible. Place them in strategic places on your landing page and video content, especially if these sources are very long.

Pro advice: Consider offering incentives such as discounts, downloadable content, or access to a private community to sweeten the deal and encourage people to opt-in.

Run A/B tests

When you are evaluating your performance, run A/B tests of different components of your gated content strategy, such as the titles, thumbnails, content formats, messaging, and CTAs. These will provide insight into what variations work most with the audience, and assist you in optimizing your conversion rates over time.

Gated video platforms

If you're wondering what software you could use to create gated videos, this article will provide a list of four of the most effective gates for video, along with their pricing and features.

Selecting the best gated video platform

If you are confused about which security-related video streaming platform you should choose, here are a few guidelines to help you choose the right one that best suits your needs and goals:

Determine your requirements

Before choosing a video platform consider what it is you would like the platform to help you accomplish. The answers you provide will allow you to select the right tool for your requirements.

In the case of example, if you are looking to create leads Vimeo would be an excellent option because it comes with lead generation features and integrates perfectly with email marketing tools. However, if you're looking to increase organic traffic by using SEO, Brightcove and Sproutvideo may be more appropriate choices.

Consider your budget

The pricing tiers offered by the platform can be a good starting point to figure out the price you're able to pay, but you should also consider any additional costs such as bandwidth charges or transaction charges, as these can impact the overall cost of the platform.

Consider the possibility of customizing

The platform for video you select will allow you to control the look and performance of the video player. Look for features that allow you to customize the design, branding and even interactive elements such as CTA buttons.

Consider integration capabilities

If you're planning to execute an approach to gated content there's a good chance you've got many other tools within your technology stack. To simplify your workflow, you'll need select a platform that integrates seamlessly with the tools you already have and platforms.

It includes your site's content management software (CMS), customer relations management (CRM) software and email marketing solutions, marketing automation platforms payments gateways and every other piece of software that is essential to the success of your business.

Review privacy and security functions

If you're handling confidential or sensitive information, ensure that the video platform you pick has adequate security measures. SproutVideo is one of them. It is an excellent tool to use for this as it comes with features such as geo-restriction and password protection. IP address limitation, and encryption protocols that protect your information.

Review analytics and report

Reports and analysis that are thorough are crucial for tracking the effectiveness of your gated content and understanding how your audience engages with your company.

Look out for platforms that give you detailed insight, like the duration of a view, click-through rates (CTR) and the conversion rate, demographics of your audience as well as other KPIs that are relevant to your business. The insights you gain from these will allow you to develop your strategy for content to improve your engagement.

Check for scalability

If you work or manage for a growing company, the video platform you choose should be able to handle more video uploads as well as higher traffic volumes without compromising on efficiency. Also it should be able to scale to meet your needs.

Consider factors such as available storage, bandwidth options, and support for high-definition (HD) video, to ensure that your platform can be scalable and your investment will remain relevant in the future as your company expands.

Product demos as well as trial period

A lot of video platforms provide demonstrations of their products and/or trial period to avail to gain hands-on experience with the application. Not only will you determine if the platform meets your needs as well, you'll learn how to use the platform, should you decide to use it.

Monitoring the effectiveness of your video content gated strategy

In order to measure the effectiveness of your content-gated strategy, there are three essential things to accomplish: monitor the key indicator of performance (KPIs) and use analytics tools, and continue to improve your strategy.

Track key performance indicators

Some common KPIs you should track are:

• Conversion rate: This is the proportion of viewers who supplied their information to access restricted content.
• Click-through rates (CTR) on CTAs The CTR shows how frequently users click on CTAs within your landing page or in your videos. This is a measure of the efficacy of your CTAs in driving desired actions.
• Engagement metrics: Monitor the metrics of average time to watch, video completion rates, and video interactions (likes comments, likes as well as shares). This shows how effectively your video content is engaging the viewers.
• Lead generation is the quantity of new leads that are generated by the secured content. It reveals how persuasive and convincing your content.
• Quality of leads: It measures the likelihood that your leads are to convert into paying customers. It is possible to assess this KPI via lead scoring or qualifying criteria.

Make use of analytics tools

Analytics tools retrieve and organize data from different sources to give you a better insight into your operations overall. Some common analytics tools to use are:

• Google Analytics (GA): It analyzes the user's behavior on your site, tracks the effectiveness of landing pages, and analyzes the sources of traffic, among other things. With GA it is possible to set up goals and occasions to measure specifically the interactions related to your content that is gated.
• Video hosting platforms: Platforms like Vimeo, Wistia, or YouTube give detailed insight into video performance. In conjunction with lead capture forms these platforms can track parameters like play rates or engagement as well as the conversion rate.
• Platforms for Marketing Automation: Software like HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot have analytics tools available that let you track how leads behave after engaging with your gated content.
• CRM tools: CRM tools such as Pipedrive and Salesforce will help you monitor leads that come from gated content and monitor their progression throughout the sales funnel.

Continuously optimized and improved

Set up regular reporting intervals for monitoring the success of your content that is gated using a strategy. After that, you can compare the your data across time (including information derived from A/B testing) to find trends and patterns.

Utilize the information you get from your data to make informed adjustments to your plan such as optimizing the lead capture form, using different types of video content or changing distribution channels.

Make your company more successful with gated video content

The use of gated videos is a fantastic option to enhance your strategy for marketing. When you offer valuable content in exchange for user information, you're not only collecting leads, but you're also creating a an immediate line of interaction with your crowd. This allows you to deliver specific messages that nurture potential customers through the buyer's journey.

The content you create with your gated videos helps you showcase your expertise and establish your company as an authority authority, and build a sense of exclusivity and worth for your viewers -- which ultimately drives the brand's popularity and increases conversions.

Plus also allows you to build and manage communities that are exclusive that help you build a deeper connection with your prospects, upsell your products, drive conversions as well as generate income to your business.

FAQ

    What is gated video content? And why is it important?

"Gated" videos refer to videos that are accessible only after users provide their personal information, such as their email address and specific demographic information. This marketing tactic allows businesses to nurture and capture lead prospects with high-quality, personalized emails and specific marketing campaigns.

    What are the advantages of gated video for marketing?

The use of gated videos in marketing gives businesses the ability to collect leads, accumulate valuable customer data, and provide content that is personalized that builds trust with their audience and increases conversions.

    What can I do to create an effective gated-video strategy?

The following is a step-by-step guide to developing a profitable security-based strategy for video content:

• Define your goals
• Identify your target audience
• Pick the right content video and type (e.g. webinars, video courses, product demos, etc. )
• Create compelling videos
• Design a page for landing
• Promote your video content that is gated
• Examine and modify HTML0 using the insights you have gathered

    What are the most effective ways to make captivating gated videos?    

If you're creating restricted videos Here are the best ways to think about:

• Maintain videos at an optimal length
• Create compelling thumbnails and titles
• Streamline your lead capture form
• Clear calls to action
• Run A/B tests to improve your strategy

    Which gated video platforms are the best for me?    

The most popular platforms you can use to create gated videos that resonate with your viewers include:

• Vimeo: Known for extensive possibilities for customization and top-quality video playback.
• Wistia offers customizable video players, capture email forms and more extensive analysis.
• Brightcove: A robust platform that has lots of features for large enterprises and media companies.
• SproutVideo: Video hosting platform with a strong commitment to security. attributes like domain limitations and password security.

    What is the best way to measure the efficacy of my content-gated strategy?    

There are two ways to monitor and analyse the performance of your gated videos:

• The tracking of important indicator of performance (KPIs), including conversion rate, click-through rate (CTR) and engagement indicators (likes shares, likes, and comments)
• Using analytics tools, like Google Analytics , video hosting tools as well as CRM tools and marketing automation tools
• Compare KPIs to typical industry standards to gain more insight regarding your performance