Strategic Content Management for Gated Videos: Strategies to Unlock the Potential of Success (+Platforms)

If you've attended a webinar or taken an online free course You may have noticed that it was required to input your email address, name and username (and maybe other details) in order to gain access.

Video-based content that is housed behind leads capture templates are referred to as"gated" video content and are effective in aiding businesses in attracting new customers.

In this document We look at:

•         What is gated content?    
•         Benefits of content with a gated access
•         The types of gated video content
•         Content strategy for gated videos      
•             SEO is the process of promoting restricted video content
•         Best practices to ensure that videos are not censored
•         Platforms for gated video      
•             The right choice for a security-enabled video platform
•         Monitoring the effectiveness of your video gate strategy
•         Make your company more efficient with gated video content
•         FAQ

What is gated video content?

Gated video content is content that is free to the public and are able to view after submitting the necessary information about themselves including their name and email address, through an online request for leads. Based on the type of the content, as well as the product(s) the business offers, the lead capture form might ask for more information than just a email address and name. They may also inquire about your job title or organization's size as well as industry.

If people provide their email addresses, you get access to important user information, which allows you to customize your interaction with them. When your email subscribers feel that your content is tailored specifically for them, they'll be more likely to read your messages and interact with your company.

Benefits of gated video Content

Video content can be one of the greatest strategies that a business can employ to expand its client base. The following are the reasons:

Lead generation

Video content that is gated, on the other hand can be hidden by the form. Many people aren't happy with an inbox full of emails, so if someone provides your email address in order to gain access to your website it's an indication to show that they're keen on the brand. These people are more likely to appreciate your advertising efforts than people who just stumbled across your website.

Segmentation of the audience and content personalization

The ability to tag your videos will allow you to categorize your audience and create marketing materials with these segments in mind. By using your lead capture forms, you can collect user information like their name, email address as well as their demographics, location, the size of your organization, as well as industries, providing insight into the interests of your customers and preferences.

This information can be used to develop buyer personas for each subset of customers. This takes away the guesswork; you'll know precisely who you're targeting making it easier for you to design material that meets their requirements, solves their problems, and makes their lives easier.

Perceived value increased

Visitors to websites often put more value on gated video content because they're providing their details to gain access to the content.

Between one's longing to satisfy their desires, and the satisfaction of having access to exclusive content, as well as other special perks you offer your email subscribers, access to content that is gated can be an excellent way to boost the image of your company. If done correctly this can allow you to get more leads of high quality as well as build trust with your prospects and make you appear as an expert in your industry.

However, there is a caveat. If you're asking people to provide their email address They expect top-quality quality content back. Therefore, if your video information isn't stuffed with useful details, you could alienate your viewers and damaging the reputation of your business.

Data collection and analytics

Gated videos provide a structured way to collect data on viewer behavior. Measures such as time to engage, click-through rates, and completion rates aid in determining the kinds of videos that appeal to your viewers. Based on this information it is possible to improve your marketing and content to yield better results.

Improved content ROI

The use of gated videos will help you achieve a better return on investment (ROI) for content production as well as marketing. Since they are concealed within a form, they are able to assess their effectiveness in terms of the amount of leads they bring in and the way they move through the sales funnel.

Types of Gated Video Content

The content of Gated Video is available in many formats. They comprise:

Webinars

Through webinars, you are able to feature other experts in your area, instruct participants how to reach their goals live engage with your viewers and promote your product and get high-quality leads. These events often have limited spaces available, which can create an atmosphere that of FOMO (fear of being left out) that drives participants to register.

For example, Hotjar is hosting a live virtual event where experts in web strategy will teach participants how to design a high-converting web page using Hotjar and HubSpot.

On the landing page, Hotjar clarified the importance of the topic and the things people can learn from the webinar if they decide to attend. Then they embedded a lead capture form where users can fill in some details regarding themselves to get an Zoom email invitation that is delivered directly to their inbox.

Online courses

To make the most of online classes, select a subject or skill that's related to your industry and aligns with your broader marketing strategy and make a set of specific videos that explain the topic. Not only can this attract potential customers as well, but it may also nudge people who are familiar with your brand further down the sales funnel.

In this case, Semrush, the SEO firm, collaborates with experts from the industry to develop classes that are based around marketing, such as this one from Brian Dean.

The landing page explains the audience that will be attending the course, what students will be learning, as well as the course outline. The site concludes with a form to be filled out by interested participants to gain access to the free course.

exclusive interviews

Just like webinars, exclusive interview sessions feature successful conversations with industry experts and thought-leaders, as well as key stakeholders. Not only do these conversations aid in building your brand's credibility, they also increase brand awareness by attracting people who are interested in the expert(s) that you're talking to.

If you want to create thought leadership content for your brand, conducting exclusive interviews is the best method to follow as you'll be able to gain personal experiences, analogies, and cases studies that aren't found anywhere else. What's more, you can improve the level of engagement among your viewers by having those you interview to respond to the viewers' most urgent queries. It encourages viewers to sign up, watch the video and fill in questions.

Pro tip: Some companies such as Omniscient Digital interview subject matter experts, then publish the audio interview on their podcast, and also upload the video version on the YouTube channel and website. This can be a good way to repurpose your interviews.

Product demos

Product demos (or demonstrations) show how a product or service functions, highlighting its features as well as the advantages that users can enjoy when they buy the product or service. The main objective of product demos is to convince prospects who are unsure that your product is able to meet the needs of their customers and resolve their problems better than your rivals'.

Demonstrating your products through a product's demo can help you collect leads from prospects in the lower reaches of the funnel who are actually interested in your product. For example, Demio, a company that offers webinar software for marketing professionals, offers interested customers the option of booking the opportunity for a demo of their product.

In limiting the demo it offers, Demio only gets high-quality prospects who will take part in a one-on-1 conversation with an Demio specialist.

Success stories and case studies tales

Though most firms provide their case studies free of charge accessible, gating some of them can be an excellent way of gaining leads who are interested in certain use cases.

The reasoning behind the reason for this is because the case studies are an extremely persuasive type of content because they provide real-world examples of how your services or products have helped customers who have been in the past. They answer the question that any potential buyer must ask before buying: "Will this product deliver the promised results?"

Gating your case studies can work really well at filtering out your leads, especially in the case of a product or service that targets certain types of customers.

Content strategy for gated videos

If you're looking to restrict your content There are a few steps to take to ensure that you make the most of this strategy for marketing:

Define your goals

Before recording any videos or planning an event, establish your objectives. According to original CoSchedule research, companies that establish goals have a 376% higher chance to achieve success.

As you define your goals make sure you are specific. For example, if you plan to host a webinar, your goal could be to attract 100 people to attend. If you're planning to launch an online course, the goal might be to get 1,000 students in 6 months. Be specific about your objectives will help you determine what goals you're trying to accomplish when it comes to marketing your video content that is gated.

Identify your target audience

GA offers demographic data regarding your viewers, including age, gender, hobbies and even their place of residence. It also shows you the pages that people are visiting the most often on your website -- which can be beneficial in helping brainstorm topics to use in your videos. If you're active on social platforms, you can look at your analytics on social media sites to get more insights.

The analysis of your competitors' audience is also an effective method to determine the types of people that you need to target, their demographics, as well as their purchasing habits. So, you are able to create content that caters to the needs of your customers and address their problems better than your rivals.

Pick the right video content topics and types

Based on your audience research You can brainstorm ideas for content which align with your objectives and resonate with your target people.

Analyze the data of all the promotion channels you use, including search as well as social media and emails, in order to determine what topics your audience engages in the greatest. If you're a company with sales or customer service personnel 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 your own mini-course that shows people who don't have the ability to code how to use your drag-and-drop site editor to make a fully functional web page. Also, if you find that your customers or prospects frequently ask support for what they should do to connect their existing technological stack with your products You could organize a webinar to show people how to do it.

When you have chosen your topic, select the video content format that best convey your message, including webinars, online courses, videos, tutorials, and interviews as well as behind-the-scenes (BTS) video.

Create compelling content

When you've settled on your topic(s) and the content format(s) you'll use It's now time to write high-quality content. These are some suggestions to keep in mind:

• Utilize a top-quality camera capture your video. Cameras don't need to be costly, however. If you're unable or unwilling to spend the money for a professional camera, the iPhone and a tripod and great lighting will do.
• Offer value to viewers. The first few minutes of video content will decide if viewers watch till the end. It is possible to use analogies, anecdotes or even shocking information to draw people in from the beginning. In the next step, add worth throughout the video(s) by including experts' insights, original research as well as proprietary information, as well as a detailed explanation of the procedure, if applicable.
• Hire professional editors, animators as well as designers, if feasible. They'll be knowledgeable and have access to quality editing and design tools, which results in an impressively designed video that your audience will enjoy.
• Incorporate interactive elements in your video content. If you're making an online class, using quizzes, assignments, and polls are excellent ways for your audience to take part in the process of learning. If you're hosting a webinar, an interactive Q&A format allows participants to interact with the attendees and give them value in real-time.

Make a special landing page

The most successful landing pages have three elements consisting of persuasive copy, compelling design, and a strong calling-to-action (CTA). One excellent example of this is the CXL's landing page Brand Marketing mini-degree.

The black-white-red color palette immediately makes an impression, but it's the way the hero section outlines everything that you'll be learning if you complete the minidegree. It also explains to those who will be teaching the course and why they're qualified to do so.

Following, the landing page provides advantages of signing up to CXL and is which is followed by a contact form that lets users view pricing plans as well as request a trial. The landing page closes with an extensive FAQ section which addresses the most frequently asked questions prospective clients might have.

Similar to CXL's landing pages, yours should include the contact form (or CTA) that users have to complete before accessing your video.

Promote your content for video that you have made available to the public

Once your landing page is online and your video safely gated, it's time to promote the landing page. There are many channels for marketing to choose from, such as:

• search: Although Google's algorithm cannot crawl content with gated access but they will crawl the contents of your landing page specifically designed for you and then rank it with the appropriate keywords, which will improve its visibility and drive users to the site.
• Social media: You can build momentum by posting about your gated video before you actually create the video. Let your viewers be part of the creation process and tell them what value that they will get from the finished product. This way, when the landing page becomes live, you'll have people waiting to sign up.
• Paid advertisements: Gaining momentum with organic SEO and social media can take time. If you'd like to see faster results, and you have the budget, consider running pay-per click (PPC) advertisements for your website's landing page in websites and on social media.

Iterate and analyze HTML0

If you are beginning to receive email conversions from your gated video content, monitor your performance by using tools for analytics. Monitor key indicator of performance (KPIs) such as the rate of conversion, viewer retention as well as lead quality.

Utilize the information you collect to refine your strategy, whether that's improving the techniques you use to create videos changing the types of content or distribution channels or rethinking your target market.

Doing SEO on videos that are gated

Google's algorithm doesn't crawl or search for content hidden behind a form. That means that if you gate your video content, it won't rank in the results of search engine pages (SERPs). You can, however, use SEO to improve the search engine visibility of your gated videos by

• Optimizing your landing page for search engines
• embedding your lead-capture form inside non-seo-optimized, unrefined content such as blog articles
• Making videos more efficient

For maximum exposure, it is necessary to apply the three different types of SEO that are available: on-page SEO off-page SEO and technical SEO.

In-page SEO

This involves doing the research on keywords to determine pertinent, high volume, low competition keywords that the target viewers are likely to search for when searching for content related to the video you are making.

to optimize your blog, landing pages, articles, or videos, include these keywords in your title tags, (sub)headings pages copy, images alt text, meta (and video) descriptions, and URLs, if applicable.

When Google's algorithms crawl your website, these keywords will give them some context to help them place your website's pages on the map for the right search term/query.

Off-page SEO

Backlinks are arguable the most crucial part of off-page SEO since Google regards them as the primary ranking factor. A solid backlink profile meets requirements for the "T" in E-E-A-T (trustworthiness) (trustworthiness), which is the basis Google uses to assess the credibility of content of a site.

The process of building backlinks is to get reputable websites to hyperlink to your website or blog where people are able to join your newsletter for gated video content. When this happens Google's algorithm interprets the result to mean that your offer is relevant as well as valuable and meets search intent.

Technical SEO

The term "technical SEO" refers to upgrading the technical components of your site to improve your rank on SERPs. This includes making your website mobile-friendly, increase your page load speed, adding website/video schema markups, and submitting your sitemap for video or website to Google, creating an SEO-friendly web structure and fixing content that is duplicate.

Some of these techniques (like increasing site speed and making your site responsive to any device) ranking elements, they aid 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 to ensure that videos are not censored

When you are creating video content that is gated These are the top techniques to remember:

Keep videos at an optimal length

It's impossible to regulate all these factors, but there are some that you can optimize, including your sales funnel and the format of your content.

For example, prospects in the Awareness stage of your funnel might hear about your business for the first time 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 blog posts and short videos on social media.

If they are considering purchasing your product or weighing up the value of your product against that of your competitor will be more open to attending your expert-led webinars, purchasing online courses or watching successful stories or booking demos of your product.

The lengths for these different videos differ too. As an example, videos in an online course can be three to 20 minutes in length while the course itself running for a few hours. Exclusive interviews and webinars typically take between 1-2 hours. case study videos are usually 5-10 minutes long.

Pro tip: Create multiple edits. After your first recording you'll have lots of footage. Edit repeatedly to eliminate any unneeded fluff, off the tangent commentary, filler words, etc. It is also possible create animations as well as add additional interactive and engaging components in the clip.

Make appealing thumbnails as well as titles

Your thumbnail and title are the first thing users see upon visiting your landing page or the blogs in which you embed your gated video. These components must catch the attention of your viewers and encourage users to sign-up for access to the video.

You can create your own thumbnails if have great graphic design skills. If not, it's best to get a graphic designer or a marketer who has design expertise to help you.

Pro tip: Don't use clickbait titles. Your title should accurately represent the contents of the video. If not, it'll create an unpleasant user experience affecting your brand's credibility as well as credibility.

Streamline your lead capture form

A lot of companies ask users to fill in their name and email address to get access to gated content, while others ask for additional details, such as job title, organization size, and industries. Many companies even require their users to fill out a brief questionnaire to be granted access.

The approach of using email addresses and names does a great job since it permits you to send customized (by name) messages to subscribers' inbox. But, if you're looking to segment your email subscribers according to their profession and occupation, then you must request that information as well. This helps you create contents that are tailored to the specific segment. This, in turn, improves the likelihood of having people interact with your company and purchasing your product.

Pro tip: A lengthy questionnaire can turn people off. So if it's not necessary use the name-and-email-address method.

Include clear calls-to-action

When you are creating your landing page, use persuasive and direct language to prompt action, e.g. "Access the latest information immediately" and "Download the course right now". In your video, you could encourage viewers to go to your site/social media pages or sign up to your YouTube channel according to the purpose you're trying to reach.

Whatever the CTA is, make sure that it's specific, actionable, and easy to find. Place them in strategic places on your landing pages and video content, especially if these resources are long.

Pro tip: Consider offering incentives such as discounts, downloadable resources, or access to a private group to make the offer more appealing and encourage opt-ins.

Run A/B tests

When you are evaluating your performance, run A/B testing on various elements of your video content gated strategy, including the titles, thumbnails and messages, formats for content, and CTAs. This can provide you with insights into which variations resonate most with the audience, and assist you in optimizing your conversion rates over time.

Platforms for gated video

If you're wondering what software you could use to create gated videos, here's a breakdown of four of the top gated video platforms, including their pricing and features.

Selecting the best secure video platform

If you are confused about which gated video platform you should choose, here are a few suggestions to assist you in choosing the right one that best suits your needs and goals:

Set out your needs

When you are choosing a platform for video, ask yourself what you would like the platform to accomplish. The answers you provide will allow you to pick the best tool to meet your needs.

If, for instance, your goal is to generate leads Vimeo would be an excellent alternative because it offers lead generation features and integrates easily with marketing tools for email. But if your priority is to generate organic traffic through SEO, Brightcove and Sproutvideo may be more appropriate choices.

Consider your budget

The price tiers provided by the platform is a fantastic starting point to figure out the price you're able to pay, but you should also factor in potential additional fees such as bandwidth charges or transaction charges, as they can affect the cost of the platform.

Consider customization options

The platform for video you select must allow you to have control over the design and function of the player. Look features that let you to customize the design, branding, and interactive elements like CTA buttons.

Consider integration capabilities

If you're preparing to implement the gated strategy for video content there's a good chance you've got numerous other devices in your tech stack. To streamline the process of creating content, you'll need select a platform that integrates seamlessly with your current tools and systems.

This is your website, your content management system (CMS), customer relations management (CRM) software as well as email marketing services marketing automation platforms, payment gateways, and every other piece of software that is essential to the success of your business.

Review security and privacy functions

If you're dealing with confidential or sensitive data, be sure that the platform for video you pick has adequate security measures. SproutVideo is one of them. It is a great tool to accomplish this because it comes with features such as security for passwords, geo-restriction protection, IP address restrictions, as well as encryption protocols that protect your data.

Review analytics and report

Comprehensive analytics and reports are crucial for tracking the effectiveness of your gated content as well as understanding how your audience engages with your brand.

Look out for platforms that give you detailed insight, like time-to-view, click-through rate (CTR), percentages of conversion, audience demographics and many other important KPIs. These insights will help you develop your strategy for content and improve engagement.

Check for scalability

If you run or work for a growing company, the video platform you pick should be able to handle the increased uploads of videos and greater volume of traffic without degrading efficiency. Also that the platform must grow with you.

Therefore, consider factors like availability of storage capacity alternatives, bandwidth, and the ability to support high-definition (HD) video to ensure that your system is flexible and is relevant in the future as your business evolves.

Demos and trial periods

Many video platforms offer demonstrations of their products and/or trial period to take advantage of to get hands-on experience with the platform. Not only will you be able to assess whether it meets your requirements, but you'll also learn how to navigate through the platform should you choose to use it.

Monitoring the effectiveness of your content creation gated strategy

In order to measure the effectiveness of your gated video content strategy, here are three things you should accomplish: monitor the key performance indicators (KPIs), use analytical tools, and continue to constantly re-evaluate your strategies.

Key performance indicators

Some typical KPIs to keep track of are:

• Conversion rate: This is the percentage of viewers who provided their information to access protected content.
• Click-through rates (CTR) for CTAs The CTR is the amount of time that users click on CTAs within your landing page or videos. This is a measure of the efficacy of your CTAs in driving desired actions.
• Engagement metrics: Track the metrics of average time to watch, video completion rates, and even video interactions (likes, comments, as well as shares). This shows how effectively your content resonates with viewers.
• Lead generation is the amount of leads generated through the gated content. It shows how convincing and persuasive your content is.
• Quality of leads: It measures how likely new leads will convert to paying customers. This can be assessed as a KPI by scoring leads or qualifying criteria.

Make use of analytics tools

Analytics tools retrieve and organize the data from different sources in order to give you a better understanding of your overall operations. Common analytics tools that to use are:

• Google Analytics (GA): It analyzes the user's behavior on your site, tracks the performance of landing pages, and analyzes traffic sources, among others. With GA it is possible to define goals and create specific events that measure the number of interactions related to the content you have gated.
• Video hosting platforms: Platforms such as Vimeo, Wistia, or YouTube provide detailed insights into the performance of videos. When integrated to lead-capturing forms they can monitor the play rate as well as engagement and conversion rates.
• Platforms for Marketing Automation: Software like HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot have analytics tools available which allow you to monitor how leads behave after engaging with your gated content.
• CRM software: CRM tools like Pipedrive and Salesforce allow you to track leads that are generated by gated video content and monitor their progression through the sales funnel.

Continuous optimization and iteration

Create regular reporting intervals to track the effectiveness of your content that is gated using a strategy. Then, compare your data across the course of time (including data generated from A/B testing) to identify trends and patterns.

Make use of the data you collect from your analytics for making informed changes to your strategy, whether that be optimizing the lead capture form or using different video formats, or switching distribution channels.

Transform your business with the security of video content

The use of gated videos is an excellent option to enhance your strategy for marketing. In offering quality content in exchange for user data, you're not just collecting leads, but you're also creating a a direct line of interaction with your audience. This allows you to deliver specific messages that nurture buyers throughout their buying journey.

The content you create with your gated videos helps you showcase your expertise and establish your brand as a trusted expert, and create the impression of exclusivity as well as the value to your customers- which ultimately drives the brand's popularity and increases conversions.

Plus also allows you to build and manage exclusive communities to help build a deeper connection with potential customers, sell your products, drive conversions, and generate revenue to your business.

FAQ

    What exactly is gated content and why is it important?

The term "gated" video content" refers to video content that can be accessed only after viewers provide personal information, such as their email address, or other demographic details. This tactic for marketing allows companies to acquire and maintain quality leads via specific emails as well as specific marketing campaigns.

    What are the benefits from using videos with gated access for marketing?

Utilizing gated video in marketing gives businesses the ability to identify leads, collect vital customer information and provide content that is personalized, which fosters confidence in their customers and results in increased the number of conversions.

    How can I create an effective gated strategy for video?

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
• Choose the appropriate video content and the appropriate type (e.g. webinars, video courses, product demos, etc. )
• Create compelling videos
• Make a special page for landing
• Promote your gated video content
• Examine and modify HTML0 based on insights gathered

    What are some best practices for creating engaging gated videos?    

If you're creating gated videos, here are some best techniques to remember:

• Maintain videos at an optimal length
• Design appealing thumbnails as well as titles
• Streamline your lead capture form
• With clear calls to action
• Run A/B tests to help you improve your strategy

    What video streaming platforms will work best for my business?    

Some popular platforms for creating secure videos that are resonant with your audience include:

• Vimeo: Known for extensive possibilities for customization and top-quality video playback.
• Wistia: Offers customizable video players, email capture forms, as well as extensive analysis.
• Brightcove: A robust platform that has lots of options for large companies and media companies.
• SproutVideo: Video hosting platform with a strong focus on security. It comes with options like domain restriction and password protection.

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

Two methods to monitor and analyse the results of the videos you have gated

• Tracking Key indicator of performance (KPIs) such as the conversion rate, click-through rates (CTR) and engagement indicators (likes, shares, and comments)
• Analytics tools such as Google Analytics  or video hosting platforms CRM tools, as well as marketing automation tools
• Check KPIs against typical industry standards to gain more insight about your results