Gated Video Content Strategy: How To Unlock Success (+Platforms)

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

Video-based resources that are housed within leads capture templates are called gated content for video -- and are effective in helping companies find new customers.

In this guide we will explore:

•         What is gated content?    
•         Advantages of gated video content
•         Different types of video content that is gated
•         Video content that is gated      
•             Doing SEO for restricted video content
•         Best practices for gated videos
•         Gated video platforms      
•             The right choice for a gated video platform
•         Measuring the success of your gated video strategy
•         Change the way you do business with gated video content
•         FAQ

What is the meaning of gated content on video?

Gated video content refers to free video material that people can access after they submit the necessary information about themselves like your email address and name via an online request for leads. Based on the type of the video content and the product(s) the business provides, the lead capture form may ask for more than a simple name and email address. The form may also request the name of the person's employer, organization size, and industries.

When users submit their contact information, you get access to user-specific data and can personalize your interactions with the people who submit their information. When your email subscribers feel that your content is tailored specifically for 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 greatest strategies that an organization can implement to expand its client base. Here are some reasons why:

Lead generation

Gated video content, on the other hand can be hidden by an application. Most people don't like having full email inboxes, so if anyone gives you their email address in order to gain access to your content, that's a good signal to show that they're keen on your brand. These people are more likely to respond to the marketing strategies you employ than those who just stumbled across your site.

Audience segmentation and content personalization

By securing your video content, it lets you segment your audience and create marketing materials with these segments in their minds. With your lead capture form it is possible to collect details such as their name, email address as well as their demographics, location, company size and the industry they work in, giving you insight into the interests of your customers and interests.

This information can be used to build buyer personas of the various subsets of customers. This takes away the guesswork; you'll know the exact demographics you're targeting making it easier for you to design material that meets their requirements, solves their problems, making their lives simpler.

Increased perceived value

Visitors to websites often put more value on gated video content due to the fact that they're providing their contacts to gain access to it.

In between the desire to satisfy their desires, and the satisfaction of being able to access exclusive content and the special perks you offer your customers who sign up for emails, offering gated content can be a great way to enhance your image as a brand. If executed properly it will help you gain more high-quality leads as well as establish trust with potential customers and establish yourself as an expert within your field.

However, there is a caveat. If people are giving you their email address, they expect high-quality quality content back. Therefore, if your video contents aren't filled with relevant details, you could alienate your viewers and damaging your brand reputation.

Analytics and data collection

Gated videos provide an organized method of collecting statistics on the behaviour of your viewers. The metrics like engagement duration, click-through rates, and completion rates help you figure out the kinds of videos that appeal to your viewers. Based on this information you will be able to optimize your marketing strategies and content to get better results.

Improved content ROI

These videos are a great way to get a higher ROI (ROI) to produce content and marketing. Since they are concealed behind a form, you have a straightforward way to determine their impact, including the number of leads they generate and the way they move throughout the sales funnel.

Types of gated video Content

Gated video content comes in a variety of formats. Some of them comprise:

Webinars

By hosting webinars, you'll be able to include other experts from your field, teach participants how to reach their goals live engage with your viewers and promote your product and generate leads of high quality. These events often have limited slot availability, creating a sense fear of missing out (fear of being left out) that motivates people to sign up.

For example, Hotjar is hosting a live online event in which experts in web strategy will teach participants how to design a high-converting web page using Hotjar as well as HubSpot.

On the landing page, Hotjar clarified the importance of the topic and what people will learn during the live webinar should they choose to participate. They also included the lead capture form, where people can provide some information about themselves and get the possibility of receiving a Zoom link invite delivered straight into their email.

Online courses

For the best value the online learning experience, pick an industry-related skill/topic that aligns with the overall marketing plan and create a series of specific videos that explain the topic. It's not just a way to attract new leads however, it could be a way to get people familiar with your brand further into the selling funnel.

In this case, Semrush, the SEO company, partners with industry experts to create courses based on marketing, such as this one by Brian Dean.

The landing page provides who the intended audience is for the course, how they'll learn, and the course arrangement. The page concludes with a questionnaire that interested students must complete in order to access the free course.

Exclusive interviews

Just like webinars, exclusive interview sessions feature engaging conversations with experts from the industry, thought leaders, or the key players. In addition, these discussions help you build your brand and authority, but they improve brand visibility by attracting those who follow the expert(s) whom you're conducting interviews with.

If you're interested in creating thought leadership content for your company, doing exclusive interviews is a great method to follow because you'll get first-hand experiences, analogies, and case studies that can't be found anywhere else. What's more, you can increase the engagement of your audience by asking your interviewees to answer the viewers' most urgent questions. The idea is to encourage people to sign up, watch the video and fill in questions.

A tip for you: Certain companies such as Omniscient Digital interview subject matter experts, then publish audio versions of their podcast and video interviews on their YouTube channel and website. This can be a good technique to reuse the interviews you have recorded.

Product demos

Demos of products (or demonstrations) showcase how a product or service operates and highlight its benefits as well as the advantages users get if they decide to purchase the item or service. The purpose of these demonstrations is convincing potential buyers who may be unsure that your product is able to meet the needs of their customers and resolve their problems better than your competitors'.

Demonstrating your products through a product's demo will allow you to collect leads from prospects who are at the bottom of your funnel that are keen on the product. For example, Demio, a company that provides webinar software for marketing professionals, offers interested customers the opportunity to book an opportunity to demo your product.

In limiting the demo it offers, Demio only gets high-quality leads that are willing to sit on a 1-on-1 meeting with an Demio specialist.

Case studies and successful tales

Though most firms make their case studies freely available, publishing a portion of them is a great way to collect leads who are interested in certain use cases.

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

Gating your case studies can be extremely effective in filtering the leads you have, particularly in the case of a product or service that targets a specific kind of audience.

Gated video content strategy

If you're planning to gate your video content, here are some steps to follow to make sure you reap the maximum benefit the use of this tactic to market:

Define your goals

Prior to recording videos or planning events, define your goals. According to original CoSchedule study, those who set goals are 376% more likely to succeed.

As you define your goals make sure you are specific. In the case of, say, if you're planning to hold webcasts, your aim might be to get 100 attendees. For instance, if you're creating an online class, your aim could be to reach 1,000 people to take it in the span of the span of six months. Specificity in your goals lets you know what you're trying to accomplish when it comes to promoting your gated video content.

Identify your target audience

GA gives demographic information on your target audience, such as their age, gender, interests as well as their location. It also shows you the web pages people visit frequently on your site -- which can be helpful in brainstorming topics for your videos. If you're active on social networks, you may look at your social media analytics for more information.

The analysis of your competitors' market is also a good way to know the people you should be targeting, their demographics and their buying behavior. So, you are able to create content that caters to the needs of your customers and address the problems they face better than rivals.

Pick the right video topics and types of content

Based on the research you conducted about your audience, brainstorm content ideas that align with your goals and appeal to your targeted people.

Study the analytics of all the promotion channels you use, including search as well as social media and email, to see what topics your audience engages on the highest. If you've got customer service and sales teams solicit their opinion regarding the challenges that your current or potential customers are attempting to address with your products.

In the case of example, if your product is a website creator, you can create a mini-course teaching people without the ability to code how to use your drag-and-drop site editor to create a functional site. Or if you learn that customers and prospects frequently ask support for how to integrate their current technological stack with your products, you could host a webinar to show people how to do it.

When you have chosen your topic Choose the content format that best convey your message, including webinars, online classes, tutorials, interview, as well as behind-the-scenes (BTS) video.

Create compelling content

After you've chosen what topic(s) and the content format(s) you'll use then you can begin to develop valuable information. Below are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Make use of a camera that is high-quality to capture your video. Cameras don't need to cost a lot, but it should be. If you're unable or unwilling to spend the money for the best camera for your needs, an iPhone and a tripod with great lighting, will work.
• Give value to viewers. The first few minutes of your video content will decide if viewers watch till the conclusion. You can use analogies, anecdotes or even shocking information to draw people in from the start. Then, provide more worth throughout the video(s) by including expert insight, research that is original or proprietary data as well as a detailed explanation of the procedure depending on the situation.
• Hire professional editors, animators, and designers, if feasible. They'll have extensive knowledge and access to quality editing and design tools and will produce a well-put-together video that the audience will love.
• Include interactive elements into your videos. If you're making your online courses, using quizzes or assignments as well as polls can be great methods for your audience to take part in the learning process. If it's a webinar, the Q&A sessions allow users to connect with participants and offer value in real-time.

Make a special landing page

The most successful landing pages include three aspects consisting of persuasive copy, compelling layout, and an effective CTA (CTA). An excellent example is the page that CXL uses to promote its Brand Marketing mini-degree.

While the black-white-red colour scheme instantly stands out, but it's the way the hero section outlines everything that you'll gain from the minidegree, and shows those who will be teaching the class and how they're qualified for the job.

Next, the page outlines advantages of signing up to CXL which is then and then a form lets users view the pricing options and to request a demonstration. The landing page ends with a comprehensive FAQ section, which answers most frequently asked questions prospective customers may have.

Like CXL's page for landing Yours must contain the questionnaire (or CTA) that users have to act upon prior to accessing your video.

Promote your gated video content

When your landing page is up and your video is safely gated, it's time to promote it. There are various marketing channels you can use including:

• Search: Even though Google's algorithms aren't able to crawl content that is gated but they will scan the content of your dedicated landing page and then rank it with the appropriate keywords, which will improve its visibility and drive traffic to the page.
• Social media: You can create momentum by sharing the video you've created before you actually create it. Take your audience on the creation process and explain the value that they will get from the finished product. This way, when the landing page becomes live, there'll be people eager to sign-up.
• Paid advertisements: Gaining momentum via the organic search engine optimization and social media can require time. If you're looking for faster results and you have a budget, you can run pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements for your landing page on search engines and social media.

Iterate and analyze HTML0

If you are beginning to receive emails that convert due to your gated content Monitor your results using analytics tools. Keep track of important indicator of performance (KPIs) such as viewer retention, conversion rates, and lead quality.

Use the insights you gather to tweak your approach for improvement, be it improving your video creation techniques, adjusting content types, changing distribution channels, or rethinking your target market.

SEO is a way to optimize restricted video content

Google's algorithm doesn't crawl or index content that's in the form. That means that if you lock your video and it doesn't appear on search results pages (SERPs). You can, however, make use of SEO to increase the exposure of the videos you have gated by

• Optimizing your site for the search engines
• Embedding the lead capture form in unaltered, SEO-optimized material like blog posts
• Enhancing the video itself

For the best visibility, you'll need to apply the three different types of SEO: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, as well as technical SEO.

Search Engine Optimization on-page

This involves doing the research on keywords to determine appropriate, high-volume keywords with low competition which your intended viewers are likely to search for when searching for content related to your video.

For optimizing your blog, landing pages, posts and videos, you should include these words in the title tags, (sub)headings and page copy. image alt texts, Meta (and video) descriptions and URLs, if applicable.

As Google's algorithms crawl your website, these words will give them some context so they can rank your web pages for the appropriate search phrase/query.

Off-page SEO

Backlinks are arguable the most important element of SEO off-page because Google considers them to be the primary ranking factor. A strong backlink profile fulfills requirements for the "T" in E-E-A-T (trustworthiness) (trustworthiness), which is the standard Google employs to evaluate the quality of content of a site.

The process of building backlinks is to get reputable websites to link to the website or blog that allows people to join your newsletter for gated video content. If this occurs the algorithms of Google interpret the result to mean that your offer is relevant to the user's needs and is valuable. It also fulfills search intent.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is the process of making the technical aspects of your website to increase your SERP rankings. This includes making your website mobile-friendly, increasing your page speed of loading, adding video/website schema markup, sending your video sitemap and website to Google making it SEO-friendly website structure, and fixing duplicate content.

Not only are some of these strategies (like improving site speed or making your site responsive to any device) ranking factors, but they also help Google to crawl and rank your website.

Pro tip: Make your videos more accessible to humans and search engines alike by providing accurate transcriptions and closed captions.

Best practices to ensure that videos are not censored

When you are creating video content that is gated These are the top ways to think about:

Make sure videos are at the optimal length

It's not possible to control all these factors, but there are some that you can optimize, including your sales funnel, as well as the content format you use.

For example, prospects who are in the awareness stage of your funnel could hear about your business for the first time so they're likely not ready to take in a long-winded video. The people in this stage typically benefit more from ungated content, such as blogs and video clips on social media.

If they are considering purchasing your product or weighing the value of your product against that of competitors will be open to attending your expert-led webinars, buying online courses or watching successful stories and scheduling product demonstrations.

The lengths of these various videos differ too. For example, the video content of an online course could be between 3 and 20 minutes while the course itself running for a few hours. Exclusive interviews and webinars typically run for 1-2 hours. Likewise, case study videos are usually between 5 and 10 minutes in length.

Pro tip: Create multiple edits. Once you've recorded your first video, you'll end up with an abundance of video. Edit the video several times in order to remove any unnecessary the fluff, off-the-tangent comments, filler words, etc. It is also possible create animations as well as add various other engaging, interactive elements to the video.

Create appealing thumbnails as well as titles

Your title and thumbnail are the first thing users see upon visiting your landing page or the blogs where you have embedded your gated video. These elements need to grab your readers' attention and encourage them to sign up for access to the video.

It is possible to create your own thumbnail if you possess excellent graphic design abilities. If not, it's best to hire a graphic designer or an expert in marketing with design talents to create your thumbnail for you.

Pro tip: Don't use clickbait titles. Your titles should accurately reflect what's in the video. In the absence of this, you'll cause an unpleasant user experience affecting your brand's credibility as well as credibility.

Streamline your lead capture form

Some companies just ask visitors to enter their names and email address in order to gain access to gated content, however, some require additional details, such as job title, organization size, and the industry. Many companies even require their users to complete a short questionnaire to be granted access.

The name-and-email address approach works pretty well because it allows you to send customized (by name) messages to subscribers' inbox. However, if you're trying to segment your email subscribers by industry or occupation, then you must request that information also. This allows you to create content that is tailored specifically to each segment, which will increase the chances of people engaging with your brand and buying the product.

Tips: An overly long questionnaire can turn people off. Therefore, if you don't think it's necessary, take the name-and-email address approach.

With clear calls to action

When you are creating your landing page, use persuasive and direct phrases to entice users to take action. e.g. "Access the latest information today" and "Download the course now". Then, in your video, you can prompt viewers to visit your website/social media or subscribe on your channel, depending on the goal you're aiming to accomplish.

Whatever your CTA is, ensure that it's specific, actionable, and accessible. Place them in strategic places on your landing page as well as in video, especially if those resources are long.

Pro suggestion: Consider offering incentives, such as discounts, download resources or access to a private group to make the offer more appealing and encourage people to opt-in.

Run A/B tests

While you track your results, conduct A/B tests of different components of your gated video content strategy, which includes the titles, thumbnails, messages, formats for content and CTAs. This can provide you with insight into what variations work most with the audience, and help you optimize the rate of conversion over time.

Gated video platforms

If you're pondering what methods you can employ to create gated videos, we've compiled a guide to four of the top gates for video, along with their pricing and features.

The right security-enabled video platform

If you're stuck on which security-related video streaming platform you should choose, here are a few tips to help you select the best one for your needs and goals:

Define your requirements

Before choosing a video platform, ask yourself what you would like the platform to help you accomplish. These answers can help you pick the best tool to meet your requirements.

For example, if you are looking to create leads Vimeo would be an excellent alternative because it offers leads generation capabilities and works seamlessly with tools to market your email. However, if you're looking to increase organic traffic by using SEO, Brightcove and Sproutvideo might be better choices.

Consider your budget

The pricing tiers offered by the platform can be a good way to begin to decide whether you are able to afford it, but you should also take into account any potential extra costs such as bandwidth charges or transaction charges, as these can impact the overall cost of the platform.

Explore the possibility of customizing

The video platform you choose must allow you to have control over the appearance and functionality of the video player. So look out for features that allow users to alter the design, branding as well as interactive features like CTA buttons.

Consider integration capabilities

If you're considering implementing a gated video content strategy there's a good chance you've got many other tools in your tech stack. To simplify the process of creating content, you'll need to choose a video platform that seamlessly integrates with your current tools and systems.

This is your website, your content management software (CMS) as well as customer relation management (CRM) software as well as email marketing services marketing automation software payments gateways and the other essential software for your company.

Review security and privacy functions

If you're working with sensitive or sensitive data, make sure that the video platform that you select has strong security measures. SproutVideo specifically 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 to protect the data you store.

Review analytics and report

Complete reports and analytics can be crucial in evaluating the performance of your gated content and understanding how your audience engages in your business.

Check out platforms that give you detailed insights, such as the duration of a view, click-through rates (CTR) as well as percentages of conversion, audience demographics and many other important KPIs. This information will help you improve your content strategy and improve engagement.

Verify scalability

If you are a manager or employee for a growing company and you are looking for a video platform, the one that you select must be capable of handling increased video uploads and higher traffic volumes without compromising on performance. That is, the platform should 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 that your investment remains relevant when your company grows.

Demos as well as trial period

Many video platforms offer demonstrations of their products and/or trial period that you can benefit from to gain firsthand experience of the platform. In addition, you'll know whether it meets your requirements as well, you'll learn how to navigate through the platform should you choose to use it.

Evaluation of the performance of your content creation gated strategy

For assessing the performance of your gated video content strategy, there are three steps you need to accomplish: monitor the key performances indicators (KPIs) Utilize analytical tools, and continue to continue to improve your strategy.

Track key performance indicators

The most common KPIs you should track include:

• Conversion rates: These is the percentage of users who have provided their personal information in order to access the restricted content.
• Click-through rate (CTR) for CTAs The CTR is the amount of time that people click on CTAs within your landing page or videos. This determines the efficiency of your CTAs to drive desired actions.
• Engagement metrics: Track measures like the average length of time a viewer watches and video completion rates as well as video interactions (likes comments, likes or shares). This indicates how well your video content is engaging viewers.
• Lead generation: This measures the number of new leads created by gated content. It reveals how persuasive and persuasive your content is.
• Lead quality is a measure of how likely your new leads will convert to paying customers. This can be assessed as a KPI through lead scoring or qualifying criteria.

Utilize Analytics tools Use analytics tools

Analytics tools collect and arrange data from different sources to give you a better insight into your operations overall. The most common tools for analytics to use are:

• Google Analytics (GA): This platform assesses user behavior on your website, monitors the effectiveness of landing pages and tracks the sources of traffic, among other things. With GA you are able to create goals and set events to specifically measure interaction with the content you have gated.
• Video hosting platforms: Platforms like Vimeo, Wistia, or YouTube give detailed insight into video's performance. In conjunction into lead form forms these platforms are able to track key metrics like play rate as well as engagement and the conversion rate.
• Platforms for Marketing Automation: Software such as HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot provide analytics tools that allow you to track lead behavior after they engage in your content gated for them.
• CRM software: CRM tools like Pipedrive and Salesforce will help you monitor leads that come from gated videos and follow their development throughout the funnel of sales.

Continuous optimization and iteration

Create regular reporting intervals for monitoring the success of your content that is gated using a strategy. Then, compare your data across period of time (including information derived from A/B testing) to identify patterns and trends.

Make use of the data you collect from your analytics 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

Embracing gated video content is an excellent method to boost your marketing strategy. When you offer valuable information in exchange for information, you're not only collecting leads, but you're also creating a an immediate line of communication with an engaged crowd. It allows you to send personalized messages and nurture buyers throughout their buying journey.

The content you create with your gated videos helps you showcase your expertise to establish your company as an authority, and build a sense of exclusivity and worth for your viewers -that ultimately leads to sales and brand loyalty.

Plus also lets you to build and manage private communities that help you build more intimate relationships with your prospects, upsell your offerings, boost conversions and increase revenue to your business.

FAQ

    What exactly is gated content? Why is it so important?

"Gated" videos refer to content that is accessible only after users provide their details about themselves such as their email address or specific demographic information. This strategy for marketing lets businesses to nurture and capture quality leads via personalized emails and specific marketing campaigns.

    What are the advantages of gated video to promote your business?

Utilizing gated video for marketing enables businesses to identify leads, collect valuable customer data, and deliver personalized content, which fosters trust with their audience and leads to increased conversions.

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

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of developing a successful 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
• Create a dedicated page for landing
• Promote your gated video content
• Iterate and analyze Based on the information collected

    What are the most effective practices for creating interesting gated video content?    

When you are creating gated videos Here are the best practices to keep in mind:

• Make sure videos are at the optimal length
• Design compelling thumbnails as well as titles
• Streamline your lead capture form
• With clear calls to action
• Conduct A/B test to help you improve your strategies

    What video streaming platforms are most suitable for my company?    

Some popular platforms for creating secure videos that are resonant with your viewers can be:

• Vimeo known for its extensive customization options and high-quality video playback.
• Wistia: Offers customizable video players, email capture forms, and extensive statistics.
• Brightcove: The most comprehensive platform, with many options for large companies and media businesses.
• SproutVideo: Video hosting platform with an commitment to security. attributes like domain limitations and password security.

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

There are two options to analyze and track the effectiveness of your videos that are gated:

• Monitoring important indicator of performance (KPIs), including the conversion rate, click-through rates (CTR), and engagement measures (likes shares, likes, and comments)
• Using analytics tools, for example Google Analytics  or video hosting tools, CRM tools, and tools for marketing automation
• Comparing KPIs with industry averages for more context regarding your performance