Gated Video Content Strategy: How to unlock the Potential of Success (+Platforms)

If you've been to an online webinar or enrolled in an online free course You may have noticed that you typically had to provide your name and email address (and perhaps other data) prior to accessing the course.

Videos that reside within lead capture forms are known as"gated" video content and they're efficient in aiding businesses in attracting new customers.

In this article, we explore:

•         What is gated video content?    
•         Benefits of gated video content
•         Different types of video content that is gated
•         Content strategy for gated videos      
•             SEO is the process of promoting videos that are gated
•         The best practices for gated videos
•         Platforms for gated video      
•             Choosing the right security-enabled video platform
•         Evaluation of the performance of your video gate strategy
•         Make your company more efficient by incorporating gated content video
•         FAQ

What is the meaning of gated content on video?

Gated video content refers to content that is free to the public and are able to view after submitting their personal information like the email address and name by filling out a request for leads. Depending on the nature of the content, as well as the product(s) that the company offers that lead capture form will ask more than a simple name and email address. It may also ask for your job title or organization's size as well as the industry.

When people submit their personal information to you, you get access to valuable user data, which allows you to customize your interaction with your customers. If you can make your customers think that your messages are tailored specifically for them, they'll be much more inclined to open your emails and connect with your brand.

The benefits of gated video Content

Video content can be one of the best strategies a business can employ to increase its customer base. The following are the reasons:

Lead generation

Gated video content, however can be hidden by an application. The majority of people do not like having full email inboxes, so if someone provides your email address in order to gain access to your content, that's a good signal to show that they're keen on the brand. This type of person is more likely to respond to the marketing strategies you employ than those who merely stumbled onto your website.

Content segmentation by audience and personalization

Gating your video content allows you to segment your viewers and design marketing assets with them in mind. Through your lead capture form, you can collect user data such as the name of the user, their email address, demographic, position, company size and industry, which gives you insights into your audience's interests and interests.

This information can be used to develop buyer personas for every subset of your customers. This takes away the uncertainty; you'll be able to identify exactly who you're targeting, which helps you create material that meets their requirements, solves their problems, and makes their lives easier.

More value perceived

Web users often place greater worth on content with a gated access since they're providing contact information to get access to the content.

A desire to satisfy one's curiosity, the feeling of getting exclusive content, and other special perks you offer your email subscribers, access to content that is gated can be a great way to enhance the image of your company. When executed well it will help you get more leads of high quality and increase trust among your customers and make you appear as a professional within your field.

But there's one caveat. If you're asking people to provide their contact information and information, they're expecting high-quality content in return. Therefore, if your video content isn't packed with valuable information, you risk alienating your audience and ruining the image of your company.

Data collection and analytics

Gated videos provide a structured way to collect information about the behavior of viewers. Metrics like the duration of engagement, click-through rate, and completion rates aid in determining the kinds of videos that resonate with your audience. With this data, you can optimize your marketing 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) for content production and for marketing. Since the videos are hidden within a form, they have a straightforward way to assess their effectiveness in terms of the amount of leads they generate and the way they move throughout the funnel to sales.

Types of Gated Videos Content

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

Webinars

With webinars, you can present other experts in your field, show individuals how to meet their objectives in real time engage with your viewers and promote your product and get high-quality leads. They typically have a few slot availability, creating an atmosphere that of FOMO (fear of missing out) that drives participants to register.

As an example, Hotjar is hosting a live virtual event where experts in web strategy will teach participants how to create a high-converting site using Hotjar as well as HubSpot.

The landing page Hotjar described the significance of the subject and what people will learn from the webinar if they attend it. Then they embedded an lead capture form that individuals can submit some personal information about themselves in exchange for an Zoom link invite delivered straight into their email.

Online courses

To make the most of online classes, select an industry-related skill/topic that aligns with the overall marketing plan and make a set of detailed videos explaining that topic. It's not just a way to attract potential customers, but it can help people familiar with your brand further along the funnel of sales.

As an example, Semrush, the SEO firm, collaborates with experts in the field to design marketing-based courses, like this one from Brian Dean.

The landing page breaks down who the intended audience is for the course, what students will discover, as well as the outline. The site concludes with a form interested users must fill out to gain access to the course for free.

Interviews with the stars

Just like webinars, exclusive interview sessions feature engaging conversations with experts from the industry, thought leaders, or important stakeholders. These conversations not only aid in building your brand's and authority, but they improve brand visibility by attracting those who follow the expert(s) whom you're talking to.

If you want to create ideas that inspire others to your company, doing exclusive interviews is a great option because you'll get first-hand experiences as well as analogies and cases studies that aren't located anywhere else. What's more, you can improve the level of engagement among your viewers by having those you interview to respond to the most important questions. This encourages people to sign up, check out the video, and then send their questions.

Tips: A few companies such as Omniscient Digital interview subject matter experts, and upload the audio version on their podcast and video interviews on their YouTube channel as well as their website. This is an effective way to repurpose your interviews.

Product demos

Product demos (or demonstrations) show how a product or service works by highlighting its strengths functions, capabilities, and benefits users will enjoy if they decide to purchase the item or service. The purpose of these demonstrations is to convince potential customers who are on the fence that your product is able to meet their needs and solve the problems they face better than competition's.

Demonstrating your products through a product's demo will allow you to collect leads from prospects who are at the bottom of your funnel who are actively keen on the product. Like, Demio, a company which offers webinar software to marketing professionals, offers interested customers the possibility of scheduling a product demo.

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 offer their case studies for free available, publishing a portion of them could be a great way to collect prospects who are looking for particular use cases.

The rationale behind the reason for this is because the case studies are an extremely compelling type of content since 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 every prospect has before making a purchase: "Will this product deliver what it promises?"

Case studies that you can share with your customers work really well at filtering out your leads, especially in the case of a product or service that targets an audience that is a particular type.

Video content that is gated

If you're looking to block your videos There are a few steps to take to ensure that you make the most of this marketing tactic:

Define your goals

Prior to recording videos or planning an event, establish your goals. According to original CoSchedule study, those who set goals have a 376% higher chance to succeed.

If you decide to define your goal make sure you are specific. In the case of, say, if you're planning to organize an online webinar, the goal may be to have 100 participants. Or if you're releasing an online course, the target could be 1000 students within 6 months. Being specific with your goals will help you determine what goals you want to achieve when marketing your video content that is gated.

Identify your target audience

GA offers demographic data regarding your viewers, including gender, age, interest, and location. The tool also displays the web pages people visit the most often on your website -- which can be helpful in brainstorming topics for your videos. If you're on any social networks, you may take a look at the analytics of your social media to get more insights.

The analysis of your competitors' market is also a good method to determine the types of people who you must be targeting, their demographics and the way they shop. In this way, you will be able to create content that caters to their needs and solves the problems they face better than rivals.

Choose the best video topics and types of content

Based on the research you conducted about your audience Create content concepts that align with your goals and appeal to your targeted audience.

Analyze the data of every promotion channel you use, including search as well as social media and email, to see which topics your target audience is engaged with the most. If you've got customer service and sales teams solicit their opinion on the problems that existing and potential customers are trying to address with your products.

If, for instance, your service is a web creator, you can 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 for creating a fully functioning web page. Or if you learn that your customers or prospects often ask customer support how to integrate their current tech stack with your product, you could host a webinar to show the people how.

After choosing topic ideas After deciding on the topic, choose the video content formats that will best deliver your message. These include webinars, online courses, 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 value-packed material. These are some suggestions to keep in mind:

• Utilize a top-quality camera capture your video. The camera doesn't have to be expensive, though. If you're unable to afford professional cameras, then using an iPhone or a tripod as well as a great light source will suffice.
• Give value to viewers. The initial few minutes of the video will determine whether viewers will be interested to watch until the very end. It is possible to use stories, analogies or even shocking information to reel people in at the beginning. In the next step, add worth throughout the video(s) by including expert insights, original research, proprietary data, as well as a detailed explanation of your process, if applicable.
• Hire professional editors, animators and graphic designers, when feasible. They'll be well-versed and access to high-quality editing and design tools that result in an expertly-crafted video that the audience will appreciate.
• Integrate interactive elements in your video content. If you're making your online courses, quizzes, assignments, and polls are excellent ways for your audience to actively participate in the learning process. If the course is a webinar a Q&A session allows you to engage with attendees and provide value to them with real-time interaction.

Design a landing page

The most successful landing pages contain three components: persuasive copy, compelling layout, and an effective call-to-action (CTA). An excellent illustration is the CXL's landing page Brand Marketing mini-degree.

While the black-white-red color palette immediately makes an impression, but the most striking thing is the hero's section describes everything that you'll be learning if you complete the minidegree, and shows that you the instructors of the class and how they're competent to teach it.

Following, the landing page provides advantages of signing up to CXL and is which is followed by a contact form that lets users view the pricing options and to request a demonstration. The landing page closes by providing a thorough FAQ section, which answers most frequent questions potential clients might have.

Similar to CXL's landing pages, yours should have a contact form (or CTA) that users have to act upon before they can access your video.

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

After your landing page has been put online and your video safe to be accessed, you're now ready to make it a point to advertise the landing page. There are many channels for marketing you can use including:

• search: While Google's algorithms can't crawl gated content however, they are able to crawl the contents of the landing page you have created and then rank it with the appropriate keywords. This will increase its visibility and drive users to the site.
• Social media: You can increase the momentum of your gated video before you create it. Your viewers should be taken on the creation process and explain the value that they will get from the finished product. This way, when your landing page is online, people will be ready to sign up.
• Paid advertising: Building momentum through natural SEO as well as social media marketing can take time. If you want quicker results and you have a budget, consider running pay-per click (PPC) advertisements for your website's landing page in social media and search engines.

Analyze and iterate

If you are beginning to receive emails that convert due to your gated content Monitor your results with analytics tools. Keep track of important metrics of performance (KPIs) including viewing retention, conversion rates as well as the quality of leads.

Make use of the knowledge you gain to refine your strategy to improve the techniques you use to create videos changing the types of content or distribution channels or changing your targets.

Doing SEO on restricted video content

Google's algorithms don't crawl and look up content in an application. This means that when you lock your video will not be ranked on search results webpages (SERPs). However, you can use SEO to increase the exposure of your gated videos by

• Optimizing your specific landing page for search engines
• Embedding the lead capture form in ungated, SEO-optimized content like blog content
• Optimizing the videos themselves

For maximum reach, you'll have to apply the three different types of SEO that are available: on-page SEO off-page SEO and technical SEO.

Search Engine Optimization on-page

The process involves conducting the research on keywords to determine pertinent, high volume, low competition keywords that your target audience is likely to use to search for relevant content to your film.

For optimizing your blog, landing pages, posts and videos, use these keywords in the title tags, (sub)headings and page copy. image alt texts, meta (and video) descriptions and URLs, when appropriate.

As Google's algorithms crawl your website, these words provide them with background so that they can place your website's pages on the map for the right search term/query.

Off-page SEO

The most significant element of SEO off-page because Google sees them as a core ranking factor. An effective backlink profile is requirements for the "T" in E-E A-T (trustworthiness), which is the basis Google uses to assess the quality of content of a site.

The process of building backlinks is to get reputable websites to hyperlink to your landing page and/or blog post through which people can subscribe to your exclusive video content. When this happens the algorithms of Google interpret it to mean that the offer you are relevant, valuable, and fulfills your search-related intent.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is the process of improving the technical parts of your site to improve your rank on SERPs. This means making your site mobile-friendly, boosting your site's load speed, adding website/video schema markup, sending your video sitemap and website to Google, creating an SEO-friendly web structure and fixing content that is duplicate.

Not only are some of these techniques (like the improvement of site speed, and creating responsive websites on any device) ranking aspects, they also aid Google to crawl and rank your website.

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

Best practices to ensure that videos are not censored

As you create gated videos Here are the best 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 could improve on, like your sales funnel as well as the type of content you choose to use.

In this case, people at the stage of awareness in your funnel may just have heard about your company for the first time thus they're probably not prepared to take in a long-winded video. In this phase, people typically benefit more from ungated material, like blogs and videos on social media.

But, those who are considering purchasing your product or weighing your products' worth against those of 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 the various video formats vary, also. The video content of the online courses can range from three to 20 minutes in length while the course itself taking a bit longer. Webinars and exclusive interviews often take between 1-2 hours. the case study videos typically run 5-10 minutes long.

Pro tip: Create multiple edits. After your first recording will result in an abundance of video. Edit it multiple times to get rid of fluff, off-the-tangent commentary or filler phrases, for example. It is also possible create animations as well as add various other engaging, interactive aspects into the film.

Make captivating thumbnails and titles

Your title and thumbnail are the first elements users see upon visiting your landing page, or blogs on which you post the video you have gated. These elements need to grab your readers' attention and entice them to sign up to gain access to the video.

Create your own thumbnail if you are a skilled graphic designer. If not, it's best to find a graphic artist or marketer with design skills to help you.

Pro tip: Don't use clickbait titles. The title you choose to use should be true to the content in the video. If not, it'll create an unpleasant user experience affecting your brand's credibility as well as reputation.

Streamline your lead capture form

Many companies only ask people to fill in their name and email address to get access to their restricted content however, some require additional information, including job title, organization size, and industry. They may even require visitors to complete a short questionnaire to be granted access.

The method of using a name and email address is pretty effective because it permits you to create customized (by name) messages to subscribers' inbox. But, if you're looking to group your email recipients according to their profession and occupation, then you must inquire about that information as well. This helps you create specific content to each segment, which, in turn, improves the likelihood of having people interact with your brand and buying 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.

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" or "Download the course today". Your video might encourage people to visit your website/social media or subscribe to the YouTube channel according to the purpose you're aiming to accomplish.

Whatever your CTA is, make sure that it's clear, actionable and easy to find. Put them in strategically placed places on your landing page and videos, particularly if the resources are long.

Pro suggestion: Consider offering incentives such as discounts, downloadable resources, or access to a private community to sweeten the deal and make it easier for people to sign up.

Run A/B tests

When you are evaluating the performance of your site, you can run A/B testing on various elements of your video content gated strategy, which includes the titles, thumbnails and message formats, and CTAs. These will provide insight into what variations work most well with your target audience. It will also help you optimize the rate of conversion over time.

Video platforms with gated access

If you're wondering which tools you can use for creating gated videos this article will provide a list of four of the top gates for video, along with their features and pricing.

Choosing the right security-enabled video platform

If you're confused about which type of gated video platform to use, here are some suggestions to assist you in choosing the most suitable one to meet your goals and needs:

Define your requirements

When you are choosing a platform for video consider what it is you'd like the platform's capabilities to accomplish. Your answers will help you choose an appropriate tool for your specific needs.

In the case of example, if you're looking to build leads, Vimeo would be an excellent alternative because it offers lead generation tools and can integrate easily with tools to market your 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 can be a good starting point to figure out whether you are able to afford it, but you should also consider any additional expenses like bandwidth costs or transaction costs, since these can impact the overall affordability of the platform.

Explore the possibility of customizing

The video platform you choose will allow you to control the design and function of the player. Look for features that allow you to personalize the design, branding, and interactive elements like CTA buttons.

Consider integration capabilities

If you're considering implementing the gated strategy for video content it's likely that you've numerous other devices within your technology stack. In order to streamline your workflow, you'll need to select a video platform that is compatible with your existing tools and systems.

This includes your website, your content management system (CMS) and CRM software, customer relations management (CRM) software and email marketing solutions, marketing automation platforms, payment gateways, and every other piece of software that is essential to your company.

Review privacy and security options

If you're dealing with confidential or sensitive information, ensure that the video platform you pick has adequate security safeguards. SproutVideo, in particular, is an excellent tool to use for this as it has features like geo-restriction and password protection. IP address limitation, and encryption protocols that protect the data you store.

Analyze analytics and reports

Comprehensive analytics and reports can be crucial in evaluating the performance of your gated content and knowing how people interact in your business.

Check out platforms that give you detailed insight, like time-to-view, click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rates, audience demographics and many other important KPIs. This information will help you refine your content strategy and optimize for better engagement.

Verify scaleability

If you are a manager or employee at a fast-growing company, the video platform you choose should be able to handle more video uploads as well as higher volume of traffic without degrading efficiency. That is that the platform must grow according to your requirements.

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

Demos of the product and trial periods

Many video platforms offer product demos and/or trial periods that you can take advantage of to get firsthand experience of the platform. You'll not only know whether it meets your requirements, but you'll also learn how to navigate through the platform should you choose to go ahead with it.

Evaluation of the performance of your gated video content strategy

To measure the success of your video content gated strategy, there are three essential things to be doing: keep track of key indicator of performance (KPIs), use analytics tools, and constantly re-evaluate your strategies.

Key performance indicators

Some common KPIs you should track comprise:

• Conversion rates: These measure the percentage of viewers who supplied their information to access protected content.
• Click-through rates (CTR) for CTAs: This is the amount of time that users click on CTAs in your landing page or videos. This is a measure of the efficacy of your CTAs in generating desired actions.
• Engagement metrics: Measure metrics like average watch time and video completion rates and video interactions (likes, comments, and shares). This shows how effectively your video content is engaging the viewers.
• Lead generation is the number of new leads that are generated by the gated content. It indicates how compelling and persuasive your content is.
• Lead quality is a measure of how likely new leads will convert to paying customers. This can be assessed as a KPI by scoring leads or the qualification requirements.

Utilize Analytics tools Use analytics tools

Analytics tools collect and arrange the data from different sources in order to help you gain more knowledge of the overall operation. The most common tools for analytics to use are:

• Google Analytics (GA): It analyzes the user's behavior on your site, records the effectiveness of landing pages and tracks the sources of traffic, among other things. GA allows you to set goals and events for your site. GA it is possible to create goals and set specific events that measure the number of interactions related to the content you have gated.
• Platforms for hosting videos: These platforms like Vimeo, Wistia, or YouTube provide detailed insights into video's performance. When integrated into lead form forms they can monitor metrics like play rate or engagement as well as the conversion rate.
• Platforms for marketing automation: Products such as HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot provide analytics tools which allow you to monitor how leads behave after engaging in your content gated for them.
• CRM software: CRM tools like Pipedrive and Salesforce will help you monitor leads generated from gated video content and monitor their progression through the funnel of sales.

Continuous optimization and iteration

Set up regular reporting intervals for monitoring the success of your content that is gated using a strategy. Then, compare information over time (including information derived from A/B tests) to identify patterns and trends.

Make use of the data you collect from your data to make informed adjustments to your plan such as optimizing your lead capture forms by using various video formats or changing distribution channels.

Transform your business with the security of video content

Accepting content from gated video is an excellent option to enhance your marketing plan. In offering quality 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 audience. It allows you to send targeted messages to buyers throughout their buying journey.

A gated content video helps you showcase your expertise to establish your brand as a trusted authority, and build an impression of exclusivity and the value to your customersthat ultimately leads to brand advocacy and conversions.

Plus also lets you to establish and manage exclusive communities that help you build an even deeper relationship with potential customers, sell your product, increase conversion, and generate revenue for your company.

FAQ

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

"Gated" videos refer to content that is accessible only after the viewer has provided personal information, such as their email address or information about their demographics. This strategy for marketing lets businesses to nurture and capture quality leads via specific emails as well as targeted marketing efforts.

    What are the benefits of using gated videos to promote your business?

Utilizing gated video in marketing gives businesses the ability to collect leads, accumulate important customer information, and then deliver content that is personalised that builds trust in their target audience, which leads to increased the number of conversions.

    How do I design an effective gated strategy for video?

Here is a step-by-step outline of how to create a winning gated video content strategy:

• Define your goals
• Identify your target audience
• Select the best video for your content and types (e.g. webinars, video courses, product demos, etc. )
• Create compelling videos
• Make a special page for landing
• Promote your gated video content
• Analyze and iterate using the insights you have that have been gathered

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

As you create video content that is gated, here are some best ways to think about:

• Make sure videos are at the optimal length
• Design captivating thumbnails and titles
• Streamline your lead capture form
• Clear calls to action
• Conduct A/B test to help you improve your strategy

    Which gated video platforms are best for my business?    

The most popular platforms you can use to create gated videos that resonate with the viewers you are targeting can be:

• Vimeo: Known for extensive customizable options, as well as high-quality video playback.
• Wistia: Offers customizable video players, capture email forms, as well as comprehensive analysis.
• Brightcove: Comprehensive platform with robust options for large companies and media companies.
• SproutVideo: Video hosting platform with an commitment to security. features like domain restrictions as well as password protection.

    How do I measure the effectiveness of my gated video content strategy?    

Two ways to analyze and track the performance of your videos that are gated:

• Monitoring Key indicator of performance (KPIs) that include the conversion rate, click-through rates (CTR), and engagement indicators (likes shares, likes comments)
• Using analytics tools, like Google Analytics , video hosting tools as well as CRM tools and marketing automation tools
• Comparing KPIs with the industry standard for more information about your results