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

If you've attended an online webinar or enrolled in an online free course and noticed you usually had to enter your name and email address (and maybe other details) prior to accessing the course.

Video-based resources that are housed behind lead capture forms are called"gated" video content and they're effective at helping companies find new customers.

In this guide we will explore:

•         What is gated content?    
•         Advantages of video content that is gated
•         Different types of video content that is gated
•         Video content that is gated      
•             Doing SEO on gated video content
•         Best practices for videos that are gated
•         Platforms for gated video      
•             Selecting the best security-enabled video platform
•         Measuring the success of your video gate strategy
•         Transform your business with gated video content
•         FAQ

What is gated video content?

Gated video content refers to free video material that people can access after they submit the necessary information about themselves including your email address and name, through a contact form. Depending on the nature of the content as well as the product(s) the business provides in the lead capture process, it may ask for more than just a name and email address. They may also inquire about your job title, organization size, and industry.

If people provide their contact information they are granted access to user-specific data and can customize your interaction with them. When your email subscribers think that your messages are specially designed for them, they'll be more likely to read your messages and engage with your brand.

Benefits of gated video content

Video content can be one of the greatest strategies that businesses can use to expand its client base. There are a few reasons to do this:

Lead generation

Content that's gated on the other hand it is concealed behind an application. The majority of people do not like having an inbox full of emails, so if someone provides your email address in order to gain access to your videos it's an indication that they're interested in your brand. They are likely to be receptive to your advertising efforts than people who just stumbled across your site.

Content segmentation by audience and personalization

The ability to tag your videos allows you to segment your viewers and design marketing tools with them in mind. With your lead capture form it is possible to collect data such as names, email addresses as well as their demographics, location, organization size, and industries, providing information about your target audience's needs and preferences.

This information can be used to create buyer personas for the various subsets of clients. This takes away the guesswork; you'll know exactly who you're targeting, which helps you create information that is tailored to their needs and solves their issues and helps them live their lives more easily.

Perceived value increased

Website visitors often place more importance on video content that is gated due to the fact that they're providing their contacts to gain access to the content.

Between one's longing to satisfy desires, and the satisfaction of being able to access exclusive content, as well as other benefits you can offer to your email subscribers, restricted content is a great way to enhance your brand's image. When executed well this can allow you to increase leads that are of high-quality, build trust with your prospects, and position you as an expert within your field.

But there's one caveat. When people give you your contact details They expect top-quality content in return. Therefore, if your video information isn't stuffed with useful facts, you're at risk of alienating your viewers and damaging your brand reputation.

Data collection and analytics

Gated video content provides a structured way to collect statistics on the behaviour of your viewers. Measures such as the duration of engagement, click-through rate and completion rates can will help you determine which types of videos resonate with your audience. With this data, you can optimize your marketing and content to yield better results.

Better ROI on content

Gated videos can help you gain a greater return on investment (ROI) to produce content and marketing. Since the videos are hidden within a form, they are able to assess their effectiveness, including the number of leads they generate and how those leads progress along the funnel of sales.

Types of Gated Video Content

The content of Gated Video is available in a variety of formats. Some of them are:

Webinars

Through webinars, you are able to present other experts in your area, instruct participants how to reach their goals in real-time, interact with your audience, promote your products, and get high-quality leads. They typically have a few slot availability, creating the feeling fear of missing out (fear of not being able to attend) that drives participants to register.

In this case, Hotjar is hosting a live virtual event where web strategy experts teach attendees how to design a high-converting website with Hotjar as well as HubSpot.

The landing page Hotjar described the significance of the subject and what attendees will gain during the live webinar should they attend it. After that, they added the lead capture form, where individuals can submit some personal information regarding themselves to get the possibility of receiving a Zoom link invite delivered straight 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 then create detailed videos explaining that topic. It's not just a way to attract new leads, but it can be a way to get people already familiar with your brand to move into the selling funnel.

For example, Semrush, the SEO firm, collaborates with experts from the industry to develop marketing-based courses, like this one from Brian Dean.

The landing page explains the target audience for the course, what students will discover, as well as the outline. It ends with a form to be filled out by interested participants to gain access to the free course.

Interviews with the stars

Like webinars, exclusive interviews feature engaging conversations with experts from the industry, thought leaders, or important stakeholders. In addition, these discussions aid in building your brand's authority, but they also increase brand awareness by attracting the audience of the expert(s) you're interviewing.

If you want to create the kind of content that will inspire your company, doing exclusive interviews is a great method to follow because you'll get first-hand experiences of analogies, instances that cannot be found anywhere else. Additionally, you'll be able to improve the level of engagement among your viewers by having those you interview to respond to the most important concerns. This encourages people to sign up, check out the videos, and send their questions.

A tip for you: Certain firms like Omniscient Digital interview subject matter experts, then publish the audio version on their podcast as well as the video version on the website and YouTube channel. This can be a good way to repurpose your interviews.

Product demos

Demos of products (or demonstrations) showcase how a product or service works by highlighting its strengths, functionality, and the benefits users will enjoy if they buy the product or service. The main objective of product demonstrations is to convince potential customers who are on the fence that your product is able to meet the needs of their customers and resolve their problems better than your competition's.

The ability to share your demos with customers allows you to gather leads from people at the bottom of the funnel who are actively keen on your service. Like, Demio, a company that provides webinar software for marketers, gives interested prospects the possibility of scheduling an opportunity to demo your product.

By gating its demo, Demio only gets high-quality leads that are willing to sit on a 1-on-1 meeting with an Demio expert.

Success stories and case studies tales

Though most firms offer their case studies for free accessible, gating some of them is an excellent way of gaining leads that are interested in certain applications.

The rationale behind the reason for this is because cases studies can be a very convincing type of material because they provide real-world examples of how your services or products have benefited existing/past customers. They answer the question that each potential customer must answer prior to purchasing a product: "Will this product deliver on its promise?"

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.

Gated video content strategy

If you're looking to gate your video content Here are some actions to follow to make sure you get the most out the use of this tactic to market:

Define your goals

When recording video or planning events, define the goals you want to achieve. According to original CoSchedule research, marketers who set goals have 376% greater chance to be successful.

If you decide to define your goal make sure you are specific. In the case of, say, if you plan to host a webinar, your goal might be to get 100 attendees. For instance, if you're creating an online course, the goal might be to get 1,000 students in the span of six months. Be specific about your objectives helps you know what to aim for while promoting your gated video content.

Identify your target audience

GA gives demographic information regarding your viewers, including age, gender, hobbies, and location. GA also provides information on the web pages people visit the most on your site and can prove useful for brainstorming topic ideas for your videos. If you're active on social platforms, you can take a look at your analytics on social media sites to gain more insight.

Examining your competition's target audience is also an effective way to know the people that you need to target, their demographics, and their buying behavior. In this way, you will be able to develop content that meets their requirements and addresses the issues they have better than competition.

Pick the right video topics and types of content

Based on the research you conducted about your audience You can brainstorm ideas for content that align with your goals and are a hit with your intended audience.

Analyze the data of the various channels for promotion that you utilize, which include search or social media as well as email to find out the topics that your customers interact in the greatest. If you've got sales or customer service personnel solicit their opinion on the problems that existing as well as potential customers try to address with your products.

For example, if your product is a website creator, you can create an instructional video that teaches people with no the ability to code how to use your drag-and drop editor for websites for creating a fully functioning site. Also, if you find that your customers or prospects frequently ask support for how to integrate their current technology stack to your service and you want to help them, host a webinar to show people how to do it.

After choosing topic ideas, select the video content formats that will best deliver your message. These include webinars, online courses, tutorials, interview, as well as behind-the-scenes (BTS) footage.

Create compelling content

When you've settled on what topic(s) and content format(s) that you're going to use It's now time to write valuable content. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Use a high-quality camera to record your videos. Cameras don't need to be costly, however. If you're not able to purchase a professional camera, an iPhone and a tripod and great lighting will do.
• Provide value to your viewers. The initial few minutes of your video content will determine whether viewers will stay with the content until the conclusion. Use stories, analogies, or shocking facts to draw people in from the start. Then, provide more value throughout the entire video(s) with expert information, new research as well as proprietary information, as well as a detailed explanation of the procedure depending on the situation.
• Employ professional animators, editors, and designers, if possible. They'll be well-versed and access to quality editing and design software, which results in an impressively designed video that the audience will enjoy.
• Integrate interactive elements in your video content. If you're making your online courses, quizzes questions, tasks, and polls are great ways for your audience engaged during the learning process. If you're hosting a webinar, an interactive Q&A format allows users to connect with participants and offer value with real-time interaction.

Make a special landing page

The most effective landing pages include three aspects convincing copywriting, engaging design and a powerful call-to-action (CTA). One excellent example of this is the page that CXL uses to promote its Brand Marketing mini-degree.

Although the hue immediately makes an impression, but the most striking thing is the hero's guideline outlines what that you'll be learning if you complete the minidegree, and shows that you the instructors of the course and why they're competent to teach it.

The next page will outline advantages of signing up to CXL, followed by a form that allows users to see pricing plans and request a demo. The landing page closes with a comprehensive FAQ section, which answers most frequent questions potential clients might have.

Just like CXL's landing page and landing page, yours should also contain an online contact form (or CTA) that people have to take action on before they can access the video.

Promote your gated video content

After your landing page has been put online and your video safely gated, it's time to promote the landing page. There are many channels for marketing you can use including:

• search: Even though Google's algorithms aren't able to crawl content that is gated, they can crawl the contents of the landing page you have created and rank it using the correct keywords, which will improve the visibility of your site and bring more users to the site.
• Social media platforms: You can build momentum by posting about your video's gatekeeper before you actually create the video. Your viewers should be taken on the journey of creating your video and explain the value they'll receive from the final product. So, once the landing page becomes live, you'll have people eager to sign-up.
• Paid advertising: Building momentum through organic SEO and social media marketing can be a lengthy process. If you're looking for faster results and you have a budget, you can run pay-per-click (PPC) ads for the website's landing page in websites and on social media.

Analyze and repeat

If you are beginning to receive emails that convert due to your gated content, monitor your performance by using tools for analytics. Monitor important metrics of performance (KPIs) like viewing retention, conversion rates and lead quality.

Utilize the information you collect to improve your plan of action to improve the techniques you use to create videos changing the types of content or distribution channels or rethinking your target market.

Doing SEO for restricted video content

Google's algorithm doesn't crawl or look up content within an application. So, if you block your videos will not be ranked in the results of search engine webpages (SERPs). It is possible to employ SEO to increase the exposure of your gated videos by

• Optimizing your specific site for the search engines
• Embedding your lead-capture form inside ungated, SEO-optimized content like blog posts
• Making videos more efficient

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

On-page SEO

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

For optimizing your blog, landing pages, posts and videos, use these keywords in the title tags. Also, include (sub)headings and page copy. image alt texts, meta (and video) description, as well as URLs, if applicable.

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

Off-page SEO

Backlinks are arguable the most significant part of off-page SEO since Google regards them as the primary ranking factor. An effective backlink profile is the "T" in E-E A-T (trustworthiness), which is the framework Google employs to evaluate the credibility of content that is on websites.

The process of building backlinks is to get reputable websites to provide a link to the landing page and/or blog post that allows people to subscribe to your exclusive video content. In the event that this happens the algorithms of Google interpret it to mean that your offering is pertinent to the user's needs and is valuable. It also fulfills search intent.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves making the technical aspects of your website in order to boost the SERP ranking of your website. It includes making your site mobile-friendly, increase 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 techniques (like the improvement of site speed, and making your website responsive on any device) ranking aspects, they also help Google to crawl and rank your website.

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

Guidelines for gated videos

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

Maintain videos at an optimal length

It's impossible to regulate every aspect, however there are some that you could improve on, like 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 therefore they're not likely to take in a long-winded video. People in this stage often are more benefited by untagged content, such as blog posts or short videos on social media.

But, those who are considering purchasing your product or trying to weigh the value of your product against that of your competitor will be more willing to attend your professional-led webinars, buying online courses or watching successful stories and booking product demos.

The lengths of the various video formats vary, as well. As an example, video content of the online courses can range from between 3 and 20 minutes while the course itself lasting a couple of hours. Interviews, webinars, and special events typically run for 1-2 hours. Likewise, case study videos are usually five to ten minutes long.

Pro tip: Create multiple edits. Once you've recorded your first video you'll have a lot of video. You'll need to edit it multiple times to remove any unnecessary 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.

Design captivating thumbnails as well as titles

Your title and thumbnail are the first thing users see upon visiting your landing page, or blogs where you have embedded your video that is gated. These elements need to grab your visitors' attention and convince them to sign up to gain access to the video.

You can create your own thumbnail if you are a skilled graphic designer. If not, you'll need to hire a graphic designer or an expert in marketing with design talents to do it for you.

Pro tip: Don't use clickbait titles. The title you choose to use should be true to the contents of the video. If not, it'll create a negative user experience, affecting your brand's credibility as well as credibility.

Streamline your lead capture form

A lot of companies ask users to provide their personal information and email address in order to gain access to their restricted content while others ask for additional information such as the title of the job or organization's size as well as the industry. Some even ask their visitors to fill out a brief survey before they can gain access.

The method of using a name and email address is pretty effective because it permits you to send personal (by name) messages to subscribers' inbox. However, if you're trying to group your email recipients according to their profession and occupation, then you must inquire about that information too. This helps you create contents that are tailored for each group, which, in turn, improves your chances of getting people to engage with your company and purchasing the product.

Tips: An overly long form often turns people away. So if it's not necessary, take the name-and-email address approach.

Include clear calls-to-action

On your landing page Use persuasive and clear phrases to entice users to take action. e.g. "Access expert insights now" or "Download the course now". In your video, you could encourage viewers to go to your site/social media pages or sign up on your channel, depending on the goal you're trying to reach.

Whatever the CTA should be, make sure it's specific, actionable, and accessible. Put them in strategically placed places on your landing page as well as in videos, particularly if the resources are long.

Pro tip: Consider offering incentives like discounts, downloadable resources, or access to an exclusive community to sweeten the deal and encourage people to opt-in.

Run A/B tests

When you are evaluating your results, conduct A/B tests of different components of your video content gated strategy, which includes the titles, thumbnails, message formats and CTAs. These will provide insight into what variations work most well with your target audience. It will also aid in optimizing the rate of conversion over time.

Video platforms with gated access

If you're wondering what methods you can employ to make gated video, here's a breakdown of four of the best gated video platforms, including the features they offer and their prices.

Selecting the best secure video platform

If you're stuck on which security-related video streaming platform you should use, here are some tips to help you select the best one for your requirements and objectives:

Determine your requirements

When you are choosing a platform for video, ask yourself what you would like the platform to help you accomplish. Your answers will help you select the right tool for your requirements.

If, for instance, you are looking to create leads, Vimeo can be a good alternative because it offers lead generation tools and can integrate seamlessly with marketing tools for email. But if your priority is to increase organic traffic by using SEO, Brightcove and Sproutvideo could be better options.

Consider your budget

The pricing tiers offered by the platform can be a good place to start to determine the price you're able to pay However, it is important to consider any additional costs such as bandwidth charges or transaction fees, as these can impact the overall price of the service.

Explore possibilities for customization

The video platform you choose should give you control over the appearance and functionality of the player. Look for options that permit users to alter the branding, player design and even interactive elements such as CTA buttons.

Consider integration capabilities

If you're considering implementing the gated strategy for video content, chances are you have many other tools that are part of your stack. In order to streamline the process of creating content, you'll need to choose a video platform that is compatible with the tools you already have and platforms.

This includes your website, your content management software (CMS), Customer relationship management (CRM) software as well as email marketing services marketing automation platforms Payment gateways, as well as the other essential software for your business.

Review security and privacy options

If you're dealing with confidential or sensitive data, be sure that the platform for video you choose has robust security safeguards. SproutVideo, in particular, is an excellent tool to use for this as it offers features such as geo-restriction and password protection. IP address restrictions, as well as encryption protocols to protect your data.

Assess analytics and reporting

Comprehensive analytics and reports are essential for monitoring the success of your gated content and understanding how your audience engages with your company.

Be sure to look for platforms that provide detailed viewer insights, such as the duration of a view, click-through rates (CTR) and percentages of conversion, audience demographics as well as other KPIs that are relevant to your business. These insights will help you refine your content strategy to improve your engagement.

Verify the possibility of scaling

If you work or manage in a company that is growing rapidly, the video platform that you select should be able to handle the increased uploads of videos and greater traffic volumes without compromising on performance. Also, the platform should scale with you.

So, take into consideration factors like the available storage space as well as bandwidth choices, along with the ability to support high-definition (HD) video to ensure that your platform can be scalable and is relevant in the future in the future as your company expands.

Product demos as well as trial period

Many video platforms offer product demos and/or trial periods to benefit from to gain hands-on experience with the application. Not only will you be able to assess whether the platform meets your needs, but you'll also learn how to navigate through the platform, should you decide to go ahead with it.

Measuring the success of your content creation gated strategy

For assessing the performance of your video content gated strategy, there are three essential things to be doing: keep track of important performance indicators (KPIs) and use analytics tools, and iterate continuously.

Track key performance indicators

A few commonly used KPIs to track include:

• Conversion rates: These measures the percentage of users who have provided their personal information in order to access the protected content.
• Click-through rate (CTR) on CTAs: This measures how often people click on CTAs on your landing pages or in your videos. This determines the efficiency of your CTAs in generating desired actions.
• Engagement metrics: Track measures like the average length of time a viewer watches as well as video completion rate and video interactions (likes comments, likes, and shares). This shows how effectively your video content is engaging people who are watching.
• Lead generation: This measures the number of new leads created by restricted content. It shows how convincing and persuasive your content is.
• Lead quality: This measures how likely new leads will convert to paying customers. You can assess this KPI via lead scoring or qualification criteria.

Use Analytics tools Utilize analytics tools

Analytics tools can retrieve and categorize information from various sources to give you a better knowledge of the overall operation. Some common analytics tools you could use are:

• Google Analytics (GA): It analyzes the user's behavior on your website, monitors the performance of your landing pages and tracks the sources of traffic, among many other features. GA allows you to set goals and events for your site. GA it is possible to set up goals and occasions to measure specifically the interaction with your content that is gated.
• Platforms for hosting videos: These platforms such as Vimeo, Wistia, or YouTube provide detailed insights into video performance. In conjunction into lead form forms they can monitor parameters like play rates, engagement, and the conversion rate.
• Marketing automation platforms: Tools such as HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot provide analytics tools which allow you to monitor lead behavior after they engage with your gated content.
• CRM software: CRM tools such as Pipedrive and Salesforce can help you track leads generated from gated video content and monitor their progression through to the sale funnel.

Continuous optimization and iteration

Establish regular intervals of reporting for monitoring the success of your content that is gated using a strategy. Compare your data across period of time (including data generated from A/B testing) to determine patterns and trends.

Utilize the information you get from your data for making informed changes to your approach for maximizing the lead capture form or using different video content formats, or switching distribution channels.

Make your company more successful with gated video content

Accepting content from gated video is a fantastic option to enhance your marketing plan. When you offer valuable material in exchange for users' data, you're not just capturing leads but also creating the possibility of direct communications with a receptive crowd. This allows you to deliver personalized messages and nurture potential customers through the buyer's journey.

Your gated video content also allows you to showcase your knowledge, position your company as an expert, and create the impression of exclusivity as well as the value to your customersthat ultimately leads to the brand's popularity and increases conversions.

Plus also lets you to establish and manage communities that are exclusive, which helps you foster an even deeper relationship to your customers, increase the sales of your offerings, boost conversions as well as generate income to your business.

FAQ

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

The term "gated" video content" refers to content that is accessible only after the viewer has provided details about themselves such as their email address, or other demographic details. This marketing tactic allows businesses 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 to promote your business?

Using gated videos in marketing allows businesses to collect leads, accumulate vital customer information and then deliver content that is personalised which builds trust with their audience and increases the number of conversions.

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

The following is a step-by-step outline of how to create a winning 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
• Design a page for landing
• Promote your content for video that you have made available to the public
• Iterate and analyze Based on the information gathered

    What are some best methods to create captivating gated videos?    

When you are creating video content that is gated These are some of the top practices to keep in mind:

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

    Which gated video platforms are best for my business?    

The most popular platforms which you can utilize to make gated videos that resonate with your audience are:

• Vimeo: Known for extensive customization options and high-quality video playback.
• Wistia offers customizable video players, capture email forms, and extensive analytics.
• Brightcove: Comprehensive platform with robust features for large enterprises as well as media firms.
• SproutVideo: A video hosting platform that puts a strong emphasis on security, with attributes like domain limitations and password protection.

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

The two ways to analyze and track the performance of the videos you have gated

• The tracking of important indicator of performance (KPIs) such as conversion rates, click-through ratio (CTR) and engagement metrics (likes shares, likes, and comments)
• Analytics tools such as Google Analytics  or video hosting tools, CRM tools, and marketing automation tools
• Check KPIs against industry averages for more context on your performance