Strategy for Gated Content That Generates Demand

1. 5-point Strategy for Gated Content That Generates Demand Let's go back. Digital marketing was born about 3 decades ago, when computers became smart enough to store customer data and deliver unsecured content. Quickly step into the present tense and take a peek in your inbox. We all share the same inbox and the same story on social media, apathetic, without excuse with the same old brand awareness content. Frankly, there is nothing out of the box out there that we could stop and check. Our inboxes are running out of space and we are (finally!) Running out of time to clear the mess. Marketing, as you can see, has evolved from traditional door-to-door direct and indirect guerrilla warfare to more contemporary and sophisticated digital media combat. For any business, high quality qualified leads for marketing or sales are generated through digital marketing. And what exactly are you marketing digitally? CONTENT! Content is the backbone, the simplest entity that spins the dynamic marketing wheel to create demand. Research from the Content Marketing Institute found that the number one content marketing challenge faced by B2B marketers is to produce valuable content (60%), then produce content consistently (57%) and measure the effectiveness of the content (57%). In simpler terms, premium content is the means by which businesses increase their conversion rate. Several B2B marketers use a mix of content to promote across different channels. These include email marketing, blog posts, articles, white papers, reports, guides, eBooks, videos, GIFs, webinars, podcasts, and more. Writing content that appeals to your potential customer isn't rocket science as long as you put the right things in place to get you going. By executing the most precise marketing strategy, you increase your chances of attracting an audience you want to target. Here is the 5 point scale from Deck 7 which at best is a checklist for creating great secure content that will help you create, monitor, measure and control your closed room to generate demand. But before you take the 5-point scale, it is assumed that you have clearly identified your buyer persona and that you have a strong content marketing arm in place to achieve the desired results of your content marketing strategy. 1. Does it address the issues? A marketer should talk about the most pressing issues, weaknesses, and critical audience challenges in the context of the headline. Introducing your secure content is like starting a

2. discussion with your customer where you reiterate their problem and tell them that you can guide them to an optimal solution. The content portal in the information you provide may be in the form of infographic, landing page, or some other form of content control. 2. Are there enough statistics, links and facts? Quote experts in the field, say what the research says, give relevant statistics, and mention facts from reliable sources to indicate that they are not alone and that the problem is common. Add good links that will help them browse reports or blogs for better understanding. With this in mind, you tell your audience how huge the problem is and what its side effects might be. You validate your points with real facts and statistics that will grab their attention. Doing this is one of the best ways to turn potential customers into qualified leads. 3. Have you presented a use case to demonstrate what others are doing? Here you will tell them how a certain content marketer solved the same problem and how a few others with similar challenges overcame it. Use real-life use cases to explain your B2B content. This not only adds credibility to your content, but also means you as an expert in the field. When your target audience has a live example to watch, they start to value your information. Closed content works in cases where the public is willing to trade their details for the information you provide. 4. Did you give the solution? Now is the time for you to give them the solution and explain how your service, application, product, platform or tool will help the customer meet their specific needs and overcome their challenges. Showcase the key features, benefits, unique selling points, and accomplishments of your content offering. This step acts as a primary magnet if you are delivering content that audiences want. 5. Is there a point of contact? Give a brief description of your business and provide a point of contact like your contact details, website, email id or address. Provide a piece of content to refer to. Follow this 5-point scale to place your closed content strategy in the league of trust for finding takers to create much-needed demand and start the lead generation process.