B2B Myth of the Week: Gated Content Will Bring In Loads of Leads
by Emily Swet
Myth: Gated Content Will Bring In Loads of Leads
Truth: Without a Strategy, Gated Content Can Kill Relationships
Gated content falls smack dab in the center of the B2B marketing wheelhouse. You can showcase your products and services. You can position yourself as a thought-leader in your industry. You can capture loads of sales leads in the process. And you can do it all on the cheap. Sounds like a win, right? So why not just jump in and dangle some gated content to your audience in exchange for their contact information?
Here’s why: according to a study done by Forester, 68% percent of buyers prefer to research information on their own. More significantly, 81% of Gen X-ers and Millennials opt out of downloading content simply because they don’t want to fill out a form. (If you think these groups aren’t making buying decisions, think again). This doesn’t mean employing gated content is pointless – there’s still tremendous value to be gained. It does mean, however, that you need to have a set strategy before you begin.
4 Tips for Gating Content
- Keep Your First Pieces Open. Too many forms at the start of a sales journey will do more harm than good. Establish trust, authority, and goodwill with quality content your audience can access immediately. This confirms that your brand offers information of value, and will be worth submitting contact info for down the road.
- Gate the Right Stuff. Resist the urge to gate every piece of content your marketing team produces. Lower value pieces (think tips, guidelines, and infographics) may not have a serious payoff and can leave your audience feeling misled. Whitepapers and case studies, however, can offer in-depth insight, and be worth exchanging an email for.
- Know Your Audience and Where They Are In The Sales Process. Are they seriously evaluating your product? Or are they still in education mode? Understanding your customers’ motivators will ensure the content you serve is relevant, and help you determine what to gate and what to offer instant access to.
- Don’t Ask For Everything. The more info you ask for, the higher the drop-off rate. Begin by asking for an email address, then nurture your customer further into your sales funnel by delivering relevant content from there.
For B2B brands (particularly those with lean marketing and sales departments), it’s tempting to gate everything you have. Granting free access and gating strategically, however, delivers leads that are far more qualified – saving time and money in the long run. And that’s where the value of gated content lies for you.
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B2B Myth of the Week: B2B Holiday Marketing Packs Zero Punch
by Emily Swet
The Myth: B2B Holiday Marketing Packs Zero Punch
The Truth: The Holidays Are the Perfect Time for One Last Knock Out
It seems like the moment the Jack-O-Lantern is blown out, the world becomes one big B2C holiday marketing free-for-all. But believe it or not, there is a good opportunity to get your B2B brand in front of your customers a few more times before Q4 ends. Consider this:
- Buyers often have use-it-or-loose it budgets at the end of the year. Give them a chance to spend it up.
- The holidays throw a wrench into everyone’s schedules. You may have an opportunity to get directly in front of a decision-maker that wouldn’t ordinarily happen.
- The general spirit of merriment during the holidays make customers more likely to engage, and more receptive to acts of goodwill.
Considering we’re just a few days shy of Thanksgiving, there isn’t a whole lot of time to create a campaign from scratch. Instead, let’s focus on what’s possible. Here are a few scalable to-dos between now and Dec. 31.
Re-gift Your Content
Create a relevant article, end-of-year checklist, or white paper for your consumers. If you don’t have time to create fresh content, take a look at your top performers from the year, then reuse and repurpose them. Turn the info from a blog post into an infographic. Take a high-performing newsletter and turn it into a blog post. You get the idea.
Show Gratitude
Build a stronger relationship and a positive image with the simple act of saying thanks. Extend a thank you to your customers, to your staff, and anyone else that might contribute to the success of your brand. Saying thank you to your staff via social media gives your brand life behind your logo. And sending a tailored holiday-themed “thank you” to your customers will keep you top of mind in the year to come.
Offer A Discount
A well-timed offer or incentive can help you stand out from the competition at year end. Furthermore, customers are groomed for year-end deals. Leverage that behavior: use seasonal language (think: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, A Holiday Gift From Us, etc). Discounts can be positioned as urgent, one-time deals or as a personal gift from your company to your client.
Don’t leave the season to the B2C marketers alone. Done right, your B2B holiday marketing plan can have you off to the start of a great New Year.
Continue ReadingMarketing in Camouflage: Native Advertising for Manufacturers
by Emily Swet
Native advertising for manufacturing brands can be a mighty tool in your marketing arsenal. And with native predicted to drive 74% of ad revenue by 2021, it’s worthy of consideration. Let’s take a closer look at the basics of native advertising to see if it’s a good fit for your manufacturing brand.
First, What Is Native Advertising?
Native advertising is an ad format that looks like the editorial content around it. It’s different from content marketing, which is unpaid and lives on your website and social channels. Instead, native ads are paid placements in publications (or their online counterparts) that offer other value to your customers.
A sample of native advertising on Buzzfeed.
Isn’t That Just a Fancy Word for an Advertorial?
Advertorials are similar: longer-form ads written in an editorial style to evoke the same experience as a publication they are placed in. You’ve likely heard of them – they’ve been around since the 1940s (and are the precursor to today’s infomercial). Advertorials are generally much more promotional. They usually focus on the benefits of the product/service being offered and often push to sell.
In contrast, native ads usually focus on highly targeted content from which the reader can gain value. There is less emphasis on the product behind the article, and no sales pitch. Brands gain value in return by positioning themselves as thought leaders in their industry, building trust and brand affinity.
What Are the Benefits?
- They Are Appealing. Consumers view native advertising more often then banner ads.
- They Are Empowering. When done correctly, native ads give prospects the power to find solutions to their problems.
- The Leads Are Good. Because the content is relevant and highly targeted, you get more high-quality leads. This is particularly true if you are putting native ads on the sites of niche trade publications.
What Are the Drawbacks?
- Scalability. Producing native ads can be demanding. Each ad needs to look and sound like part of its environment. That means you risk authenticity or value, especially under a deadline, if you push for quantity.
- It can be perceived as deceptive. People don’t want to be tricked. There’s a delicate balance: your content must flow naturally with the publication. But you also can’t leave your reader feeling betrayed when they notice it’s sponsored. Your content should be relevant and insightful or useful in some way.
- One bad apple spoils the bunch. There are plenty of brands creating native ads that are simply too promotional. This makes some consumers leery of native ads in general. But according to Forbes, standards for native are set to increase, making it necessary for advertisers to follow rules and regulations.
What Does This Mean for Your Brand?
To conclude, native advertising can fall right in your prospect’s wheelhouse – if it’s done right. Offer something useful to your buyer from the outset, and you’ll build loyalty and name recognition. (And pull them into your sales funnel.) But like any kind of advertising, native ads require expertise, testing, and evaluation to monitor your success rates.
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