A common strategy marketers across nearly all industries employ is to create a “content marketing funnel.” They provide some content without any strings attached, while additional, more in-depth content is only available after filling out a signup form or via download.
This downloadable, more gated content serves as an incentive for visitors to provide their contact information to brands, who can then use that information for mailing lists and other outreach efforts.
Of course, the entire point of this gated content is to give your customers some additional information that is actually useful to them. Thus, you need to make sure the content you have behind the gate is worth your readers’ effort.
Exclusive, in-depth content is the way to go
This is the perfect opportunity to give your customers some information or resources they can only get from your brand. If they can find this information elsewhere, it really isn’t worthwhile. Examples of exclusive information include original research from your company or special formulas or designs. If you performed major surveys or studies, for example, you might like to share the results with your readers.
Most pieces of blog content generally fall between 400 and 600 words, with some longer posts hitting the 1,000-word mark. Even those longer posts don’t give you much opportunity to dive into topics with any great depth. To that end, developing a white paper or e-book that focuses on a specific topic in great detail can be an effective strategy to take with your gated content.
In addition, any information you share should be easily understood. For example, if you are sharing the results of a study or survey, it’s not enough to simply give your readers the raw numbers and data. You should spend the time explaining what that data means and why it’s important—or else you run the risk of confusing and turning off your readers.
Gated content is a great way to enhance the relationship you have with your customers, so make sure any downloadable content you offer is truly valuable to the people you aim to reach.
Repurposing content extends its lifespan
One potential hurdle for content writers is the impact that writer’s block can have on their efforts. But you don’t always have to create entirely new content for your brand. In fact, written material you have created in the past can be repurposed so that it can be consumed in different (but still useful) ways.
Here are a few ways you can repurpose your blog posts, articles and various other forms of content:
- Use audio as blog content (or vise versa): If you find a great webinar or piece of audio content you think would be useful to your readers, you can transcribe it and use it as a blog post. This provides some added longevity to your audio content and can help you expand the audience for that particular content. Additionally, you can take blog content that has been successful and turn it into audio to be posted on platforms like Soundcloud or iTunes.
- Turn content into infographics. This is an especially viable option if the piece of content you are repurposing contains a lot of data, numbers and quick bits of information or knowledge. Infographics help readers digest the most important facts in a quick and visually appealing manner. There are a number of online tools that allow you to creative infographics for free, including infogr.am, easel.ly and Piktochart.
- Create slideshows. You can turn your content writing into PowerPoint presentations, which can then be displayed on LinkedIn Slideshare, an online platform for slideshow presentations. This aids your search engine optimization efforts and helps establish your brand as a thought leader in its field. You can then take these slideshows and use them for webinars, conferences and other presentations.
- Take key quotes and use them as visuals. Looking for fodder for your social media platforms? You can take key quotes or bits of information and figure out a creative, meaningful way to visualize them on top of images. Numerous studies show people are more likely to share images or videos than any other type of digital content.
As a content creator, it may require thinking outside the box to find new ways to use the valuable blog content, articles, social media posts and other material you’ve developed. Consider these tips as you embark on your content marketing strategy.