Gated VS. Ungated Content: Which Is Better For Marketing?

When it comes to content marketing, should you gate your content, or should you leave it ungated? While this debate has been around for years, the concept of content marketing has evolved in more ways than one.

So, when gated and ungated content is brought forth, which one is better for marketers?

Let’s dive right in!

What is gated content?

“Gated content refers to web content that requires the viewer or user to meet certain requirements to access it or to get the full version of it,” says Caleb Austin, a content writer at Boomessays and Essay Services. “This strategy is ideal for lead generation, especially in B2B marketing. This type of content can be an effective way to convince users to enter, fill out a contact form, pay a fee, or both. In turn, marketers can segment their audiences by interest. It’s a marketer’s version of a regular transaction.”

The downside? “Gated content has its faults,” adds Austin. “This type of content cannot be used for brand awareness. If a user sees that they have to fill out a form or pay a fee to access a piece of content, then they might be discouraged from moving forward with the action. And, it’s a bad impression for users who haven’t heard of your website before.”

What is ungated content?

In contrast, ungated content offers value for the user’s time, helping marketers build customer loyalty. Users who can access the content without a paywall or a fill-out-form request will likely talk about and share it with other users.

Ungated content can drive the following in marketing: website traffic, lead generation and sales revenue (from ads, products, etc.).

As a result, ungated content can help marketers with things like brand awareness and building customer loyalty.

Which Is Better For Marketing?

The truth is that one cannot exist without the other. In other words, ungated content needs gated content and vice versa.

“Most B2B marketers would rather use both gated and ungated content, rather than choose between the two,” says Donna Edison, a tech blogger at Oxessays and Research paper writing service. “Things like demos can serve as gated content – you allow users to try before they buy into what you offer. On the other hand, ungated content can be anything from articles to blog posts to promos. The important thing here is to find a good balance between the two. When in doubt, refer to the user’s or buyer’s journey. If people have a good experience on your website, then they’re more likely to recommend it to other people.”

Important Questions

With that said, all companies and marketers are different. How you incorporate gated and ungated – or both – will depend on your marketing goals.

Now, if you need to determine which type of content is right for you, or if you need to find a balance between gated and ungated, consider the following questions:

· Who are the users? (In other words, who is your target audience(s)?)

· What are you offering or selling?

· Can your content be repackaged in one way or another?

· Is your content downloadable? Or not?

· How serious are you with brand awareness?

· How serious are you about lead generation?

· What is the call to action? (In other words, what do you want users to do? What actions do you want them to take on your website?)

So, there you have it! Gated and ungated contents have their pros and cons. However, they can work together if your marketing strategy requires it.

As a recap:

· Use gated content if you want users to try it before they buy.

· Use ungated content to create brand awareness, generate leads and build customer loyalty.

· Use both when your marketing campaign requires it. In other words, don’t force yourself to choose, especially if you need to improve more than one strategy component.

Look at your marketing goals. Think about the buyer/user journey. And then put out the right content. Good luck, marketers!

Madeline Miller, a writer at Essay Writing Service and Do My Assignment, has written this post. Thanks!