Episode Summary
“Ungate all of your content. Provide all of your content for free without even asking for an email address.”
But this advice is easier said than done.
Ultimately, companies must create content to build awareness and drive growth. And SaaS companies have to articulate the value of their solution through content. But while some may profit from offering all of their content for “free”, others may need to use gated assets to meet their specific goals
So is gated content really dead? Or is there a place for it?
In this episode of Content Logistics, our host Camille Trent welcomes Marc Thomas, Head of Growth at Powered by Search. The two discuss gated content and when and how companies should use it. Marc also discusses lead generation and whether the term is relevant in 2022. He also shares valuable tips on how to grow your customer base and emphasizes the power of repurposed content.
Guest Profile
- Name: Marc Thomas
- What he does: Marc is the head of growth at Powered by Search.
- Company: Brendan: Powered by Search
- Noteworthy: Not many business owners would admit they don't want to be entrepreneurs, or it takes them a long time to accept it. Marc was one of the courageous ones who realized that running a company was not his path. Instead, he wanted to be an employee who helps companies grow.
Key Insights
- Journalists can be excellent marketers and content writers. First, to be a good journalist, one must master the art of interviewing. In addition, journalists get to know different personalities and their life stories, and they often find themselves in situations that require empathy. Therefore, content creators with a journalism background are good at conceptualizing particular topics, determining challenges, and bringing solutions closer to the audience. That was the case for Marc. ''My specialty was writing profiles of academics. I'd interview people at length and find out about their relationships with their mothers and how that impacts their work. That kind of work makes you empathetic, and when you think about marketing and SaaS marketing, you're trying to understand, 'Hey, what's the problem and how does that come out in your day-to-day life? How can I help you solve it? What information do I need to get you to a place where you wanna solve it with me?' [...] There's this soft skill — which is having a deep understanding of how people work — that's valuable.''
- Depending on what stage your company is at, you'll know what content to gate. Although many believe that the path to converting a visitor/audience to a customer is through free content, Marc says that offering gated assets is a proven strategy for collecting email addresses to build a long-term connection with prospects. However, he also says that your system's maturity and nature determine whether and when to use this strategy. ''So the content on your website that maybe isn't gated, for example, competitor comparison pages, use case pages, or pain point related blog posts — if you have them, you're gonna convert people. Some people are gonna hit that and go, 'Yep. Okay. I'm at the right stage; I'm ready to convert anyway.' But [...] high ACV product [businesses] should be collecting email addresses through gated resources. If you've got a low ACV, you're gonna have to convert a heck of a lot of people to make your business grow at the rate you want. So, absolutely collect some email addresses. Maybe you use those email addresses differently, but at least you've got them.''
- To attract new potential customers: recycle, reuse, and repurpose your content. Content creation is just one part of the equation. The second element is distribution. Therefore, as Marc explains, once-gated content can be reused and offered for free to newcomers in your audience. ''You've created this content. Why not just repurpose it? Use it ungated. So twisting this around and going, ‘Well, it's a valuable piece of content.’ I could take that and turn it into 20 different things to the extent that somebody keeps going like, 'Wow, those guys keep delivering great content. I should go off to their website and check it out.' And then they find a different lead magnet that's interesting to them. And it's all about awareness building. [...] You can't think of it as a linear journey because people don't buy like that; they don't consume content like that. It's a choose-your-own-adventure thing. There are a million different ways to get to the point where you end, and there are a whole bunch of different endings as well.''
Episode Highlights
Is the Term ‘Lead Generation’ Relevant in 2022?
”I don’t know the difference between lead gen and demand gen. I see people talking about it all the time on LinkedIn. And I think, ‘Who cares? Let’s make some money.’ That’s what I’m interested in doing with content.
If we can get people to do it, I don’t mind what you call it. You wanna call it lead gen? That’s great! If you wanna call it demand gen, that’s fine with me. At the end of the day, what I wanna do is that I want to get people who have a pain point, need your product, and nurture them along the awareness journey to the point where they go, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna buy that now.”’
Gating Content Is a Good Strategy
”Most SaaS companies are on two sides of the scale. You’ve got people with very low, average contract value who need a bunch of customers to make their businesses work. On the other end, you’ve got high ACV businesses that don’t need that many customers. But the challenge those guys have is that a tiny percentage of their market is buying their product or a product in their category at any time.
Both of those companies need people who are outside of their rented audiences to be nurtured and to build their awareness over time. […]
My challenge to people who say, ‘Hey, let’s not gate anything, or let’s gate minimal things, and then we’ll be ever-present on LinkedIn or Twitter or whatever,’ is — What happens in a financial crisis? What do you do then? Are you waiting for people to say, ‘Hey, maybe I should check those guys out?’
That’s why I think it is important to build a pipeline and build awareness so that when these challenges come, you’re able to go, ‘Hey, look, we’re working on these guys because they are product-aware, and they’re gonna buy; they’re ready to make a choice. Our sales team is talking to those guys, and our marketing is driving people down that awareness journey.’ So that’s the crux of the argument for me.”
Continue Providing Value to Those Who Are Hesitant About Buying Your Product
”It’s obvious that if a company is emailing you, they probably want you to buy from them at some point. But not everyone is going to do that. So instead, let’s provide value in the same way, for example, on LinkedIn. You’re helping people solve problems that they’re having.
The other thing is to retarget people on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Retargeting people is such low-hanging fruit for most B2B SaaS businesses. But it’s amazing how many people don’t ever pick the fruit. […] And then, there is general marketing that you can do after that.
There’s a newsletter. It goes to everybody, but it’s not necessarily personalized. There’s also this other thing that’s effective in sales, and we’ve started doing that a little bit in gated pieces as well: asking the follow-up question.
We see that people come to us or request a demo because of X, Y, and Z. The idea of taking this into marketing or sales-y marketing with gated pieces, is like, ‘Hey, why did you download this?’ That’s something that we do as a conversation starter and also as market research. […]
So, verify your strategy in some ways and verify your market of who’s interested and what type of content we should continue to make. And that’ll give you some pointers on what to do next.”