Content

Most lead generation campaigns rely on content offers that are gated behind forms. Getting the content right is critical to the effectiveness of this type of campaign, so make sure you check out these content tips.

80. It’s the title (and cover) that matter most

We often see huge amounts of effort being put into the generation of high-quality content, and then little attention being paid to the title and design of the cover. Don't forget that this is typically the only part of the content your audience will see before they fill in the form, so spend time thinking about what would be the most attractive title and how you can make the cover more enticing.

81. Test different titles

Experimenting with different titles, and running AB tests, can make a huge difference to the conversion rate of your landing page and forms. Don't be afraid to test several versions of the same content with different titles to determine which one works best.

82. Talk in your customers’ language

When generating content, it's so easy to write in a way that's attractive for people who work in your organisation. But in practice, your customers probably use slightly different language and tone, so try to make sure you write using their terminology rather than your own.

83. eBooks beat white papers

The white paper has been incredibly successful for a very long time, but testing shows that conversion rates are higher for eBooks.

84. Research is valuable

One of the most effective forms of content is a report based on research you have done. Your customers will want to know how others doing the same job in different organisations think, so survey research around attitudes in the market you are addressing can produce content with exceptional conversion rates.

85. Tools and calculators get engagement

Content doesn't just have to be presented as written text or by video. Although lead generation calculators and other online tools can sometimes seem a little simplistic, they do get great engagement and can be great sources of leads. It can be time consuming and expensive to do the programming work to create a calculator, but often the results are well worth it.

86. Webinars are still great

During the pandemic there was a huge rush to produce webinars. Although demand for webinars has fallen due to some organisations producing poor quality online events, the large number of webinars that are available, and the option to attend face-to-face events, mean that webinars still work. Even if the performance of your webinars have fallen, it's likely that the quality of engagement and return on investment makes the time to produce them very worthwhile.

87. Offer content to follow-on from the webinar

Just as physical events offer content that follows on from your webinar, valuable content is particularly important for subsequent webinars because people are probably attending to learn something more, and therefore will be open to engaging with additional material about the topic.

88. Keep webinars short (<45 mins)

It's hard to stay focused on a webinar for a long time. Most of our clients find attendees start to log off somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes after the start. Although some people will continue to watch the webinar for well over an hour, we recommend aiming for around 45 minutes as this seems to be the optimum length.

89. Double-down on the best-performing content

It's vitally important to monitor what content generates the best results. You'll probably find a small percentage will generate the vast majority of leads. Don't keep creating completely new content; repurpose the best performing content as source material for different channels, formats or just new versions of the content you know works best.

90. Try different formats

Most companies focus on a small number of formats. For example, you might be highly invested in the company blog or prefer to create only white papers. Try to avoid such a narrow focus: having a wider range will allow greater reuse of content, which will save you time, and also mean you are more likely to be engaging every member of your audience in the format they prefer.

91. Video can be gated

With many companies posting their video content to sharing sites or leaving it ungated on their website, you might think that gating video is a bad idea. If you have the right video content - for example interviews with board level executives of your customers - then gating video might not only be possible, it might be the best way to generate high-quality leads.

92. Worry about design

Although tools exist to create content in different formats without requiring any design expertise, you should be very conscious of good design. Great design not only makes the content more attractive and encourages people to read it, it also makes consuming the content simpler and increases the likelihood of that your audience will remember the message.

93. You can gate content that is publicly available

the best lead generation campaigns one of our clients ran was a collection of publicly available blog posts packaged up as an eBook. If you can make the content more convenient to consume, then it's definitely worth considering using publicly available information for lead generation.

94. Create teaser content

It's important to try to show your audience what they will get if they register for your content offer. Creating short teaser content, particularly on social media, is a great way to increase interest in your content and therefore improve the conversion rate of your landing page and forms.

95. Test which format is most popular

Just because you like a particular format, it doesn't mean your audience will like it, too. It's important to test different formats to see which one is most effective. Does your audience prefer white papers or eBooks? Is video preferred over written content? Although you can use rules of thumb, your audience will be slightly different from everyone else’s and testing is the only way you will really understand their preferences.

96. Use snippets to promote content

When creating teaser content, don't overthink it. Quite often the table of contents and first chapter of an eBook, which takes virtually no effort to produce, is great teaser content. Think about how you can use snippets from that content as a teaser rather than having to create something new.

97. Promote your offers in other content

If someone is reading, watching or listening to your content, then it's likely they are open to more. So promote within your content. Perhaps the best place to do this is in podcasts, where you can generate leads by offering things such as eBooks to download.