Mary Ellen Slayter’s Post

Totally agree - a lot of the ways we distribute content goes against the nature of easy consumption.. but do you think there’s still a place for gated content? What about having the option for those that do want to download it? Or just general lead gen - nurturing downloads with more relevant content, etc.. The video and PowerPoint I think are great for distribution but you still need to have a lead gen funnel somewhere for content

I am finding that content marketing that is actually valuable and useful is best for organic traffic. You can gate something but it needs to be once you give someone a taste for some solid content. We do this for our courses for HR leaders with great success. It also doesn't hurt that I have a high traffic blog to help build my reputation on. But I do find it fascinating that everyone wants to drive leads with white papers this way. It seems really outdated in a world where I can get most information from my Alexa or Chat-GPT on the surface in under 7 seconds.

As a veteran of the b2b content war, can confirm your criticism of whitepapers. What in your experience is best for spreading a big idea? Ungated manifesto? Edward style talk video? how far down the funnel do you recommend getting before you gate your content? I'll take my answer off the air.

Do you want the stats on these? I’m closing the 2024 research tomorrow and have the numbers of buyers opinions on all types of content (including whitepapers)

Thinking about this. For sure the gating content idea I 💯 agree with. That’s a no brainer. But, will people really download a PowerPoint before a PDF? Not sure. Feels like the same action, just a shorter read. Love the repurposing ideas, including the video options. Interesting idea Mary Ellen Slayter! You’ve always got me thinking… 🤔

This made my morning. You chose the right format to get your message out. I had all my B2B tech clients stop producing white papers and eBooks a year ago. Nobody has seen any pain. Kudos!

I love that you’re sharing and documenting your knowledge in video format. I always admired how smart you are. Keep it up! 👏🏼

Love this Mary. What’s more, the majority of white papers produced (in tech anyway) these days don’t even have any original research - they’re 2,000 words of unsupported opinion and sales message. Even less valuable than the ones you describe!

Thanks for sharing!

Agreed. You know how I think about this, too, because we've chatted about it. But you and I are on a bus without too many other passengers. I, too, don't believe in the normal case for gating: a) the info they get after handing over their data is underwhelming; b) it creates unnecessary friction; c) we aren't really doing that much with the data, anyway. https://punctuation.com/why-you-might-want-to-leave-your-content-ungated/