What is Interactive Content?
What is Interactive Content? Interactive content is any type of content that requires engagement or participation from the reader or user, it involves the audience moving from a passive reading or digesting mode to active involvement requiring some form of engagement or action from the user. Interactive content has been increasing rapidly over the past five years, being present more frequently in all types of content and marketing strategies. There are various types of interactive content, the most common include polls, quizzes, scales or calculators, videos, animated graphics or data, ebooks, and interactive demos.
Why Interactive Content?
In recent years, interactive content has emerged as a top way to engage with your audience and keep them returning. The world of social media has likely influenced this trend, with over a billion active users, social media allows for constant interaction through live video, post commenting, liking, debating, and refreshing for updates. Social media allows for constant active engagement and this audience expects this type of interaction in all their content now. Read 5 ways to keep your readers engaged for tips to add engagement to your content.
For marketers specifically, interactive content should be considered a strong strategy with increasing importance for lead generation. According to a DemandGen Report, 91% of B2B buyers prefer to consume interactive and visual content over static content. In addition, interactive content generates twice as many conversions as passive content (Source: Kapost). These are two huge statistics, they emphasize that the vast majority of content viewers want to be engaged, and they are more likely to convert when viewing interactive content. So this should be a big incentive for marketers and content managers to start introducing or increasing interactive content pieces in their mix.
Types of Interactive Content
But what types of interactive content should be used? It has often been thought that interactive content is resource intensive and costly, however, this is not always the case, there are simple ways to add interactivity to your content. But given the potential results it could bring, the resources would be worth the potential return. So where should the resources be invested to generate more results? Let’s dive into the top six types of interactive content you can easily add to your marketing mix to help generate leads.
Polls and quizzes
One of the best ways to solicit engagement from your audience is through a poll or quiz. These elements require minimum personal information from the reader, but allows your readers to feel like they are engaging and giving feedback. Simple, fun or easy polls and quiz questions are a great addition to any content and will keep the reader engaged to continue down your content to a potential conversion.
Interactive infographics
Infographics are a great way to present data in an image format, so it is easy to digest and visualize the data, however, when adding interactive elements to an infographic, it adds an additional layer of engagement, it allows the reader to view the content in the order you prefer, and is not as overwhelming as seeing it all at once. And because it requires active participation, the reader is continually engaged and will better understand your message.
Interactive videos and live streaming
Interactive videos and live streaming have become increasingly popular through the social media era, with celebrities, influencers, businesses or even the everyday user getting involved and live streaming aspects of their lives, sharing knowledge, showcasing products, or sharing how-to’s. They are helpful because most are unscripted, happen live and allow the audience to feel like they are present and engaging with the video host. For marketers, live or interactive videos are an easy source of heavy, interactive content; they are relatively easy to prepare, the content can be spliced and used again throughout your marketing funnel and when your audience feels like they know you, or are getting involved in your video by commenting, liking, sharing etc, they are more likely to convert from you.
Calculators and measurement tools
A calculator is a super simple tool to add to any piece of content that will offer simple engagement but can yield high conversions. It can be done through sliding scales or allowing the entering of data and giving the user a calculated result in return. Calculators not only give you data, but it also gives the audience some value in return for input as well. Easy examples of calculators to add to you content to increase engagement could be a savings or resource calculator or an ROL calculator, and you could always follow the result up with a call to action offering more information regarding their result in exchange for an email address to maximize conversions.
Interactive eBooks and Whitepapers
Ebooks and Whitepapers on their own are typically great lead generators, they offer your audience value in return for personal information. But when an Ebook or Whitepaper is interactive, it increases the engagement level with the lead who is viewing it, and might take them further down your funnel from a general expression of interest, to ready for a conversation or conversion. Adding interactivity to an Ebook is easy, adding elements like an interactive table of contents or interactive menu allows the user to navigate easily through the publication and go back and forth as needed, flipping pages adds the feel of a physical magazine, and adding animations and videos keeps the reader engaged and immersed in your content. You can add these features easily through a Flipbooks software, or a content experience platform like Experios.
Clickable demos
Clickable demos, or interactive video demonstrations are probably the most labor intensive form of interactive content as most require a program or platform to facilitate this type of content, but can yield the best results. Interactive demos present a software based product in an interactive format so the user can click through a demonstration of the software at their own pace while being offered simulated guidance throughout. If used correctly, a good clickable demo can increase your lead generation three fold. Because these demos require active participation throughout, the user is actively engaged, and this leads to a much higher conversion than if a user were to watch the same sequence in a video clip. The best way to gain leads would be to gate the clickable demo, or gate portions of it; give your audience a free teaser, get them engaged and then ask for their email to continue through the demo, or set up a live demo.
Key Takeaways
Interactive content can bring in five times more traffic than any other content, but isn’t used as much as the potential offers, which means there is plenty of room for more interactive content in the world. If you are looking to increase your readership, generate more leads, and increase conversions, you need to start creating interactive content. It can be easily added to websites, blogs, digital magazines or brochures, and you can add multiple versions of interactive content through polls, infographics, calculators, Ebooks, live videos, and interactive demos. Start with one piece of content, add interactivity, and optimize and add more as you continue to produce content.
Using a content experience platform like Experios allows you to add interactive content easily to your digital publications like animations, video streams, polls and forms, and much more. It handles the heavy lifting in content creation and allows you to create a beautiful piece of interactive content.
About Experios
Experios is 3D Issue’s all new Content Experience platform that allows you to build both internal communications and external content easily, while implementing your company branding. You can create annual reports, newsletters and brochures for your employees as well as your customers.. You can get started with Experios for free today, schedule a demo or start your free trial.
