Ep 20: Digital Marketing Trends of 2023: Interactive Content

Digital Marketing Trends of 2023: Interactive Content

Sarah

Interactive content refers to any type of digital content that allows users to actively participate or engage with it. This could be in the form of quizzes, surveys, games, or even interactive videos. The goal of interactive content is to hold the user’s attention longer and keep them coming back for more and together valuable data and insights about the audience.

One key benefit of interactive content is that it is highly engaging for audiences. By giving users the ability to participate and affect the outcome, interactive content can hold their attention longer and keep them coming back for more. This can be especially valuable for businesses looking to build brand loyalty and keep customers coming back to their website or social media channels

But interactive content isn’t just good for keeping people engaged, it can also be a great way to gather valuable data and insights about your audience. Surveys and quizzes, for example, can help businesses understand more about their customer’s preferences and interests, even experiences. This data can then be used to tailor marketing campaigns and better target your messaging to specific segments of your audience.

Other benefits include improving customer experience with interactive content can improve the customer experience by providing a more interactive and personalized experience. For example, a quiz that asks users about their interests and preferences can help tailor recommendations and content to the individual user in the future.

Another benefit is boosting social media engagement. Interactive content can be a great way to boost engagement on social media platforms. For example, a business could create a quiz and promote it on their social media channels, which could encourage users to share the quiz with their followers and increase the reach of the content.

Another benefit includes enhancing brand awareness. Interactive content can help businesses build brand awareness by getting people to talk about the brand. For example, a fun quiz or game related to a business’s products or services could encourage users to share it with their friends and colleagues, which could help increase brand awareness.

So how can you take advantage of interactive content in your business for your marketing efforts?

There are many different ways to incorporate interactive content into your marketing strategy, depending on your goals and audience. Here are a few ideas to help you get started. One that we’ve already mentioned is quizzes and surveys.

Quizzes are a great way to get people interested in your brand and keep them coming back for more. You can create quizzes about anything from personality tests to trivia about your industry, I can attest that when I was younger, those Buzzfeed quizzes were extremely popular with my friends and I, and even our classmates, we were always going on there and seeing what Harry Potter character are we like, or what design style do we represent, just different things like that. People love quizzes so just make sure to keep the questions relevant and interesting to your audience.  

Surveys are a more formal way to gather data and insights about your audience. You can use surveys to gather feedback about your products or services or learn more about your customer’s preferences and interests. A few platforms that work well for this are Google Forms. Google Forms is free, so if you’re looking for a low-budget option, this one is. Typeform is also a good one, it has a great user experience and keeps the user engaged as it’s one question per screen. SurveyMonkey is also another great option.

Another idea for interactive content is interactive infographics. These can be used to educate and engage audiences by providing information in a visually appealing and interactive format. A few platforms that allow you to do this are Canva. Canva is a great platform you can do so many things on it, and interactive infographics are one of them. Pikto Chart is another, and so was Venngage.

Another example of interactive content is interactive videos. Interactive videos are a newer form of interactive content that allows users to make choices and affect the outcome of the video, these can be a great way to engage viewers and keep them coming back for more. A few examples of platforms are HapYak, and YouTube interactive cards, at this point we’re all very familiar with YouTube, so I highly recommend that one, as well as Vimeo Interactive Video.

Virtual and augmented reality is another form of interactive content that you can use. These technologies can be used to create immersive brand experiences that can help differentiate a business from its competitors. Some platforms that allow you to do this are Unity, Unreal Engine, and Vuforia.

Another form of interactive content is contests and giveaways. This is a very traditional way of incorporating interactive content I’ve seen these growing up on YouTube with different YouTubers having a giveaway and gaining followers that way. Even businesses giving away certain items on social media they gain traction and people can share it with their friends as well. These can be used to drive engagement and generate leads by collecting contact information in exchange for a chance to win a prize. A few platform options for this are RafflePress, Gleam, and Woobox.

Another interactive content option would be interactive landing pages. Create interactive landing pages that encourage the visitors to take action, such as filling out a form, downloading a guide, or signing up for a newsletter. I know we use this when we create our web design for our clients, we always include a way for the user to sign up for a newsletter. The user can place their email in, and in return, they are given a free download. You gain a newsletter subscriber and they gain a free download that they’re able to apply to their lives. A few examples of interactive landing page platforms include Unbounce, Leadpages, and Instapage.

Gamification is another great way to incorporate interactive content. Creating games or game-like experiences that align with your brand and products is a fun way to engage your audience and promote your offerings. A few platforms that allow you to do this are Gamification.co, Bunchball, and BigDoor.

The last example of interactive content that we’ll be talking about today is chatbots. Chatbots can be used to provide personalized customer service and help generate leads by collecting contact information. I know we’ve all been on shopping websites where, you know, where we need instant customer service, where we know that if we call in, it might take 30 minutes to an hour to get ahold of somebody, and if you just have a simple question, chatbots can answer those questions and more. I know I utilize chatbots as much as possible and I’m sure you do too, so this is a great way to improve customer service and even generate leads. Some platforms that allow you to do this are MobileMonkey, Drift, and Manychat.

It’s worth noting that some platforms may offer more advanced features, while others may be more user-friendly or better suited to certain types of interactive content. Additionally, some platforms like Unbounce and Leadpages allow you to create interactive landing pages, forms, and overlays. So make sure to do your research, look all of these options up, and pick the one that’s best for you and your business.

It’s also important to consider how the interactive content will be integrated with your website or other marketing channels such as emails or social media, and choose a platform that makes that process as seamless as possible. The last thing we need is to choose a platform and it’s so difficult to apply to your social media or email or even your website.

Another thing to note is that it’s important to have a clear goal for your interactive content and to track metrics such as engagement and conversion rates to measure the effectiveness of your strategy. If you’re getting results where something just isn’t working, then scratch that, try something new, try different things, and see what works for your business and your audience.

As you can see, interactive content is a powerful tool for businesses looking to engage their audience and build brand loyalty. If you’re interested in incorporating interactive content into your marketing efforts, there are plenty of resources and tools available to help you get started.