Interactive Content: A cool way to help #youdoyou

In a world of crowded content, it’s vital to stand out. Enter interactive content, a way to get playful and useful at the same time. Interactive content can serve many purposes which ultimately lend value to your reader. As a perk, you’ll gain some valuable insights into your audience at the same time.

Interactive content consists of quizzes, games, infographics and the like and is a relatively new concept in content marketing. Still underutilized by most content marketers, it is a tool worth getting to know. In fact, according to SnapApp, 88% of content marketers say interactive marketing sets them apart from their competitors.

Why? First, interactive marketing is hard for anyone to resist. It spans all ages and demographics, which is hard to say for many marketing formats. Interactive content is a playdate between word and reader and can easily add a whimsical and engaging element to an otherwise dry topic. It’s also very personal, which serves two purposes: it engages a reader you may have otherwise lost to the noise and it gives you insight into their patterns. Let’s take an interactive quiz aptly placed within your repurposed content. A fun title like “what type of superhero learner are you: audible, visual, tangible…” This reader is twice as likely to engage in this quiz even though they’ve seen this content before because it is perceived to be personalized to them. Even more valuable, though, is the insight you will gain when they send their results. You’ll now know how to segment that customer so that you tailor content to them in the form they learn best: a video for the audible learner when you would have previously sent written content in their email campaign.

Now let’s take a quick look at four popular forms of interactive marketing

Quizzes

By far, the leader in interactive content is the quiz. As in the example above, quizzes offer the reader a fun diversion and provide you with vitals for forward-moving content. Quizzes are so versatile, they can be done in a formal, academic tone or a playful, almost childlike tone and used across various platforms from email marketing to social media. To their advantage, they are also quick to complete.

Polls and surveys

These forms of interactive content can cover a wide array of topics. Many times, the purpose is helping the user understand why you are considered an expert in your space. Polls and surveys also help you understand buying signals, preferences and to collect competitive intelligence around those behaviors.

Calculators

Calculators are always a powerful interactive content tool. Quick, easy and addictive, they draw people in and have a high completion rate. Every breathing human wants a good ROI, regardless of industry, and how better to figure out that proposition quickly than a handy calculator?

Interactive e-Books

Interactive eBooks are gaining momentum in the interactive content space. Whereas eBooks have been around for a few years in a two-dimensional format (think Kindle), the interactive version takes it a step further, allowing users access to downloadable, interactive content. Most anything can be formatted to interactive eBook, a great way to repurpose your own content and capture a new audience or further engage an existing one.

Get your interactive on! It’s not as costly as you may think and can reap huge rewards. What’s the coolest form of interactive marketing you’ve seen lately? We’re interested!