What Is Interactive Content?
Interactive content is any type of content — such as calculators, assessments and interactive infographics, white papers and videos — that requires and encourages users to actively engage with it rather than passively consume it.
Over the years, there has been a litany of sources pointing to the supposed decline of the human attention span, putting us below the reputedly absent-minded goldfish. While many people bought into the concept of the eight-second attention span, the BBC and Ceros have since ripped the theory to shreds:
“Think about it. If our attention span is really 8 seconds, how are Netflix binges a thing? How was the hit of the summer a 45-minute long music video? Why are more people spending longer hours playing video games?”
Whatever your opinion on that matter, something we do know for sure is that modern-day consumers love interactive content, as proven by these stats:
- Visual content is 40x more likely to be shared on social media — and it increases conversion rates by 86%.
- 360-degree videos are watched 28.81% more, and double the viewers watched the video to 100%.
- People spend 4x as much time watching live videos than pre-recorded videos.
The Benefits of Using Interactive Content
As any good marketer would ask: Is interactive content worth the hype?
The short answer is yes.
Here are three good reasons why you should use interactive content in your marketing strategy:
Generate Higher Engagement Rates
80% of online users will watch a video, but only 20% will read the content.
Interactivity not only enhances conversions to 40-50%, but people just love to share cool, unique interactive content pieces, by as much as 28%:
Even the most basic types of interactive content can elicit a reaction, which immediately makes it more engaging than a written article — even a well-written one.
William Comcowich, CEO of CyberAlert, believes that:
“Content marketing is becoming less about the words you put on a page, and more about the experiences you create for the consumer.”
Competition is fierce, across all industries, and in all niches. Standing out isn’t easy, which makes it all the more important to optimize your content so that it offers a more engaging, immersive experience.
Quite often, brands offer interactive content as a lead magnet to collect email addresses. The people who subscribe to this tend to have a genuine interest in the brand. Therefore, they are more engaged and more likely to convert.
Related Content: How to Use Engagement Marketing to Acquire More Customers
Capture More Data
This is the data-driven age, in which the data we collect about online users is arguably the most valuable information for marketers. The more data you get — and the more accurate and relevant it is — the better you can optimize your marketing campaigns.
The problem for many companies is finding effective ways of getting data in a way that people trust and respect.
Data breaches like the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal have damaged the world’s trust in big corporations, making people cautious about sharing personal information online:
So how can interactive content help?
When you create immersive content that grabs a person’s attention and offers a personalized experience, you’ll find it easier to persuade people to provide their info. Users will enjoy the experience, and you will get valuable data for lead nurturing.
Increase Brand Loyalty
Quizzes, polls and surveys are a few examples of interactive content that you can use to capture lead data which, in turn, enables you to create personalized content. Follow the E.A.T. Principle to establish yourself as an expert:
- Expertise: the page needs to have quality content written by an expert writer
- Authority: the site itself needs to have some authority on the subject
- Trustworthiness: the site needs to have other authoritative links pointing to it from trusted sites
As you gather data through interactive content, you learn more about your audience, making it easier to create content they will love. This approach to highly targeted content marketing will soon establish trust and authority, so you can grow a bigger audience of people that come back time and time again.
