Launching a website seems like a big step for any business. Now that businesses can get visitors twenty-four hours, seven days a week. The business realizes the best way to keep traffic coming to their site is to provide new content continuously, so a blog is added to the website. The next step might be to start sending out a monthly newsletter. That will surely reach a new audience and increase site traffic, won’t it? If not, social media presence surely will!
Claiming an online and social presence just does not cut it anymore, and it has not been enough for a while. It's estimated that around 10 million blog posts are published on a daily basis. At the moment of writing this, more than 129 billion emails have been sent today, nearly 50 billion pictures have been uploaded to Instagram, and there are more than 1.7 billion active websites. This is why textbook marketing practices will no longer succeed — there is too much competition.
One way to stand out is through interactive content. Think of a PDF, but then expand your mind further and picture the same PDF displaying a video, interactive map, and a clickable button that leads viewers to a subscription form. All of a sudden a traditional document sent out to customers becomes engaging, full of data-driven information that educates consumers, and may attract a few new followers as well.
That is the essence of interactive content, whether it’s an assessment, contest, gallery, eBook, infographic, white paper, or survey, the content needs to be educational, personal, and above all, engage audiences.
How Interactive Content Works
Minimally, interactive content works by creating entertaining, interactive and engaging digital content. Seriously, engagement cannot be stressed enough. Instead of attracting viewers, attract participants. Allow people to answer questions, make decisions, and explore the various options offered for products or services. For example, think of a flow chart where the customer is asked one question at a time, and the follow-up question is based on the previous answer. It might look like this interactive "Build Your Own Solution" product form we build for Educational Partnerships:
In this example, the customer is interacting with a form in order to receive a service, and not only does the customer answer questions and have a choice, but they also get the chance to explore other services offered, educating them further about the company. This is just one way interactive content enhances earned attention, and ultimately increases the time each visitor spends on a web page.
Reasons Marketers Use Interactive Content
As previously stated, it’s common to use interactive content to educate an audience. The same survey says audience engagement is the second reason marketers use interactive content. A third reason, this form of marketing enhances brand awareness. Think back to all of the blog posts that have been published today, what really makes one stand out from another? Surely, by allowing people to be active with the content on their screen, a brand will become more easily embedded into memory.
The Content Marketing Institute survey also asked businesses how they benefit from interactive content. The responses are encouraging: 81 percent of surveyed businesses said this kind of content is more effective at attracting attention, 79 percent said interactive content enhances the retention of a brand’s message, and 79 percent also said interactive content still holds value for returning visitors.
Audiences and Interactive Content
The audience benefits from interactive content as well. Primarily, because there is no blast of excessive information or sales pitches. Interactive content enables two-way communication between customers and brands they love. The audience is no longer spoken at, but they become a part of the conversation.
Audiences also enjoy the personalization of content. This is an easy way for businesses to knowingly target an audience interested in their product or service. Especially if the content is a quiz, survey, or contest, the interaction does not have to cease when the content does. Businesses can obtain enough information to keep sending people content to interact with, building a stronger customer-to-brand relationship.
The standard for marketing has been set, and audiences want personalized content that engages them. Interactive content will not seem like an option too much longer, and the only way to remain competitive is to begin creating new content for the customer, not for the business.
Find out how 10 Pound Gorilla can get your business on the right track to reaching a new standard of marketing and contact us today!