How to Make Interactive Content Work in Your Marketing

Not only is a quiz fun for the person who’s taking it, marketers feel interactive content is more effective at grabbing a prospect’s attention than static content. What is Interactive Content? When done right, it: Grabs a prospect’s attention better than static content Improves retention of brand messaging when it’s combined with other marketing tactics Creates additional, reusable value that results in multiple exposures and repeat visitors Interactive Content Marketing Do’s Keep it Relevant: As fun as a “What Kind of Garbage are You?” quiz might sound, if your brand isn’t in the garbage business, it’s going to confuse — and maybe even turn off — your audience. Use it to create an effective piece of interactive content for your prospects. Our target persona for this piece was cardiothoracic surgeons. Types of Interactive Content & When to Use Them Interactive content is much more than quizzes and calculators. Each kind of content has a place in the buyer’s journey. And because we knew how busy they are, we also gave the reader the option to download the piece to read when they had more time. We also referred to the piece as an interactive report rather than an infographic. Your interactive content must be engaging, and most importantly, in the format and place in your buyer’s journey that will give your prospects what they need.

Author: Casey Newman / Source: Business 2 Community

You’ve probably done it. Late one night, you’re looking for something to watch, and before you know it, you’re staring at your screen taking one of those “Which Bob Ross Painting Are You?” or “What Kind of Garbage are You?” quizzes.

There’s a reason sites like Buzzfeed have entire sections devoted to interactive content like quizzes. People enjoy participating with content. Not only is a quiz fun for the person who’s taking it, marketers feel interactive content is more effective at grabbing a prospect’s attention than static content.

As content marketers, we’ve put a lot of energy into producing staples like eBooks, guides and infographics, but are these tried-and-true pieces making the mark we hope they will?The truth is, our attention spans are dwindling, making the likelihood of holding someone’s attention through an entire guide or eBook unlikely. Don’t believe me? A goldfish now has a longer attention span than a human. (Thanks, multiple streams of media.)

What is Interactive Content?

As its name suggests, interactive content lets users participate in and sometimes even personalize a brand’s content. When done right, it:

Grabs a prospect’s attention better than static content
Improves retention of brand messaging when it’s combined with other marketing tactics
Creates additional, reusable value that results in multiple exposures and repeat visitors

Interactive Content Marketing Do’s

Keep it Relevant: As fun as a “What Kind of Garbage are You?” quiz might sound, if your brand isn’t in the garbage business, it’s going to confuse — and maybe even turn off — your audience.

Think of the Buyer’s Journey: You know all that great information you uncovered during the persona development process? Use it to create an effective piece of interactive content for your prospects.

For example, as you’ll see below, we created a successful top funnel interactive piece for a medical device manufacturer. Our target persona for this piece was cardiothoracic surgeons. From our research, we knew they were unlikely to interact with content like quizzes or assessments because of their fast-paced and demanding jobs. We also knew they would probably not have enough time to sit through an interactive piece. So we created an interactive visual report full of stats relevant to their profession that they had the option of scrolling through or downloading and reading when it suited them.

For more bottom funnel prospects, you might create a ROI calculator or similar savings calculator that compares your product or service to other offerings.

Have a Realistic Timeline: Depending on the type of interactive content you choose, including interactive features — like those in 360-degree experiences or interactive infographics or guides — is often more time-consuming and technical than creating a quiz or survey.