What is Interactive Content?
by Destiny De Guzman
Over the years content marketing has become more and more competitive in order for brands to stand out from the crowd. Content now has to be more interesting, entertaining, and ultimately—interactive to give users a unique experience. This is where interactive content comes in.
So what exactly is interactive content?
It is a form of content marketing with an interactive element that lets users participate and find a useful answer or result. For example, a mobile phone brand pushes out an interactive content in the form of a test that will help users figure out what is the best mobile phone for them based on their lifestyle, wants, or needs.
The best examples of interactive content are those that solve problems first, and are content marketing campaigns second. This means that they are not heavily pushing the brand towards the user, but rather sharing information that could potentially push the user towards the brand. This allows the user to dive in and gain insight without being targeted.
Now that we’ve described what interactive content is, why should your brand do it when it isn’t about the brand?
Interactive content has more value, and is therefore more meaningful to users. Users who see a brand that is openly sharing information with them and engaging with them through entertaining forms will be more inclined to trust that brand, and in turn, are more likely to set their sights on their products first before the competitor’s. Your brand doesn’t have to hide that the interactive content is yours, but it has to make it about the customer’s need and not the brand’s. Providing proper value will help your brand gain more shares and better click-through rates, which can generate more sales for the company.
Since engaging with your audience is important to build a relationship, interactive content does just that by helping the target answer questions that satisfy their needs. It comes in three steps: awareness, evaluation, and decision stage. The awareness stage is where users find themselves realizing their needs/wants and asking what exactly they want. In a scenario, a mobile brand can help trigger a prospect by triggering their need/want for a new phone by asking them “What kind of phone should you have?” through a self-assessment test. After finding out through the results, a follow up test can occur in the evaluation stage, which can help prospects choose from a selection based on certain benchmarks or specifications. At the end of the buyer journey, they will come to the decision stage where they ask who they should allow satisfy their need. This is where your brand comes in. After going through a journey with your brand’s interactive content, the subtle suggestion of certain mobile phones that can suit their needs will lead them to your website, where the chances of them buying your products are higher. Even if a user chooses not to purchase your product, your interactive content will leave a long-lasting impression that will remind them of your brand when they are searching for related products.
Here are popular examples of Interactive Content that you may have already seen:
Quizzes
Source: https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeedQuiz/posts/1413733092055605
You may not notice it, but Buzzfeed Quizzes are interactive content! Any poll, quiz, and assessments count as interactive content!
Infographics
Source: https://matadornetwork.com/life/infographic-will-teach-eat-sushi-without-looking-like-idiot/
Anything that gives a consumer useful information counts as interactive content. It also helps consumers know more about your product!
Data Visualization
Source: http://snip.ly/pJsZ#http://www.puffpuffproject.com/languages.html
Visualizing data and turning it into something interactive such as the ad above is another example of interactive data. This ad shows the other languages of the world along with where it is spoken.
Building brand affinity will lead to building a relationship with customers that leads to building trust with them that leads to building sales which will ultimately lead to building your business.
