We’ve all done a Buzzfeed quiz at some point. We can’t resist finding out which ‘90s reboot you should be the star of… or such like.
Once we start, we must finish. An incredible 96% of Buzzfeed visitors who decide to take one of the platform’s quizzes complete them.
Buzzfeed is one of the big online success stories of the last decade – with stats like that, it’s not hard to see why. (Just to be clear, this isn’t a ‘Buzzfeed is brilliant’ blog, we’re merely using the website as an example of the power of interactive content).
So, why aren’t more brands producing interactive content?
Benefits of interactive content
Marketers know better than anyone else what interactive content can do for their brand. Almost nine out of 10 (88%) marketers who’ve embraced interactive content as part of their marketing campaigns say it successfully differentiated their brand from the rest of the competition.
Not only does it help to turn consumers and buyers to your brand, interactive content can leave its mark. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 79% of marketers see a marked increase in message retention when combining interactivity with other key marketing tactics.
It’s hardly a surprise given that for most people, the act of participating (instead of simply observing) aids memory and improves comprehension. Interactive content lets users personalise and participate in it. If they’ve enjoyed it, they’ll usually share it too.
Mediafly recently reviewed content engagement data from more than 160,000 content shares across 99 customer environments over the last two years. It found that brands who leveraged interactive content saw a 94% higher increase in content views than customers leveraging traditional, static content.
But let’s not kill off traditional content just yet – a combination works best, as we’ve seen.
Interactive works for all types of audience
Perhaps what’s putting brands off interactive content is a lack of ideas about where it can fit into their strategy. But the truth is, your interactive content doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel; it just has to keep your audience engaged enough to complete the action.
Interactive infographics are a good starting point, particularly for B2B brands. Instead of revealing all the stats in a static infographic, keep some hidden and require the reader’s participation.
According to key interactive content statistics, 85% of B2B marketers have already embraced interactive infographics or plan to in the near future.
B2B leads are especially busy people. They love content that helps them visualise problems, map out solutions, and identify trends at a glance.
But you can have a bit of fun with B2B content, too. Quizzes, polls, games, and surveys are all fair game, provided they’re done well – based around a relevant topic and serving a clear purpose.
Case Study: Paragon Customer Communications – Persona Pix
We recently worked with Paragon Customer Communications – the leading digital customer communications specialist in the UK – on an interactive content campaign which sought to promote the message that defining, segmenting, and understanding a customer base is crucial for developing successful customer experience and management.
Not a particularly sexy message to try and push. Paragon knew this, so turned to gamification to make it more palatable and engaging.
Inspired by the classic card game, Top Trumps, we developed Persona Pix, a fun, web-based card game that encourages players to think differently about their customers.
The game led players to think about the factors that influence the success or failure of customer communications, and start considering why a more intelligent use of customer data is important for communications preferences.
Check out some of the character cards, plus more information on the campaign, here. Or have a go at the game yourself here.
Inject interactivity into your content strategy
Would gamification work for your audience? To see the benefits of interactive content – i.e., generating first-party audience data, deepening engagement and connection to your brand – it has to tick a few boxes:
- There’s a compelling reason to use interactivity
- The interactive format is matched to its intended function
- It fits seamlessly with the rest of your content plan
- It has a clear goal and purpose, matched to audience needs and the customer journey
- It is cost-effective (this is crucial as interactive content often costs more than static)
You don’t have to aim for Buzzfeed levels of visitors to your interactive content – it just has to resonate and engage your audience, and succeed in getting them to do what you want them to do.
Ready to work interactive content into your strategy? Q Content can work with you to develop an approach that captures the imagination of your audience, injecting your content strategy with some active marketing that builds awareness and drives engagement. Get in touch using the contact form below!
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