4 Unique Interactive Content Ideas that Guarantee Audience Engagement
Interactive content does not promise more engagement, it makes it a requirement.
We all know that “Content is king”. This is precisely why almost every digital marketer in the world is in a constant frenzy to produce fresh, quality, content that produces actual results.
Of course, no one is stopping you from pouring out your heart and passion through a blog and post it on the internet – after all, that’s content, too! But with all the fluff pieces scattered through the internet, how do you make sure that your content is relevant to your target audience? Even more importantly, how can you ensure that your potential clients are actually reading your posts?
So, what is interactive content and why do I need it?
Right! Let’s cut to the chase.
Interactive content does not call for engagement it REQUIRES actual engagement from your audience. With interactive content, engagement is no longer a possibility it IS guaranteed.
One of the major goals of content marketing is to produce material that brings value to your clients and potential clients. And so, we take time and effort to produce blogs, infographics, articles, and different types of content that basically have that goal ingrained in it. But the reality is that no one actually gets to read it. Especially since some recent studies have revealed that 70% of marketers are now creating even more content than they were last year.
With interactive content, you are able to create personalized content for your audience that addresses their needs and which they can receive real-time. This creates more value for the customer since it creates a two-way conversation wherein you’re getting the information you need and so does your audience. It’s a win-win situation already.
What type of Interactive Content Should I Use?
Interactive Content comes in different forms, but they all drill down to these 5 fundamental formats:
1 – Assessments
Admit it. You’ve participated in at least 1 online assessment over the course of your relationship with the internet. Whether it’s a trivial assessment, which you decided to do just for fun, or a professional or business related assessment from a respected source, which you felt was crucial for you to know to improve your business or career – we’ve all participated in one form of assessment or another.
Assessments allow you to provide your clients with free advice to help them make a decision to buy your products or services. By putting together a series of questions and categories, you are enabling your audience to go through a self-discovery process that will lead them to the decision you want them to take in the end. This comes in a nice little package wherein they get a beautiful and concise result at the end, while you get to acquire their details so you can continue your engagement by email or your other communication channels
2 – Calculators
I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit allergic to numbers. Of course, I can do simple regular equations, but with so much going on in my life and so much to worry about, it’s just easier to type in the numbers in a calculator and get the results right away. You save time and get accurate results in an instant.
You can play around with calculators to produce trivial and fun results, or create practical and useful calculators (like ones that calculate fees, shipping costs, mortgage, etc.) to cater to different types of customers and their needs. Calculators can be quite convenient and they will definitely lead more traffic to your website.
3 – Trivia
A good example of this interactive content format are the quizzes that get shared on social media. Regardless of how silly these quizzes are at times, people still like doing them and it goes viral fairly quickly.
Just think about it. How many quizzes have you completed just because you saw it on your friend’s newsfeed and thought that it would just be fun to do? I’m sure that you’ve done at least one in your lifetime.
This type of interactive content should be used as an ice breaker and just to loosen up and show that you don’t take yourself too seriously all the time.
4 – Polls/Surveys
If there’s something that you should learn from social media, it’s that people like sharing their opinion and giving feedback – particularly if it’s easy to do. Try to create simple polls and surveys that can be shared on Facebook or through your website to receive instant feedback from your clients and potentials.
This interactive content idea offers invaluable insight into your customers’ needs to improve your marketing campaign and get them to make that buying decision.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Creative
As I’m sure you know by now, you cannot force your audience to engage with you – particularly if they don’t want to or if they don’t see what’s in it for them. Don’t be afraid to try out these different types of content on different channels like social media or your website, to see which gets the most engagement. And don’t hesitate to be creative. It doesn’t need to be stiff or serious and based on our experience, people interact with simple types of interactive content that is straightforward and easy to do.
