We live in an era where we have so much information on any topic that winning an audience’s attention becomes more difficult every day. Social media marketers do everything they can to provide more engaging content and to make their brands stand out. However, the effectiveness of content marketing depends on a number of factors.
As the competition grows, marketers put more effort into measuring the effectiveness of their campaigns. They start to measure more actions, including clicks, shares, and even views. At some point, most marketers realize that one of the most important factors that determine their success is engagement. Engagement helps you build trust and therefore makes your audience more likely to buy something. The main thing is not to just provide content but to get your site visitors emotionally involved.
Interactive content allows you to take your content marketing campaign to the next level. Instead of just being informative or entertaining, interactive content creates an experience. Therefore, it’s much more memorable and generates a higher engagement, increasing the time people spend on your page. When engagement becomes the main goal, interactive content becomes an extremely effective marketing tool.
What Is Interactive Content?
Interactive content is often considered the most effective type of marketing content. According to statistics, 93% of marketers note the effectiveness of interactive content for educating prospects and customers. Not only is interactive content effective for communicating information, but it also generates twice more conversions than passive content. Modern consumers are sophisticated. They understand whether you just try to push a product or actually provide value.
Interactive content makes your audience participate in the conversation. Unlike static content, it changes depending on their actions, adapting to their needs and preferences. It’s informative and entertaining at the same time. There are many types of interactive content so you can always come up with something that corresponds to your goals and meets the requirements of your niche. For example, there are quizzes, games, interactive videos and lookbooks, infographics, interactive whitepapers, and design tools. No matter what kind of interactive content you choose, it always generates real-time reactions from the audience and offers you a considerable competitive advantage.
Read More: Content Marketing Strategy
How to Use Interactive Content Marketing to Engage and Convert Audiences
1. Surveys and polls
These are the oldest types of interactive content. A poll or survey is a great solution if you want to get in touch with your prospects. Even though they are simple, you can use them differently, depending on the information you need and the type of conversation you want to build.
The simplest way to use surveys is to ask your customers what they think about your products or services. Many marketers also use polls to understand what types of content the audience is looking for. You can use surveys to learn more about your audience’s interests, lifestyle, and values, being able to use this information to make your marketing campaign stronger.
2. Interactive media
The most common types of interactive media are videos and infographics. Although infographics have been around for quite a while, people don’t become less interested in the information presented visually. This type of content is engaging by itself, however, if you make it interactive, it becomes even better.
The easiest way to make your videos interactive is to add so-called “hotspots.” These are tags that appear while the video plays and offer additional information if you click on them.
3. Interactive websites
Interactive websites can provide a level of engagement that is impossible to obtain with traditional blog posts. You can experiment with different types of interactive content, including them on the same page. Add elements of gamification to your menus to make navigation more fun, include infographics, and various polls.
4. Quizzes
Marketing quizzes can provide you with a lot of information about your area of business and your audience. This is a great way to learn what your potential customers are looking for, what are their concerns, or what sections of your website are the most interesting. Quizzes are also somewhat more engaging than surveys because people can not only answer questions but also get personalized results.
5. Calculators
This type of interactive content also rewards your audience with personalized results, increasing engagement. They are also simple yet informative. For example, your potential customers can learn what return on investment they will get after buying your services in just a few clicks. Such solutions will be especially useful for B2B companies because figures speak louder than words.
What Does It Mean To Engage With An Audience?
The Magic of Being Seen
Engaging with an enthusiastic crowd is akin to being the shiny object in a room full of crows. If you're not visible, you're not going to seize anyone's attention. The name of the game is presence and that means:
- Stepping into the spotlight with confidence
- Making a statement with your presence
- Shying away from being the wallpaper in a room bursting with color
The Power of Words
Who knew that a mere arrangement of 26 letters could spell magic, quite literally? The art of engagement rests heavily on the words you choose. Here’s how words can be your best ally:
- Crafting relatable narratives that resonate
- Utilizing humor to build a bridge of comfort
- Taking a leaf out of the book of simplicity, avoiding jargon that could alienate
Listening: The Unsung Hero
If speaking is silver, then listening is gold in the engagement market. It's not merely about awaiting your turn to speak, but about:
- Genuinely understanding and responding to feedback
- Acknowledging differing viewpoints with respect
- Fostering a sense of community through active dialogues
Relatability: Your Secret Weapon
The glue that binds engagement is the art of being relatable. It’s about shedding the cloak of invincibility and showcasing a hint of vulnerability that others can connect with. Here’s how you can dial up the relatability factor:
- Sharing personal anecdotes, failures, and triumphs
- Demonstrating empathy and understanding toward common struggles
- Keeping the tone conversational and friendly
Unleashing the Laughter
Who doesn’t appreciate a hearty laugh? Humor is like the universal key to unlocking a trove of engagement. Injecting humor can:
- Break down barriers and dissipate any lingering awkwardness
- Facilitate a friendly and enjoyable interaction atmosphere
- Leave a lasting, pleasant memory associated with the interaction
Engagement: A Two-Way Street
This is no monologue but a vibrant dialogue. Engagement is not a solo act but a duet that requires active participation from both parties. Therefore:
- Encouraging questions, comments, and discussions
- Being open to feedback, both positive and negative
- Building a community rather than just a following
Through the prism of engagement, every interaction is an opportunity to foster a connection, to share a laugh, to learn, and to grow. It’s not about dazzling with high-brow jargon or being the smartest person in the room, but about creating a space where ideas can flow freely, laughter can echo, and genuine connections can blossom. The magic happens when the engagement transforms from mere interaction to a thriving community of enthusiastic and involved participants.
Conclusion
Modern content marketers have to struggle to attract attention. There is too much content on any topic so it gets hard to keep prospects and customers engaged. Engagement is extremely important because it allows you to build trust, and interactive content is the most engaging type of marketing content so it offers a significant competitive advantage. You can experiment with different types of interactive content, including quizzes, surveys, infographics, etc. Such content helps to maintain an ongoing conversation, getting insights into your audience’s preferences while also being able to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Ester Brierley is a talented QA Engineer in a software outsourcing company, but that's not all. She is in constant search for new article ideas as a content creator and new solutions as a virtual assistant for various other companies.
Author // Ester Brierley
