Interactive Content Marketing: What It is and How to Use It

Interactive content marketing is a subset of general content marketing that is growing in popularity as internet users grow bored with an influx of static information and turn to customizable and interactive content to entertain themselves. Online retailers and other online businesses are taking advantage of this consumer desire to interact with their media by providing interactive content services to draw traffic and inform potential customers of their products and services.

Interactive content marketing differs from traditional content marketing in that the focus of the content is not consumption but interaction. Traditional content marketing is comprised mostly of media like blog articles, pictures, videos, and other static media that serves its purpose by being seen. Businesses that provide interactive content tools, on the other hand, are focused on content that caters to each individual consumer via user actions such as answering polls or inputting personal information.

There are countless examples of interactive content, with some of the most popular being quizzes, quote calculators, live chats, and interactive graphs or charts. Depending on the type of business, different types of interactive content marketing will be more effective. For example, a store selling a physical product like sunglasses may create a quiz to match a user with their “perfect” pair. A site that provides insurance or other services may include a quote calculator as their interactive content service, and a technical support website may benefit the most from live chats or interactive diagrams.

The big draw of interactive content marketing is that it helps each consumer feel like they are receiving individualized service without the need for constant human input. Once the interactive content is set up, every user has access to it and the site owner or owners only need to maintain or update the service rather than reaching out to every individual potential customer as they visit the site. Even live chats can be monitored by bots that answer commonly asked questions, with live service agents only needing to get involved for more complex matters.

However, this type of marketing can also have its logistical downsides. Interactive content services require quite a bit of front end work when it comes to designing and coding the interaction. They also can take longer to load than static pages, and need to be optimized for different devices such as computers, phones, and tablets. Interactive marketing that isn’t catered correctly to the user or the product or service can also discourage users from your target audience. For example, if your target audience is over 65, you may not want interactive content that is complex or has many options to select from. On the other hand, younger audiences such as Millennials or Gen Z may appreciate more complex or extended content marketing services – if the content can hold their attention and interest.

Ultimately, interactive content marketing is an incredibly useful tool that can not only encourage potential customers to visit your site but can also retain those customers by holding their interest with repeated application of interactive content services.