Content is no longer the king in social media. Interactive content is!
Heavy texts and static content isn’t enough these days; consumers on social media platforms crave for more. In the current digital marketing landscape, interactive content has huge importance for brands in order to gain their spot.
Let us show you what importance interactive content holds on social media platforms.
Let’s start, shall we?
The main idea behind interactive content is interacting with your users actively. The more time your users spend engaging with your business with undivided attention, the stronger engagement metrics you gain.
Ranging from quizzes, comment games, assessments and calculators to interactive infographics, there currently are a lot of interactive content out there. While many people really accepted the concept of the eight-second attention span, the BBC and Ceros have a lot to question:
“Think about it. If our attention span is really 8 seconds, how are Netflix binges a thing? How was the hit of the summer a 45-minute long music video? Why are more people spending longer hours playing video games?”
(They aren’t wrong!)
Do you want an example?
Talk about Buzzfeed. 75% of all their traffic comes through social referral and most of their content includes interactive elements such as interactive articles and quizzes. One of their quizzes has even been viewed more than 22 million times!!!
Importances of Interactive Content (3 reasons why)
Is interactive content worth a shot?
We say, yes!
Stay with us to know why.
“80% of online users will watch a video, but only 20% will read the content.” This statement tells a lot about how the social media scene has changed and interactive content is clearly taking the lead.
More people interacting with the content equals to more calls-to-action such as hitting the like, share or comment buttons. This leads to an increase in social engagement, which translates into a stronger relationship with the brand or business.There are many sources that point out the declination of the human attention span, putting us below what they call the “absent-minded” goldfish. It is also now almost evident that users process visuals a staggering 600,000 times faster than text.
This leads to the facts:
Using various modes of interactive content helps you gather user data, leading to learning more about your audience, making it easier to create content based on their preferences. This approach will soon establish trust and authority, so you can grow a bigger audience of people that will keep coming back to your brand.
Here, the E.A.T. Principle helps:
Expertise: the page needs to have quality content written by an expert writer
Authority: the site itself needs to have some authority on the subject
Trustworthiness: the site needs to have other authoritative links pointing to it from trusted sites
Of course, text-based content has still kept its place, as do emails, digital books, white papers and traditional blog articles. However, it is evident that people have the need to feel like they are interacting with brands. Audiences also ask for more interactive content and vivid experiences.
To conclude, we say it is time to switch to the latest form of content making: interactive content.
While we are at it, let’s view some types too;
Types of Interactive Social Media Content
Facebook Polls – Facebook (or Instagram) Polls are of great benefits because they allow people to respond with minimal effort, making engagement more likely.
ChatBots – This tool allows tailoring your messaging to each individual who enters your site: new or returning users, length of time on page, items in shopping cart, etc.
Contests – Contests help create a buzz around a particular topic among your audience. A popular form of contests is “enter-to-win” giveaways; this encourages user participation and interaction.
Quizzes – In social quizzes, when participants take quizzes and share the results on their social channels, their network of friends are likely to take the quiz as well. This also allows you to capture data from the questions answered to gain audience insights.
Calculators – Providing a tool like a calculator that helps make your followers’ lives easier can be a great plus factor for your brand. Calculators are a great way to offer unique value to your audience.
Surveys – Surveys act as a reliable interactive social tool to gain valuable feedback and insights from your followers. Audiences like to feel like their voice is heard and their opinions matter.
