Almost every business owner or marketer wants their audience to look like this:

…when visiting their business. 

You know, capture their attention. Make them excited about what they’re seeing. Basically, just get them to engage with what you’re putting out there.

In the past, content used to be the guy that made this happen. It was so good that it was named the King of Digital Marketing.

But now… it’s been stretched thin. 

It no longer has the same sway that people used to love. They just scan through and move on.  Engagement went from high to low.

“Hold on, if content is not the guy anymore, how do I capture people’s attention now?”

Well, there’s a new sheriff in town – interactive content. Sure, it’s been around for a while. But now, it’s coming to stake a claim on the King's title.

Here’s everything you need to know about this new contestant…

What is interactive content?

Traditional content has always been static. 

After your audience sees it, their only job is to soak it in. And that’s all.

But that’s not the case with interactive content. 

It’s the kind of content that keeps people glued to your page, interacting with it at every turn. 

In interactive content, your audience moves from being onlookers to active participants. 

They get to make choices, interact, and engage with your content by clicking, hovering, answering questions, or scrolling.

In a nutshell, interactive content is similar to traditional content. But the difference is that it makes it fun for your audience to access.

Interactive this, content that…

How do I know interactive content when I see it?

Here are some examples of interactive content. 

Different types of interactive content

• Interactive articles – They’re like your average blogs but with catchy elements like parallax scrolling or animations to make it fun and increase engagement.
• Interactive videos – Specially produced video content with touchpoints for viewers to control. They look like normal videos but can do other things as users instruct, like showing valuable information that’s hidden or allowing users to see a 360-degree view of a video.  
• Interactive infographics – A marketer’s best friend in keeping stakeholders hooked on their presentations. They’re like static infographics, but users can engage with them to reveal additional info. So, for example, they could click or hover over a chart and numbers would appear.  Magic. 🪄
• Personalized quizzes and assessments – If you’ve ever answered a quiz question and gotten a response, that was interactive content. The conversation wasn’t one-sided. You, as the visitor, had to engage the platform and get feedback.
• Polls and surveys – This type of interactive content is a good way to engage your audience and capture their feedback. It involves asking them questions that’ll get them to think and answer.
• Tools and calculators – Here’s another type of content that always comes through for marketers and sales experts. It’s a special kind of calculator that allows users to just enter their information and it does its magic. The calculator is a great way to help ease users’ pain points. It could be they’re trying to figure out how much taxes they should be paying, or what their mortgage fees should be. Stuff like that. And that’s what the calculator helps them figure out. 
• Image sliders – You’ve probably seen this before, but it’s not the kind you’re used to where a slideshow of images changes every two seconds. 

It’s similar, but this kind involves you dragging a slider to compare multiple images. Like an upgraded before and after visual if you will.

Thinking interactive content might be a great fit for your brand? 

The truth is, whichever one you choose will make your engagement numbers the talk of the town. 

Read on to find out the benefits.

What are the benefits of interactive content?

According to a report by Mediafly, people who use interactive content have boasted about a 94% increase in views compared to using passive content. 

The way it works is by giving people a glimpse of it so they want to see more. 

Now throw this into your marketing strategy mix and here’s what you’ll get:

Let’s run through each of them in detail. 

1. Better engagement 

Reports show that interactive content gets a 53% higher engagement rate than other content formats.  It just has a way with people! 

Once they see interactive content, they want to engage with it.

Unlike static traditional content that’s just about presenting information to passive viewers.

Here’s another interesting find:

Stefan Riches, content marketing director at a Canadian architecture firm says that he creates interactive content because of the impact it has on his engagement metrics. 

He says, “Stantec’s interactive experiences outperform our blog posts by two-to-one, on average. With some items, it’s five-to-10 times what an average blog post would do.”

According to the Mediafly report, most buyers spend 13 minutes viewing interactive content, compared to eight and a half minutes on static content. 

That’s how fascinating people find this content format. 

And what do we do when we see something intriguing?

We engage with it. More than you’d expect sometimes!   

2. Higher conversion rates

Sites that feature interactive content are like your favorite bar spots. You go there for happy hours after work to hang out with colleagues. 

If you stick around long enough, it’s probably where you’ll eat dinner.  Even if you didn’t plan to.  

Interactive content is a bit like that. 

It’s fun, attractive, and entertaining. So people want to hang around it every chance they get. And invite their buddies too. 

That’s brand awareness in marketing lingo. 

If you play your cards right and keep giving out solid info, you’ll get more traffic to your site.

In the long run, you’ll get increased conversion rates and more sales too.

3. Increased user experience

A truly magical experience. 

That’s what you’ve always wanted to give people visiting your site. 

You’ve tried using more white spaces. Embracing a minimalist approach. And even bold texts.

But they didn’t have that zing to it. 

Luckily, giving magical experiences is what interactive content specializes in. 

You get to create memorable content that teleports your audience to a new digital realm where they learn stuff in a fun, personalized way. 

Like this experience GumGum, an ad company, designed using Ceros:

GIF Source: Ceros

It talks about ways users can stay connected with GumGum. 

For this experience, they designed an animated campfire adventure that invites users to explore and stay connected with the brand. The page features interactive icons representing essentials that reveal GumGum’s core values when clicked.

At the bottom of the page, a downward arrow beckons users to click and discover more. This click transports them to another outdoor scene highlighting various ways to engage with the brand. Dotted lines guide users through a sequence of points along the path.

Clicking any point leads to a detailed page about one of GumGum’s essentials. It’s a captivating journey through engaging content that keeps users connected to the brand.

And you know what happens when people have this kind of experience?

80% of them would likely make a purchase or click your call to action.

The cool part? 

You can even structure interactive content to suit only what your audience loves. 

All they have to do is input their preference and the content adapts to it like a chameleon, giving them content that aligns with their needs. 

4. Improved lead generation, scoring, segmentation, and conversion

How many times have you added generating new leads as a marketing goal? Probably more than you can remember. 

So… have you been hitting the mark so far?

If you haven’t, it’s time to try something different. Something like creating interactive content. 

How would that help me generate leads? 

Well, the traditional way of generating leads is usually about trading cool offers in exchange for customer details, followed by launching an incessant email marketing campaign later.  

Interactive experience follows the same pattern. But better. 

Here, the offers are more fun and relatable. 

Take for instance our interactive content calculator that estimates what it’ll cost brands to produce interactive content. They answer a few questions and get their results. Adding interactivity to the mix is us asking users to input their details to get a personalized result. 

They win because they’ve used the tool and can keep using it; we win because we get their details without having to ask them at the very beginning –– when they would have most likely said no. 

People are happier to share personal details when they have already received the incentive,  and you get new leads. 

5. Boosted brand loyalty and awareness

Getting people to trust you is never an easy process. 

If you were a social media influencer, it might have been easier to pull off. 

But as a brand that’s probably using static content — 😬 that’s a lot of work. 

You could get stuck in a cycle of creating content just for people to view it and move on with their lives. 

The process of building trust and getting customer loyalty with interactive content is way easier. 

Why?

Because now your audience is more involved in your content.  Not only are they seeing what interests them, but they can also communicate with it. 

This forms a subtle connection between them and the brand.  

Simply put, it captures their attention and keeps them hooked to your offers.

So before you know it, your audience develops a sense of loyalty to your brand. 

To top it off, a report by the Content Marketing Institute says interactive content even helps you create repeat visitors. People who were so stunned by the content; they kept coming back. 

6. Increased social media sharing

What’s your first move whenever you see something online that interests you?  We’re guessing you share it with friends and loved ones, right?

Well, news flash: 

Interactive content ticks the box of interesting things to share on social media. 

Why?

For starters, it’s fun to engage with. And people love fun. 

So when they see it, their next move is social sharing. 

The point? Using interactive content can get you more shares on social media platforms. 

People will see it and go, This is so cool, [insert friend’s name] needs to see it too. Then boom, they start sharing on social media. 

7. Improved SEO

One reason why you probably joined the content biz is that you want the number one spot on search engines, so your brand pops up anytime someone enters a keyword in your category. 

Lucky for you, that’s another thing interactive content specializes in doing. 

Here’s the how:

As we’ve already established, interactive content is engaging. So it’s only natural that people spend more time on sites that feature it. They share it with friends on social media. 

As that cycle repeats itself, you’ll be getting more traction on search engines. 

Secondly is the good user experience interactive content offers. It makes it captivating enough that people keep talking about it. In turn, you get more traffic and pretty good visibility. 

If you then make your interactive content mobile-friendly, you’ll be flying through the SEO ranks.

8. Optimized data collection

Getting users to share their personal information can be tricky for marketers. 

Users don’t want to be spammed with endless messages, but marketers need those details to give users a personalized experience. 

See what we mean?

A proper Texan standoff. 

GIF Source: Giphy

Just that this is digital.  

But that’s where interactive content comes in. It’s the humble mediator between parties that gets them to see they both mean well.

It lobbies up to users, getting them to see that there’s value in exchange for their contact information and, potentially, other valuable insights too. 

With interactive content, people are no longer scared of sharing valuable data, they’re engrossed with how engaging the content is. Giving out some data in exchange for more fun is the least of their worries.

9. Higher chances of getting ahead of competitors

Content creation is something anyone can do these days. 

Well, almost everyone does. 

And since it’s the norm, people rarely pay attention to it. Especially if the content isn’t what they’re looking for. 

They’ll just scroll past to other things. 

Now, if you want to catch their attention, you need to do something extraordinary. Something your competitors aren’t doing that will make them see you’re different from the rest. 

Something like giving them memorable, engaging content they can interact with. 

So, instead of just viewing or reading content like they’re used to, they can get involved with it. 

Then at the end of the day, you get an edge over your competitors with record numbers they can only dream of having. 

10. Improved user learning and retention

In a report by Content Marketing Institute, 75% of marketers surveyed said educating users is one of their top reasons for using interactive content – even higher than increasing engagement rates. 

The reason is simple: Interactive content requires users to be on their toes in a fun and engaging way. 

They get to think fast in many instances and make quick decisions. 

Ask questions. Answer quizzes. Work on collaborative projects. And solve problems on the go. 

This hands-on approach makes it easy for them to learn and recall things quickly because they’ve been actively involved with the content from the start.

***

Now, we’ve had a lot of nice things to say about interactive content. But it’s also true that it has some drawbacks. 

We’ll take a look at them in our next section.

What are the potential drawbacks of interactive content?

Already thinking about how to start creating interactive content? 

Before you get started, you need to take into consideration what the downsides might be.

Here are some to keep in mind:

Costs and tech expertise. Creating engaging experiences isn’t something your average graphic designer can do. You need someone who has the skills and tools to make it happen. 

Don’t have any of those yet?

Ceros can help you out. The platform streamlines interactive content creation for enterprise businesses. 

With Ceros, users can access a suite of pre-loaded, customizable templates that incorporate AI-enhanced interactivity, ensuring high engagement and efficiency. This enables your team to quickly iterate on designs, centralize feedback, and produce rich, engaging digital experiences that captivate audiences across every stage of the customer journey.

If you’re feeling creative, you can start from scratch. Even better? You don’t need to be a guru to begin. You’ll have access to a library of resources so you know how to use the platform.

Time constraints. Producing interactive content is a lot of work. It’s almost like you’re building a digital skyscraper. You have to meticulously design everything, build prototypes, and test them before launch. 

All of that takes a lot of time, so you need to take that into account when creating interactive content. 

Browser compatibility. Compared to static content, not all devices or browsers can handle interactive content. 

When creating content like this, you have to consider the devices your audience uses to be sure they’ll find it useful. Otherwise, you’d have lots of bad reviews.  And all that work you put into getting ahead of the competition?  Gone like smoke.   

Load times. Sometimes, interactivity can do a number on your loading time. It can slow everything down, keeping users waiting for the interactive elements to pop up. 

***

With that out of the way, you’re set for the next level: How to make fire interactive content.

How to improve your interactive content marketing strategy

Interactive content can transform the current marketing goals you’ve set and take it from good to great in no time. 

But without a proper strategy, you may be grasping at straws for a long time. 

We don’t want that. And we’re sure you don’t either. So, here’s how you can make your current strategy even better. 

Know your audience

Your first line of action should be to know who you’re creating content for. 

Who are they? Where are they from?  What interests them? What are their pain points?

You need to know these. That’s how you’ll know what kind of interactive content to create and which platform to publish it on. 

So, how do I know my target audience?

• Go through your existing customer base. Analyze what kind of potential customers are in your corner. Their age, interests, demographics, etc.  Don’t forget to check out their psychographics as well.
• Check your competitor’s social media page. What’s their average follower like?

Ensure teamwork between designers and content creators

Designers and creators are the yin and yang of interactive content. 

You need both to be on the same page for all to be well in the interactive world. 

Both pros need to come up with a creative brief together. They also need to: 

• Define the goals and requirements of the program. 
• Decide on content formats to use. 
• Iterate visual formats. 
• Talk about supporting graphics and media.

But at the same time, they still have some individual roles to play in producing interactive content. 

Content creators, for instance, need to create an outline of the content’s narrative framework. Write copy and provide an information base for the visual design.

Designers, on the other hand, are tasked with:

• Exploring visual concepts. 
• Sourcing artworks, graphics, photos, audio, etc. for the content. 
• Creating a static design that aligns with the outline the creator produced.

Overall, you need their partnership to produce solid interactive content. 

Update your existing content

If you’ve been using static content on your digital platforms all this while, it’s time for a revamp. 

You need to make plans to replace them with catchy, interactive content. 

It’s one of the ways you can stand out from your competition. 

A good place to start is to add evergreen content to your platform. Something that’ll intrigue users, like motion visuals that come alive when they click or press the spacebar.  

That’s what MX technologies did with their sales strategy. Here’s how it went down: 

So, the MX team wanted to improve the end-user experience their prospects were having and close more sales. But up until then, they had been using static content. “Flat PowerPoint presentations," they said. So they moved their product to Ceros, added pop-ups, click-buttons, and threw in interactive magic. 

Before you knew it, everything fell into place. In the words of Jeff Holmes, MX’s head of sales design, “They saw that sites with Ceros (interactive content) attached were 16% more likely to close (generate more revenue).”  

Using interactive content the way MX did will capture people’s attention the moment they log on. It’ll motivate them to engage with the platform further. 

Wondering how to make your content interactive?

You can add animations with micro-interactions. This is a smoother way to make interactive content. 

And there are different options you can choose from. 

Users can just hover on a button for instance and something magically appears. Click through image slideshows. Or add hotspots to an image to better explain it.

The bottom line? 

You need to schedule how you want to start making your content interactive. 

Create interactive content for the entire buyer’s journey

If you want your interactive content to be a hit back-to-back, put yourself in the user’s shoes. 

Think about all the steps they’ll go through before deciding to buy from you. The steps are:

• Awareness: When they know of but are still learning about your brand. 
• Interest: Where curiosity sets in and they want what you’ve got to offer. 
• Decision: When they’re ready to bring out their bank card. 
• Action:  When they click buy now. 

The goal is to create content for folks who are in each stage of the life cycle.

Why?

To give them an immersive experience regardless of where they are on the buyer’s journey.

If you create interactive content for just one part, chances are they might not get to experience it. 

But if it’s at every turn, they’ll be in awe on any page they visit. 

Keep SEO top-of-mind

Imagine investing so much into interactive content and only getting pennies in return for your marketing efforts. Frustrating, right?

That’s why you need to think about SEO when creating interactive content. 

There are a few tricks to getting this right:

• Use keywords every chance you get. No, not keyword stuffing. But use relevant keywords naturally in your content when the opportunity arises. 
• Optimize the content for mobile. Everyone is on their smartphones nowadays. If your interactive elements aren’t fully responsive, working seamlessly on mobile, you’ll be missing out on a lot, like not featuring on the search engine results page (SERPs). Google predominantly uses mobile-first indexing, so you don’t want to be caught slacking.
• Ensure smooth accessibility every step of the way. Everyone deserves to see the magic you created. Make sure your interactive content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Use proper HTML structure, alt texts, and ARIA labels to make it accessible. 
• Produce high-quality content. Put in the work. Ensure what your audience gets is helpful to them, and they’ll sing your praises for anyone who cares to listen.

***

That’s it, people!

We’ve come to the end of this guide. And it’s time to bid you farewell. 

Take advantage of interactive content today

Interactive content is more than just engaging—it's transformative for your marketing and sales strategies. 

But to truly understand its impact, you need to experience it firsthand. 

Ceros is your go-to platform for creating premium, rich digital experiences effortlessly. With our intuitive, no-code environment enhanced by AI, you can create immersive content that captures and holds your audience’s attention at every touchpoint. From simple hover effects to complex interactive experiences, everything is at your fingertips.

Ready to elevate your content strategy? Schedule a demo with Ceros today and see how our platform can help you create, collaborate, and scale exceptional content that sets you apart in the marketplace.