How to Generate Revenue with Interactive Content

We have never produced so much data as we do today — and no matter when you read this, the statement will remain true because data production increases day by day. 

In such a populated web, it can be hard to catch your audience’s attention.

That’s why interactive content has been considered the next frontier for brands that want to invest in their content strategy. After all, with interactivity, you can not only increase your conversion rates but also generate revenue.

In this article, we are going to show you how to do so in the following topics:

Content Marketing: where do we stand?

It’s no wonder content remains at the epicenter of organizations worldwide. 

In today’s climate, it’s clear that relevant content is generating traffic, engaging audiences, and driving conversions.

In 2019, the revenue spent on marketing in the US alone was over US$ 197 billion. Out of this considerable amount, 40% was dedicated to Content Marketing.

But with so many companies using Content Marketing to thrive, we’ve found a complex problem that’s rooted in information overload. Content is everywhere we look — plus everywhere we’re not looking.

Content’s under every rock and stuffed in every drawer. It’s towering over our heads, and it’s being written and published faster than you can say make.

This content avalanche has caused users to become more selective, and their preferences have been documented in Demand Gen’s 2018 Content Preferences Survey Report.

That study revealed that blogs and podcasts are becoming increasingly trusted resources and that 36% prefer interactive content formats when consuming content related to a potential purchase online.

That same survey revealed that users typically engage with 3-5 pieces of content before reaching out to a salesperson.

This is an important fact when considering how your Content Marketing strategy can best contribute to your overall revenue goals.

How’s the interactive content scenario?

Among the tsunami of content that is constantly produced, interactive content is proving to be an efficient way to make your efforts and investments worthwhile.

In the last decade, there has been some evidence indicating that the audience responds better to dynamic and interactive content. For example, did you know that 96% of readers that start a sponsored BuzzFeed Quiz finish it?

But besides the isolated number, the experience of marketers who already adopted interactive content as a component of their strategy has been showing to pay off. 

Here are some numbers from the Content Marketing Institute research:

• 81% of specialists who use interactive content agree that it’s more effective in grabbing the audience’s attention than static content;
• 79% of them agree that it reinforces the retention of brand messaging;
• 79% of them agree that interactive content can attract the same user more than once to the same page.

The report also showed the benefits of using interactive content in a strategy:

A Demand Metric study showed that 96% of the participants stated that content interactivity impacts buyers’ decisions as they go through their journey.

Interactive experiences generate 4 to 5 times more page views and convert 2 times better than static content. So, they can drive results and revenue through audience engagement and the incredible metrics and data provided by the experiences.

Therefore, you can not only increase your conversion and engagement but also generate revenue with interactive content. And this is what we are going to show you in the next topic.

How to generate revenue with interactive content?

Now that you are aware of interactivity’s power, it’s time to get to know how to generate revenue with interactive content. 

Here are some tips and examples that you can integrate into your Digital Marketing plan.

1. Page ads

Data shows that interactive content increase the time users spend on your website. Moreover, it also helps achieve new users that will find you via social media sharing of your content.

Once you have more traffic and longer dwell time, you will have a more substantial revenue from existing ads on your website. 

This is a specially good strategy for people and businesses with an affiliate marketing strategy.

Quizzes are a great type of content to do so. They are fun and entertaining, and can even be that much-needed break to think of something light during a hard day of work.

2. Creating better sales

One of the biggest advantages of interactive content is the feedback it provides from your audience.

Once your lead starts navigating on your interactive content and making choices, they give you data on what is important for them, as well as their pains and needs.

With this kind of information, your sales force will have a clearer idea of where the lead is in the buyer’s journey. So your team can tailor the sales script to meet the customer’s needs better.

By creating a piece of interactive content specifically to enable your sales force, you are helping generate revenue for your company. FedEx poses a fine example of this strategy.

They developed an interactive webpage offering customers six different embeddable experiences. In each one of them, they presented valuable information about shipping and, at the same time, collected data from the potential customer.

By doing so, the company managed to increase its month-over-month revenue by 82%.

3. Interactive ebooks

Have you ever thought that you can transform white papers and ebooks into an interactive experience for your users? 

That is exactly what 24 Life did with their magazine Lost and Found.

Instead of presenting pages through which the user would simply scroll down, they decided for a more impactful product. The interactive ebook allows the public to navigate as they please and also supports formats like video.

Depending on your specific market, other solutions can be thought so that you can start to generate revenue with interactive content. The possibilities are close to endless, and you can custom every experience to your public’s needs.

Would you like to know more about how you can integrate interactive content into your strategy? Then download our Interactive Content guide!