Everyone knows how enjoyable it can be to stop a moment and take a personality quiz they found through social media or interact with a fun animated infographic.
In exchange for just a few minutes out of your day, you get to learn a little something new and have some fun in the process.
That’s the magic of interactive content at work. It upgrades a simple piece of informative content to a participatory experience that resonates deeply with an audience.
Adding interactive elements to your content increases engagement, raises conversion rates, and boosts lead generation.
For those reasons and many others, interactivity is one of the hottest emerging content trends of this year.
However, there are still those out there who aren’t yet on board, as they’re not yet convinced interactivity is genuinely the way to go.
If you’re one of them, then check out these eye-opening interactive content statistics. They’re sure to change your mind.
1. 88% of marketers say interactive content helps brands differentiate themselves
Competition in the digital age is fierce, so offering a terrific product and excellent web content that fills a need for people isn’t enough to succeed.
Unfortunately, your competitors are doing that as effectively as you are, so it’s all too easy for your brand to get lost in the shuffle if you’re not careful.
But interactivity can be the X-factor that truly sets your company, brand identity, and products apart.
A stunning 88 percent of marketers who’ve embraced interactive content as part of their marketing campaigns say it successfully differentiated their brand from the rest of the competition.
2. 79% say combining interactive content with other content types improves message retention
Getting the attention of your target audience and holding it long enough to convey your message is one thing.
Actually getting them to remember what you told them once they walk away is another matter entirely.
However, many interactive content statistics support interactivity’s ability to help information stick.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 79 percent of marketers see a marked increase in message retention when combining interactivity with other key marketing tactics.
For many people, the act of participating (instead of merely observing) aids memory and improves comprehension.
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3. Over 96% of people who start quizzes on Buzzfeed finish them
Once people commit to interactive content experiences like personality quizzes, they almost always finish them.
This is the case for an incredible 96 percent of Buzzfeed visitors who decide to take one of the platform’s quizzes. They also leave a wealth of valuable data and choice information about themselves behind.
Creating irresistible interactive quizzes of your own can yield similar results for your brand.
Not only will you successfully engage your target audience, giving them a tantalizing preview of your brand in the process, but the user data you’ll collect will be helpful, too.
Leverage it to learn more about your users and tailor future experiences to fit.
4. Far more online visitors will watch a video than read content
The human brain processes visuals tens of thousands of times faster than it does written information, so it’s no wonder video is so popular these days.
Visitors to your website are also 80 percent likely to watch a video but only 20 percent likely to actually read through a piece of written content.
Videos also help reduce bounce rates and raise the average time a visitor might spend on a page.
Adding interactivity to your videos by asking viewers to click, tap, or otherwise interact with the content at various intervals can help magnify these effects even further.
5. 43% of consumers prefer interactive video to standard video
Consumers don’t like feeling blatantly sold to or being interrupted while they’re focused on something else.
However, they’re highly receptive to marketing content when they feel they can choose to view it or not.
That’s precisely why 43 percent of consumers say they prefer interactive video to standard forms of video content.
Your customers want to get to know you and your brand. But they want to decide what information to view, as well as when and how they’d like to view it.
Interactive video fulfills this need by putting the viewer in control of their experience.
6. Most B2B marketing pros include interactive infographics in their strategies (or plan to soon)
According to key interactive content statistics, 85 percent of B2B marketers have already embraced interactive infographics or plan to in the near future.
So if you also own or manage a brand in the B2B sector and have yet to go interactive, you’re already falling behind. But thankfully, it’s not too late to catch up and pull ahead of the pack.
B2B leads are especially busy people. They love content that helps them visualize problems, map out solutions, and identify trends at a glance.
Interactive infographics do this while providing valuable information in a way that’s engaging and easy to absorb.
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7. A majority of consumers prefer AR-assisted shopping when available
Although consumers are generally very comfortable shopping online for items like clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, and furniture, many people still worry about making a poor purchasing decision due to a lack of ability to try the item before buying.
Augmented reality (AR) shopping apps and interfaces can help with that.
Over 71 percent of modern consumers say they prefer shopping with AR, as it helps them make smarter buying decisions they’re more likely to be happy with.
For example, they can use this interactive technology to “see” how they might look in clothing, makeup, or hair color before they buy, preview how a chair or sofa might look in their living room, and so forth.
8. Interactive content is twice as likely to engage a visitor as static content
Although there will always be room in an excellent digital marketing campaign for great static content like articles and standalone infographics, the irresistible nature of interactive content can’t be ignored.
Interactive options consistently generate higher engagement levels than static alternatives — up to twice the engagement rate in most cases.
Content catalogs do best when they’re varied and diverse, so be sure to mix things up accordingly.
Alternate traditional content options like informative blog articles, images, and videos with fresh interactive elements like quizzes, interactive videos, and participatory tools like calculators and situation simulators.
9. A majority of marketers say going interactive is an effective way to repurpose existing content
As any good content marketing professional knows, it’s always a smart strategy to get as much mileage as possible out of the content you already have.
Informative articles and timely listicles can be updated with new information and reposted.
Likewise, solid information from old but valuable blog posts can make great material for videos, infographics, and social media posts.
However, it’s worth noting that 68 percent of marketers swear by adding interactivity to take the guesswork out of repurposing older content.
And 79 percent say that the very nature of interactive content means it can be used again and again, leading to repeat visits and ongoing engagement.
10. Recent interactive content statistics support specific options for each level of your sales funnel
Although various types of interactive content can be helpful no matter where and how you implement it, some options do much better than others at different points in a sales funnel.
According to the Content Marketing Institute and Ion Interactive, the best-performing options for each level are as follows:
- Top of Funnel: Quizzes, contests, assessments, games, and interactive infographics.
- Middle of Funnel: Interactive ebooks, interactive lookbooks, calculators, wizards, and interactive white papers.
- Bottom of Funnel: Configurators and other forms of advanced interactive content.
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11. One quarter of global VR users see a bright future for VR in marketing
Virtual reality (VR) may not be something every modern consumer is familiar with, but many early adopters of the technology feel that’s going to change in the very near future.
About 25 percent of VR users worldwide believe in VR’s potential as a future marketing tool for brands, products, and companies of all types.
There are already 42.9 million people in the United States actively using VR products.
Meanwhile, there are 68.7 million people using AR very regularly — at least once a month — so it’s worth your while to start looking into these options this year.
12. Shoppable videos have twice the engagement rates of standard videos
Speaking of interactive content statistics that point to creative new takes on video as the way of the future, you may want to consider hopping on the shoppable videos bandwagon.
According to research, shoppable videos are twice as likely to spark engagement than traditional videos.
Many of your peers and competitors are likely already on board with this trend, as 40 percent of marketers are already leveraging shoppable videos, as well as animations and similar options.
And these numbers are expected to increase exponentially.
Wrap Up: Meet Your Goals with Interactive Content Statistics and a Strong Strategy
Now that you’ve gotten a handle on the lay of the land with today’s most crucial interactive content statistics, it’s time to take the next step and apply what you know to your ongoing content marketing strategy.
Our interactive content guide can help you get moving in the right direction.
You’ll learn everything you need to know to successfully integrate interactivity into your current campaign, determine which formats are best for you, and more!
Ready to elevate your content strategy and boost engagement? Unleash the power of interactive content with ION! Seamlessly create, launch, and measure personalized interactive experiences. From quizzes and polls to assessments and calculators, ION empowers you to captivate your audience. Start enhancing your marketing efforts today – discover what ION can do for you!
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Start creating interactive content with Ion and increase your marketing results!
Start creating interactive content with Ion and increase your marketing results!
