Digital Marketing is the most prominent strategy to reach, engage and convert internet users into loyal customers.
Presence in digital channels has become so important that many companies invest a large part of their budgets in improving their brand exposure.
However, to truly establish your business as an authority and create competitive advantages, it is vital to provide your audience with unique, quality content.
An interactive content strategy enables you to attract and educate your market through an entirely organic approach.
If you successfully apply good techniques and provide excellent user experiences, visitors to your blog or website will quickly connect to your brand and become qualified leads.
This means higher conversion rates, better ROI, and the possibility to create a base of brand advocates.
To achieve all of these benefits, however, you need to have access to the best practices and tools available, and that is where marketing apps come in.
Relying on appropriate technology is a must if you want to be successful in such a competitive scenario.
In this text, we will go over the main aspects of marketing apps and help you choose the one that fits your situation. Keep reading to learn:
What are Marketing Apps?
Marketing apps are the tools that provide a marketing strategy with the right conditions to achieve its goals.
Some of the most common examples of these applications relate to data analysis.
If you own a website or use social media for business, you have probably managed tools such as Google Analytics and Instagram Insights.
They present relevant information about your strategy’s progress, enabling you to identify problems and make better decisions about investing your time and money.
The examples we just presented are key to generating insights and monitoring specific KPIs.
However, the current scenario of Digital Marketing urges for more than that. This is why marketing apps have evolved.
Now, it is possible to find complete solutions that enable your company to collect not only data but also take actions that will improve your strategy’s results.
We are talking about applications that facilitate the creation of interactive content, such as quizzes, calculators, and much more.
Why Should you Use a Marketing App?
Developing interactive content from scratch is a task that requires advanced knowledge in coding, but using a top-notch marketing app will remove the necessity of hiring a developer to carry out this project.
These applications usually offer customizable templates that allow you to develop and publish your content intuitively.
Their platforms are full of resources that you can explore to diversify your materials and reach your business results.
Below, we list some of the main advantages you will find!
Improve Audience Engagement
Marketing apps allow you to create interactive experiences and increase your audience’s engagement.
Instead of limiting its efforts to blog posts and social media campaigns, your company can create pieces that bring real value to the public and motivate them to take action in real-time.
Developing a quiz, for example, is an excellent way of involving your buyer persona in a ludic and educational experience, which will make them interact and ultimately improve the way they perceive your brand.
On the other hand, every point of interaction is converted into data. By using the right tools, you can turn your materials into major collectors of information, enabling your marketing teams to better understand how the ideal customer behaves.
This creates a cycle of improvement that will certainly result in constantly growing engagement rates.
The data collected can also be employed to improve the content experience.
Imagine customizing your materials based on the visitor’s past behavior, for example. This will create the feeling that the company really values them, improving retention and return rates.
Accelerate Processes
You can’t waste any time on a content strategy without facing the consequences.
So if you have the idea to create content, you want to include it in your editorial calendar as soon as possible.
Marketing apps will accelerate your internal process and enable you to develop and publish your materials much faster.
In a recent study published by Bubble, 71% of respondents indicated agility as the main reason to use those apps.
As we mentioned, the right tools will offer pre-fabricated content and allow you to edit its design and information with actions as simple as dragging and dropping.
Even if you prefer to create your materials from scratch, there’ll be ways to do that without having to write a single piece of code.
It is interesting to note that we also refer to higher ROI when we talk about quicker processes.
After all, to be successful, a Content Marketing strategy must be consistent and explore several channels.
That implies creating diversified and numerous content, which is extremely difficult and expensive without the proper resources.
Ensure The Best User Experience
A good user experience is essential to retain visitors and aim for the highest positions on SERPs.
Any experienced digital marketer knows that this is one of the reasons many companies invest in interactive content.
Interactivity is directly related to the quality of a digital experience, as modern consumers expect to actively participate in their own experience.
However, it is vital not to sacrifice other aspects of the user experience to make it interactive.
For example, if you want to turn your static ebook into a white paper, you need to do it in a way that will not affect page loading or create obstacles for the visitor.
If there is a lot of coding involved in this process, it is harder to avoid those problems.
The good news is that marketing apps are designed to ensure the best UX possible. You can build all kinds of content and run specific tests to ensure they are ready to endure high traffic flow coming from different screen sizes.
Yes, being mobile-friendly is paramount for a good user experience.
Enable Collaboration Between Marketing and Sales Teams
A mature marketing strategy must collaborate directly with the sales team, which we call a smarketing approach.
It is helpful to accelerate processes and increase success rates. If you are struggling to reach this level, using an application may be the missing key.
Because of its integrating features, the best options will allow your sellers to directly contact marketers, share insights, and find ways to improve the strategy.
More than that, a marketing app will generate data that holds great value for both departments.
Through access to in-depth reports, it is possible to improve how you approach your leads and accelerate their journey through the sales funnel.
Your sales representatives will receive much more qualified leads, which improves the conversion rate.
In return, the strategic team will continuously learn about consumers’ behavior and preferences, translating this knowledge into even better content.
How Does a Marketing App Work in Practice?
Now that you know what a marketing app is and saw some of its advantages let’s talk about how it works in practice.
As we defined, these applications should facilitate interactive content creation and, preferably, offer resources for you to monitor, analyze, and optimize the strategy.
In addition, they should ensure the best possible user experience without requiring you to write a single line of code.
To illustrate, let’s talk about an engaging quiz created by BloomReach on the Ion platform.
BloomReach is a company that connects consumers with digital stores based on what users search for in search engines like Google. With Ion, the company designed an interactive campaign based on their exact requirements and published it with minimal internal resources.
The content matched their mission to provide the public with unique materials and drive revenue to e-commerces.
The idea was simple: BloomReach asked the audience to define a single dress using their own words. Simple, but fun.
The piece attracted visitors from several sources, allowing the company to identify its main channels.
More importantly, it reached a remarkable 70% conversion rate and made Marketing efforts 40% more efficient in educating existing clients. Besides, it increased lead generation by 60%.
Every time a user interacted with the quiz, BloomReach received new valuable information.
After the campaign, they used this massive amount of data to create an infographic summarizing people’s different answers to the quiz. This generated even more value for the public, which saw its own actions transformed into digital content.
What to Consider when Choosing your Marketing App?
Before presenting some of the leading choices for marketing apps, we think it’s important to highlight the points that you should consider when choosing the best solution for your situation.
First of all, it is crucial to check if the tool offers the features you need to truly enjoy its benefits.
- Is it easy to create and publish content?
- Does it give you access to editable templates?
- Is it possible to integrate your teams?
- Does it generate valuable reports?
If “yes” is the answer to all these questions, you are on the right track. However, it is always essential to gather more information about a solution before adopting it.
Look for former customers and understand their opinion about the app. This is the most honest feedback you will find, and it is available on social networks and specific forums.
Also, contact app representatives to understand how efficient and helpful their support is: you never know when you will need it.
Once you have covered these points, you can move on to more specific questions.
If your strategy focuses on creating a particular type of content, make sure that the platform enables its development.
If the idea is to diversify, look for solutions that offer many formats. Ultimately, the most important thing is to find a tool that fits both your needs and your goals — and, of course, your budget.
Marketing App: What are the 8 Main Options in the Market?
Here are some of the most relevant marketing apps you will find!
1. SnapApp
This marketing app allows you to create diverse interactive content that you can gear to all funnel stages.
Its features will enable you to capture data and convert it into valuable insights for optimizing your sales funnel.
SnapApp also features segmentation functions that lead to more effective campaigns and ensures that salespeople are only in touch with qualified leads.
2. Qzzr
As the name implies, Qzzr is a tool dedicated to designing quizzes. These interactive pieces are incredibly effective in generating leads and educating existing customers.
Besides, they are important to help the company understand what funnel stage a lead is currently in.
If you use the quiz as a knowledge test, for example, the users learn as they participate, while the company discovers their level of knowledge on the subject.
It is a very intuitive tool that promotes rapid processes. However, if your strategy aims to provide more than one or two kinds of content, you may want to look for a more complete solution.
3. Guides.co
Everybody loves guides. They are one of the best ways to provide value to the buyer persona through written content.
Guides.co intends to keep your guides relevant but make them even more attractive to the public through interactivity.
Instead of simply reading the text, users will be able to leave comments, ask questions, and navigate freely through the content. In addition, they will be able to share the material quite easily, which is crucial for your brand’s organic reach.
4. Map.me
This marketing app deals with another specific type of content: maps.
The most famous example of an interactive map is Google Maps, which allows the user to apply filters and other functions to find the best routes, restaurants, service providers, and much more.
It is a huge hit with its audience, much on account of its excellent usability and the ludic nature of a digital map. With Map.me, you can create your own map, according to your strategy.
The app also enables user-generated content: visitors can add their locations to your map and create customized tags. Besides, you can optimize their experience by adding 3D images, videos, etc.
5. Qualtrics
If you’re currently looking for marketing apps that are great for collecting data, conducting surveys, doing market research, and more, then you can’t go wrong with Qualtrics.
It’s the type of tool that includes something for everyone, and it’s also free to try.
This tool can create dynamic interactive surveys that are highly engaging, thanks to complex branching, customizable templates, randomized elements, and eye-catching graphics.
It supports 48 different languages, so it makes a fantastic addition to an international marketing campaign.
Qualtrics also features a suite of astute reporting tools and features, the better to help you learn more about your target audience via the data your surveys generate.
6. Playbuzz
If your current brand image is fun, clever, quirky, or trendy, then you’ll naturally want to create personality quizzes and other interactive content options to match.
Playbuzz is famous for its simple but addictive quizzes, as well as its robust community of content makers and other creatives.
Choose Playbuzz if you like the idea of creating light personality tests, trivia quizzes, franchise-related interactive content, “would you rather”-style content, and more.
Numerous pre-built quiz options make it easy to get your next marketing creation up and running in no time.
Plus, new options are constantly added to the mix, so there’s always something new to explore. But if you prefer to create your own quizzes from scratch instead, you can easily do that by choosing to become a Playbuzz subscriber.
7. Zembula
Don’t make the mistake of thinking email outreach is dead simply because modern marketers have so many other incredible options at their disposal.
Email correspondence options like interactive newsletters are making a huge comeback, and Zembula is one of the best marketing tools out there for making your messages really come alive.
Zembula’s Smart Banner feature keeps your messages perpetually timely using consumer information from sources like shopping carts and browsing history.
Meanwhile, Smart Block helps you drive additional sales with incentives like purchase points, special offers, and more.
With this level of customizability in your corner, real-time personalization that really gets results has never been easier or more approachable.
8. Ion Interactive
Ion is a robust marketing app. The solution provides you with an interactive platform that will accelerate your internal processes and enable you to create various formats of interactive content.
Besides offering pre-fab editable templates, it gives you access to a Creative Studio where you can explore several features and create original, unique, and engaging content.
It’s a very intuitive platform that eliminates the necessity for a developer. Ion helps you build:
Besides creating, you can also publish, promote and monitor your content through Ion Interactive.
The tool includes an A/B testing functionality and collects relevant data to feed you with valuable insights.
Ion’s built-in actionable analytics generate in-depth reports to help you understand who your customer is, what kind of content they prefer and how they engage with your brand.
On top of that, Ion is the answer for managers looking to integrate their sales and marketing teams.
All interactions between brands and leads are registered and made accessible to the sales department. This way, when it is time to close a sale, the representative can understand the whole digital dialogue that involved the buyer.
Wrap Up
Marketing apps are a vital part of any modern content strategy. In order to highlight your brand among its competitors and attract the right audience to your channels, you need to offer qualified, interactive content.
Use the tips and ideas we presented in this guide to decide what application would bring more benefits to your business.
Are you ready to improve your results and truly engage your audience? Then, it is time to learn more about Ion Interactive!
Start creating interactive content with Ion and increase your marketing results!
Start creating interactive content with Ion and increase your marketing results!
