Benefits of Using Interactive Video in Your Marketing & Sales Strategy

Entertaining your Audience with Video

Today, 85% of users watch videos each month, making video one of the most popular forms of content. Videos catch the viewer’s eye in a stream of static posts, boosts SEO, and are easy to share across multiple platforms. Videos are easy for users to consume and keep people on your page for longer periods of time. And with 72% of customers saying they would prefer to learn about a product or service by way of video,  it’s no surprise to hear 74% of marketers say video marketing is more effective at generating leads than static posts.

However, the average person’s attention span has dropped down to 8 seconds in the past few years, making it incredibly difficult to keep viewers engaged. What else can marketers and sales members do to engage their audience? Tap them on the shoulder? Have a conversation with them?

Exactly.

Using Interactive Video to Further Engage with your Audience

Thanks to interactive videos, consumers can engage with a brand one-on-one and have an actual conversation based on their response. This new type of video gives the viewer the ability to interact with the content itself creating a user experience like no other.

Interactive videos are intelligent, dynamic, personalized, and perfect for optimizing any brand. 43% of consumers prefer interactive video content over other types of video content because it gives them the ability to decide what information they want to view and when they want to view it.

Adding interactive elements to marketing and sales videos can drive engagement by prompting viewers with buttons, hotspots, questions, and forms to:

Qualify leads: Increase engagement and segment your audience by asking questions and driving actions.

Digitize the sales process:  Capture information and move contacts through the funnel based on their interests.

Educate customers and prospects:  Use training videos and demos to drive higher engagement, deeper learning, and verification of completion and understanding.

Here’s an example:

 

Interactive Video Platforms

Mindstamp is an interactive video platform that helps marketing and sales team members dramatically increase the impact and results of their content by adding levels of interactivity and personalization to their videos.

Drive actions:
• Overlay comments and images for context or additional information 
• Provide resources such as diagrams or links to additional information

Capture information:
• Add engagement to get their name, e-mail, or phone number 
• Collect feedback by using the question feature as a survey

Gather insights:
• Video summaries aggregate play reports and give you insights into your audience and how your content is performing
• See all comments, responses, clicks, and other actions taken by the viewer

Tips For Getting Started:

Feeling a little overwhelmed? Just take one step at a time. Here are a couple of pointers to remember in order to create an interactive video experience that’s as effective as it is engaging:

1. Plan the story. Start with planning the story you want to tell your consumers. What will your target audience want to see or find engaging and entertaining? Is the story still in line with your business goals?
   
2. Plan out various immersive scenarios for your users based on their selected interests throughout the video. If the user selects option A, where will it take them versus if they had chosen option B?
   
3. Find the right video platform. If you’re a new video creator, there are multiple video platforms designed to appease any skill level. Most platforms also include introductory videos and templates to follow. A simple Google search like, “How to create a video,” will give you an array of best practices and video platforms to choose from. Once you’ve created your video you can easily upload it to platforms like Mindstamp to start adding your interactive elements.
   
4. Test your approach. Research your target demographics and how they would respond to the different types of interactions. This includes which device(s) they would use, and getting feedback from each stage. That will help determine the balance between being too easy, hard, or random, as well as making sure to avoid costly mistakes down the road in the design or development process.
   
5. Encourage replays. This helps consumers understand and remember the content better, and therefore helps build trust with your brand.
   
6. Make it multi-device ready. Smartphones are the primary device used to watch online videos, followed by computers, smart TVs, and other connected devices. 61% of users will never return to a website if it’s not mobile-optimized, and 80% of smartphone users will more likely buy from companies with mobile sites and apps that are easy to navigate. Make sure your video works properly and is easily accessible from multiple platforms to improve user experience.

Partner up!

Looking to incorporate interactive videos into your digital strategy? Consider the idea of bringing in a partner for video production or seeking consultation for your strategy. Pyxl is a great option for your video needs. Contact us today for more information on how to get started.

Updated: Jan 18, 2023