Whether static, animated, or interactive — or a campaign combining many deliverables across these mediums — each potential format that your visual content could take offers a different way to engage your audience. Your goals and content will determine what the right format will be. In this post we’ll look at situations where interactive content might benefit you, as well as marketer perspectives on the medium.
Is Interactive Content Right for Your Message?
Selecting the right medium for your content is a decision best made with a team of visual communication experts (whether in-house or through a trusted agency). It’s tempting to run with the medium you think is the most dynamic, cutting-edge, or technologically advanced, but these motives don’t always do justice to the information you’re working to convey and the goals you’re trying to reach. What your message is, the level of complexity and detail, the audience you’re trying to reach, and more will help your agency and/or you to make the right decision.
With that being said, when interactive content is the winner for your story and goals, it certainly yields benefits that can help set you apart and gain traction in your industry.
Interactivity Can Improve User Experience, Understanding, and Trust
Interactivity encourages users to explore detailed information in an engaging and often-customized path. When they get to decide what information to look at and in what order, they control the experience you’ve created and become participants in your narrative.
In a 2015 study, researchers found that interactivity led to more positive assessment of a website’s interface, as well as greater cognitive absorption.
In a different study, a DemandMetric survey asked marketers to evaluate the efficacy of interactive content vs. passive (static) content in a variety of ways. This kind of comparison can naturally place extra emphasis on the newer concept (in this case, interactive content); still, static content has a firm place in the world and remains the best choice for certain endeavors — certainly above text alone.
The naturally inviting format of interactivity really works to your advantage when your content is complex, highly detailed, and/or lengthy. Using interactive components like tabs, parallax scroll, tooltips, and more, you can organize and file away your information chronologically, by priority, or by some other form of sectioning. In this way, over the life of the experience your audience gets the full story without being overwhelmed with everything at once.
Interactive Content Could Improve Your Standing in the Marketplace
Are you among the more than 1 in 2 marketers using interactive content — and if so, what benefits have you seen for your business?
