Interactive and Immersive Marketing: Why Use It?
Which experience sounds more exciting, a lecture or a discussion? Most people would say a discussion. Discussions are interactive. You don’t just sit and listen to someone speak about their ideas. You can engage, talk, and converse with others. Discussions let you not only experience information but also share it. Interactive and immersive marketing can ignite that same spark for customers. Today, we’re discussing what these areas can do for you and for your audience.
What Is Interactive Content?
Interactive content is an active, engaging piece of written or visual media. The word “active” is important. This concept is deeper than just hitting the play button to watch a video. Yes, that activity is broadly interactive. But it becomes passive after you click that button. Real interactive, immersive content keeps the audience engaged with what they’re doing. They have to make choices or complete actions to keep the experience going. Examples of interactive content include:
- Quizzes
- Infographics
- Case studies
- eBooks
- Landing pages
- Presentations
You’re probably thinking passive channels can never become interactive. They can with the right attention and design. For example, in our CopyPress email newsletter, we ask our readers questions. We want to hear from you about your thoughts on an industry topic. This takes the passive email marketing channel and turns it into an interactive one. Ready to join the conversation? Subscribe to our email list today!
“CopyPress gives us the ability to work with more dealership groups. We are able to provide unique and fresh content for an ever growing customer base. We know that when we need an influx of content to keep our clients ahead of the game in the automotive landscape, CopyPress can handle these requests with ease.”
Kevin Doory
Director of SEO at Auto Revo
What Can Interactive Content Do For Your Audience?
Interactive content takes messaging from a passive, one-way activity to a two-way experience. You’re not talking at your audience. Instead, you’re sharing information with them. This makes your leads feel like they have some control over the messages they receive. They think they hold the cards when interacting with your company, whether that’s true or not. Interactive content gives your audience a personalized experience.
According to SmarterHQ, 72% of people say they only engage with personalized messaging from brands and marketers. It makes them feel like the company cares about them as a person, not just a sale.
What Can Interactive Content Do For You?
Interactive content can keep web visitors engaged for longer periods. That improves metrics like bounce rate and time on page. But it also helps conversions. The longer people spend on your site, the more familiar they become with your brand and content. That familiarity makes them more likely to consider your brand when it’s time to buy.
Branded immersive experiences can also strengthen people’s views of your company’s identity. Think about how you feel after binge-watching a TV show. You’re sucked into that world and you feel you understand the characters. You have thoughts and opinions, and you want more episodes. Replicate that feeling with your content and your brand. This may improve the quality of the leads you get. They’re more serious about working with you because they understand and connect with your identity.
Why Do People Want Immersive Marketing Experiences?
Image via GIPHY by @schittscreek
Immersive marketing turns an advertisement or interaction into an unforgettable experience. If you do it right. Younger generations, especially, crave these types of interactions. It might be because they have more experience with interactive technology from childhood. They played video games where their decisions affected gameplay. They read books where choosing to turn to a specific page changed the outcome of the story.
Young consumers have brought these experience expectations into adulthood and gravitate toward them. Look around. Immersive marketing is everywhere, like in art exhibits, television shows, and social media filters.
How Does Interactive Content Become Immersive Content?
Technology is how you turn an interactive experience into an immersive one. We talked about the word “active” before. Keeping your audience active within content makes an interactive experience an immersive one. There isn’t any passivity to what they’re doing. They’re thinking, talking, or moving their bodies the entire time. Virtual and augmented reality programs are two great examples. Facebook’s rebrand to Meta also plans to explore how to bring this concept to the masses.
You can do these kinds of things on a smaller scale. Create websites and social feeds that make people feel they’re in a curated space. They’re not just viewing your content, but experiencing it with many senses. Developing interactive media makes that possible. At CopyPress, we design a variety of interactive media for our clients, from quizzes to infographics. Start a call with us to learn how using customized content improves customer experiences and engagement.
CopyPress writer
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