Internet. Interactive. The Two Were Destined To Collide.

the Term “internet” Came To Be Because It

Connected Networks. The Prefix “inter” Means “between.” It Follows That “interactive” Means “action
Between.” Or Something Like That. the Point Is We Were Destined To Interact Online. We Live For
Interaction And The Internet Lives To Give It To Us. content Marketers Are Getting “inter” It the Real
Measure Of Any Form Of Marketing Is Action. In Older And Traditional Channels, The Actions We
Measured Tended To Include Phone Calls, Faxes, Coupon Redemptions, Sales Meetings, And Maybe
Sales. Remember “tip In” Cards In Trade Magazines? today, With Content Marketing Ruling The Online
Space, Marketers Often Measure More Actions, And Certainly, Less Meaningful Ones: Shares, Clicks, Even
Views. This Is Not To Say Content Marketers Don’t Measure The More Substantial Actions. The Good
Ones Do. the Good Ones Also Realize Engagement Is All-important. Building Brand Affinity Leads To
Building The Relationship That Leads To Building Trust That Leads To Building Sales That Leads To Building
Business. Got All That? enter Interactive Content. On The Battlefield That Is Content Marketing, Reading,
Watching, Listening To, Or Downloading Something May Be The Equivalent To Firing A Shot, But Getting
A Prospect Emotionally Involved Via Interaction Is A Hit. “engaging A Target Audience” Is An Important
Excerpt From Content Marketing Institute’s Definition Of Content Marketing. According To Nearly Every
Marketing Research Study, It’s Also Consistently Proven To Be Amongst Our Toughest Challenges.
marketers Succeed When Their Audience Not Only Consumes Content, But Also Enjoys And Acts Upon It.
Understanding This Principle, More And More Content Marketers Are Stepping-up Their Static Content
To Create Content Customers Can Interact With. “by Its Very Nature, Interactive Content Engages
Participants In An Activity: Answering Questions, Making Choices, Exploring Scenarios. It’s A Great Way
To Capture Attention Right From The Start. Individuals Have To Think And Respond; They Can’t Just
Snooze Through It.” ~ Scott Brinker, Ion Interactive, Author Of Chiefmartec.Com, In A Guest Post On
Copyblogger. the Forces Behind Interactive Content your Classic Content Marketer Is Adept At Publishing
A Blog And Other Forms Of One-way Media. Creating Interactive Content Is More Work. It Tends To
Demand More Resources. is It Worth It? most Content Marketers That Have Hopped Aboard The
Interactive Train Would Answer Yes. They May Say They’ve Realized Greater Results. They May Also Say
It’s Imperative. Here’s Why: noise—there’s Simply Too Much Content. And The Only People That Really
Care About Content Is Content Marketers. The Customers Don’t Want Content. They Want Answers. Or
They Want To Have Fun. Or Both. the World’s Gone Mobile—mobile Users Have Come To Expect
Interactivity. Apps Are More Engaging Than Web Pages. human Nature—we Simply Want To Interact. We
Learn Best By Doing. I Once Asked My Kids, “what Are Your Favorite Lessons In School?” They Said The
Ones Where We Do Stuff And Make Things. Interactive Content Is The Filed Trip Of Content Marketing. a
Conversion Study By Demand Metric Indicates When Examining “very Effective” Content, Interactive
Blows Away Passive Content For Educating The Buyer.

Let’s Look At Some Of The Interactive Content Types, Some Of Which Are Well Known And Blazing Hot
And A Few Others With A Potentially Strong Upside. quizzes quizzes Are Amazingly Popular And Ultra-
magnetic. While Many Focus On Delivering A Fun Distraction, Businesses Often Take Them Seriously
Aiming To Use The Format For Educational Purposes. Quiz Results Can Be Useful For Recommending The
Most Relevant Subsequent Content. unitrends, Makers Of A Data Backup Appliances, Drove Traffic From
Facebook To Its Website With A Personality Quiz To Determine Each Participant’s Backup And Disaster
Recovery Superhero Persona. (see Complete Details On Snapapp) quiz: Can You Name These Southern
City Skylines? ecommerce Startup Country Outfitter Has Multiplied Traffic To Its Site And Engagement
Thanks To Publishing Fun Quizzes With Playbuzz On Their Lifestyle Website. Their Quizzes Have Appeared
On More Than 100 Different Domains. assessments like Quizzes, Assessments Also Are Often Little
Pieces Of Brain Candy Such As Personality Tests. However, In A Business Context Assessments Can Be
Meaningful Marketing Tools Often Used To Help People Identify A Need, Compare Their Company To
Benchmarks, Or Some Other Type Of Self-diagnosis. polls And Surveys polls And Surveys Can Take All
Different Forms And Fulfill A Wide Variety Of Needs For Both The Creator And User. The Subject Of The
Poll Or Survey Gives Users A Glimpse Into Your Areas Of Expertise. calculators calculators Are About
Money, Which For Some Reason Appears To Interest Most People. Given The Right Strategy And Creative
Execution, A Calculator Can Say (or Infer) Something Meaningful About Your Company’s Mission.
contests contests May Be Older Than Time, But Continue To Evolve Online And Across The Social Sphere.
The Potential To Get Creative With Contests Is Infinite. Cool Contests Have Proven To Lure Customers And
Inspire Engagement. Generally, They Require Some Form Of Application, So Marketers Can Collect
Valuable Customer Data. And Though It May Be Obvious, Contests Can Generate Authentic And Engaging
User-generated Content. galleries visual Marketing Couldn’t Be Hotter, So Some Companies Are Using
Galleries To Deliver Stopping Power And Interaction. In Addition To Showcasing Products, They Can
Present Portfolios, Ideas, Customer Examples, Event Highlights, Or Anything You Can “picture.” brackets
snapapp Claims “they [brackets] Are A Great Way To Settle ‘best Of’ Or ‘worst Of’ Debates, No Matter
What Industry Or Field You Are In.” They’re Also A Way To Earn Longer Periods Of Engagement, Drive
Repeat Visitors And Generate New Content. heavy Construction Systems Specialists (hcss) Conducted A
Tournament In Which Customers Submitted Their Most Interesting Projects. 117 Projects Were
Submitted And 292,000 Votes Increased Website Traffic By 800%. interactive White Papers Or Ebooks
interactive Software Company Ion Interactive Suggests Turning Your White Paper Or Ebook Into An
Interactive User Experience Allowing Readers To Navigate As They Wish. infographics infographics Can
Be Made Interactive With Embedded Questions, Flip Tiles, Flexible User Paths, And More. ion
Interactive Showcases Its Own Software For Creating Interactive Infographics. A Menu Bar Invites
Readers To Navigate The Content Marketing Stats As They Wish. what Type Of Content Marketer Are
You? after Researching Interactive Content And Learning More About The Magnetic Power Of Quizzes
And Such, I Couldn’t Resist Writing The Subhead Above. It Begs To Be A Quiz. And As A Content
Marketing Vying For Attention And Engagement Amongst The Deafening Noise, You’ll Want To Consider
The Question. interactive Content Offers An Opportunity To Differentiate Your Brand And Engage Your
Audience.