Interactive Videos - Ultimate Guide

Interactive videos are becoming increasingly popular as they allow viewers to perform actions and engage while watching. In this ultimate guide to the interactive video, learn how to create engaging content that asks for viewer input, and discover best practices for making your videos truly interactive. Rightly used, it can be a marketer's dream. According to Social Media Week, the completion rate of interactive videos is 90%. 

What are interactive videos used for?

Let’s look at how adding interactive videos to your marketing repertoire can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of your campaigns. 

To increase engagement:

Interactive elements in the video gamify the experience of the viewer. It keeps them more engaged and doesn't let them be a passive participant. Interactive videos give them the illusion of being in control. 

Product marketing:

Interactive videos are one of the best ways to market your product or service. They can show the features and functionalities of your product most appealingly. Instead of just watching the video passively, the viewer can become a part of your storytelling, making them understand your product better. 

They are memorable:

Since the audience feels that they are actively participating in building the story, they will remember the experience of watching an interactive video for a long time. The viewers may even buy an expensive product because of their personalized experience. The journey from a slightly interested prospect to a paying customer is faster when they are put on a steady diet of interactive videos. 

Improving brand image:

A brand isn't just the product or service they provide. It is the customer's perception of what the brand stands for and the kind of clout that they enjoy. A brand image ensures loyalty and continued patronage. Using interactive videos, you can come across as a fun company that customers will be proud to stick with. 

Features of interactive videos:

Time triggers: It allows the video creator to launch elements at specific points without the viewer having to take action, such as jumping to different points within the video. 

Hotspots: The video's clickable element can lead to other actions when the viewer selects it. 

Branching: The viewer can choose the experience by jumping to key frames in the video or skipping sections, or looping for a gamified experience. Also called conditional branching, you can ask viewers specific questions, and they can view content based on their responses. 

Buttons: These are highly visible and used to prompt viewer action. Buttons are great for increasing engagement within your videos. For example, you can add a 'Learn more’ or 'Click for more' control or use a Calendly link to schedule a meeting. 

Chapters: It is used to divide and highlight sections in the video, making it easy to navigate. Chapters help discover content on your website without a glitch.

Drawings: You can draw or highlight on the videos using this feature. It helps point to a specific video section to get your viewer's attention. 

Call-to-action (CTA): CTAs are fantastic for encouraging your audience to take action. They are like a visual nudge to take the desired action. 

Quizzes: If the video is educational or for training purposes, you can test the knowledge of your viewers by assessing their understanding of the concepts in the video. 

Overlays: They help add elements to your video to offer more insights, images, videos, CTAs, etc. 

Different types of interactive videos:

Educational videos: Features such as branching, quizzes, and hotspot makes the learning experience interactive. The viewer retains a lot of the information because of the video’s interactive elements.

Customer feedback: You can gauge the viewer's interest by adding polls or short questions to get their opinion. The data from the feedback can be used to improve your products and services.

Explainer videos: Interactive videos showcase how something works and its benefits to the audience. Explainer videos are known to use animated characters. Leveraging the character, you can add interactive elements. 

Recruitment videos: Add interactive elements to recruitment videos to gather candidates' attention. For example, they can choose the role they want and go to specific elements in the video addressed to that particular role. 

Onboarding videos: They are great for accelerating employee onboarding so that the new hires can get to work as soon as possible. 

How to make an excellent interactive video?

As a marketer, the first thing to create any content is profoundly understanding who you are targeting. You can easily dazzle, attract, and acquire customers by the dozen using the proper video marketing techniques. Add interactive elements to the mix, and you have got a winner! 

- Choose the right format for your interactive videos. Mostly, the MP4 format is compatible.

- Have a clear idea about the storyline. Ensure that you keep the interactive elements in mind when creating the storyline. They should be a part of the video organically. 

- Add interactive elements to the objects in your video. Link the elements to an external URL and make them clickable. 

- Host your video using a tool like Animaker. 

- Once the video is done, and the interactive elements are added, the next step is to decide on a distribution plan. Leverage growth tools present in GetShow, an interactive video platform, to increase the reach of your video and get a high ROI from your video marketing campaigns. 

Wrapping up:

For quite some time, interactive videos were touted as the next big thing in video marketing. Still, with the advent of several tools, it has become mainstream. If you are still not using them for your campaigns, you are missing out on the engagement and increased brand image it offers. Linear videos should not be your go-to content style for creating engagement. Capture the attention of your audience with interactive elements in your videos. 

Suppose you are looking to amp up your video marketing campaigns using a good video interactive tool. In that case, you are in the right place. Get the most out of adding interactive elements to your videos by connecting with the good folks at GetShow. Let's help you.