Interactive Videos the Future of Online Marketing and Sales ?
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Interactive Videos An Introduction
Over the past couple years, videos have proven to be powerful tools for businesses and brands to establish connections with their audience. A survey from Content Marketing Institute reports that 62% of marketers said that the use of videos produced great results for their companies back in 2016.
These days, one of the end goals of communications in businesses is to improve end-user experience, which will eventually result in fruitful engagement. Companies need to showcase necessary information in a manner that is easily accessible on all digital platforms that personalize interactions such as clicks and views. Instead of simply reading or listening to videos, audiences are proven to respond better to videos that capture their attention with interactive visuals.
What is an Interactive Video?
As its name suggests, an interactive video is one that the audience or user can interact with. Instead of the linear journey with only the play, pause, and stop options, viewers can actively interact with the video. This kind of video provides viewers with a choice of different paths with which to navigate it.
What are the benefits of Interactive Videos?
Companies who have used interactive videos in their marketing campaigns will tell you that it is effective far more than the usual video content.
There are several reasons why interactive videos are becoming more important for businesses today, and here are a few of them:
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Interactive videos increase landing page conversion.
A video speaks more than text posts. Your video could resemble a sales pitch that includes a brief company background, relevant data on the product itself, its features, and perhaps some customer feedback. All of this can be captured in a comprehensive 2-minute video.
A study conducted by EyeView Digital states that landing pages that contain videos have increased conversion rates by up to 80%. They are much more interesting than the usual static ads and posts. However, videos are so common nowadays that the traditional ones are proving to be simply passive. On the contrary, interactive videos pull viewers in by giving them a part to play. It demands full attention and gives the viewer the chance to control the information he or she consumes.
Videos that answer a visitor’s questions regarding a company’s products and services reduces indecisiveness. A customer is more like to buy a product or service when they don’t have to dig too much into the website to find out how it works. This will then make its mark on the user’s experience and sets the company apart from the rest.
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They are flexible and can be accessed across different devices.
Any marketing content has to be accessible across various devices. Videos are easily accessed and shared even on smartphones and tablets, which eliminates the logistical issues that print media faces. With just a few clicks, a video can get viral and convert customers much faster than a text post will ever be capable of doing.
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Interactive videos are time- and energy-efficient.
A video can compress all information that is usually presented in brochures, sales talks, and text posts to a piece as short as five minutes. This ultimately decreases the amount of resources companies have to put out for each marketing campaign and results in shorter turnaround time. It’s also much easier to track and target a specific niche you want to reach. Also, because users are involved in the interaction, they have control over the information that they want to discover. This lessens the need to cram everything into the short traditional explainer video.
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It integrates gamification into the picture.
For those unfamiliar with gamification, it’s the process of using the elements of gameplay such as point-scoring and competition to make tasks fun. With interactive videos, you can incorporate gamification with the rest of the ad elements to create an engaging experience for users. This will encourage them to stay and finish the video, especially when progress is promised the more they interact.
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Interactive videos provide useful data to track.
Unlike the usual metrics that can be tracked on traditional videos such as the number of views and watch time, interactive videos give useful data. You can track each decision that viewers take and use this to create better answers to their questions or concerns.
You can track click-through rates, dwell time, skipped sections, navigation, re-watched sections, submission rates, and even engagement. The data that the interactive videos yield are the kind that can be used in case studies and feasibility studies, which is great news for a company’s research and development department.
Several companies have taken the lead in publishing interactive video productions into their marketing campaigns. Some have done it fine and gained results, while some have produced excellent interactive video content that all but broke the internet. Here are five successfully used interactive videos that reaped the benefits:
- Boursin
In a video published on YouTube, Boursin takes its viewers on a foodie’s fridge. It’s packed with fresh produce where viewers can immerse themselves in the variety of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. This video appeals to the type of person they envision would use their product and sparks curiosity to those who aren’t.
- Earth 2045
This inspiring video won the Webby Award for Best Use of Video or Moving Image of 2016. It uses an interactive slider where users can swipe left or right to compare two possible realities of the future. You will either see a lush, green environment or a dying one.
The video was created by M&C Saatchi Stockholm to mimic the choice that humans have and its power to impact our environment. According to a spokesperson, “By controlling the content you are making a small choice – and seeing immediate consequences.” This mirrors the daily choices presented to us that have a lasting impact on nature. Its message is that the future of our environment is in the choices that we make, even the simplest ones.
https://vimeo.com/153792049giveafullerlife.com/
- Warner Bros.’ Focus
To promote their 2015 box office release, Focus, Warner Bros. published an interactive video specifically targeting millennials. They used gamification to create a fun mini-game designed to get viewers curious about the film.
Focus is a movie about a veteran con man played by Will Smith. Viewers got the chance to step into the mind of a con artist and see how well they do as one. They became immersed in the world of Focus and, as a result, became more likely to watch the film.
- Reebok’s 25,916 Days
The video 25,916 Days is a motivational video made to inspire its viewers to make the most of each day given to them by pushing their physical limits. It shows the life of a middle-aged woman who runs the Reebok Spartan Race and retraces her steps over the years. It shows her life as a runner in high school. It even went back to the day she was born.
The video’s message is clear: we are all given only a specific number of days on earth and we must take advantage of it to be the best we can be, physically, emotionally, and mentally. At the end of the video, the viewer is presented with a button that redirects to Reebok’s website where the viewer can calculate his or her days.
- Mended Hearts’ Give A Fuller Life
Mended Hearts is a non-profit organization that offers support to the families of children with congenital heart disease by offering education and connecting them with the resources they may need. Children are given a chance to live a full life even with the disease and their families are given the essential feeling of community to share joys and sorrows with.
Mended Hearts’ touching video features a child suffering from congenital heart disease. It seeks to encourage viewers to donate by clicking a button on the side of the video. The donation options include $1, $2, $5, and $10. The more a viewer donates, the brighter and the more colorful the little boy’s world becomes.
https://www.giveafullerlife.com
Interactive video content was predicted to account for most of the consumer traffic online back in 2017, and companies have witnessed that to be true. Video-based methods have been the go-to premium tool for companies, from startups to corporations, to reach their audience in the past year.
As the first quarter of 2018 draws to a close, it is looking to be a bigger and better year for interactive videos as marketing teams continue to develop smarter methods and technology to incorporate more interactivity. To develop a memorable online brand, making interactive videos is the way to go.
Intractive video companies already know that from raising awareness to the world’s most pressing issues to sparking curiosity about a brand’s new product, interactive videos can be made specifically to meet specific goals.
Not only does it grab the attention of viewers, it also gives a human element to the videos and to digital marketing tools in general. Interactive videos operate on the same principle as giving classrooms that promote hands-on experience – the more involved the viewer is, the more invested they become.
Article by Nicole Delgado | Article Writer | Explainer Video Company | Animated Explainer Videos
Further reading:
https://explainervideoproduction.com/what-is-a-3d-digital-billboard/
Interactive Videos – Interactive Video Company
