When marketers think of interactive content, they often think about two things:
- Fun quizzes loved by B2C consumers but not very apt for the majority of B2B situations.
- Infographics that can be highly informative, but are often complex and unintuitive, too.
These two genres are common out on the Web, and it’s not surprising many people have come to the conclusion they aren’t ideal for B2B. However, the potential of interactive content goes far further.
Interactive content is making headway in a variety of industries, including some of the largest and most lucrative B2B segments. Forrester discovered 200 IT and business line professionals named interactive content tools among their top preferred resources.
Try these methods to build interactive content that works:
Tell a Story with Fictional Narratives
Interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” style stories are some of the most compelling Web content around no matter your age. A fictional narrative can be both enticing and informative, helping you inject interest and creativity into any subject. The information you share this way is more likely to be read and remembered – and you can, of course, include CTAs throughout.
Use Interactive Infographics to Illuminate Data
Infographics are already a popular form of content. Making them interactive takes things one step further by allowing your users to bringtheir own interest to the data. People love to toggle through interactive presentations that adapt to their own needs, especially when they are delivered in a format that really suits the data. Don’t settle for a simplistic “slide deck” style!
Provide Knowledge Tests to Stoke Early Interest
Many experts enjoy testing their knowledge to ensure they are really on the cutting edge. You can use knowledge tests to identify gaps that can be addressed by your Web content. That content, in turn, can direct users to the right products or services to suit their needs.
Deliver Self-Assessments for Product Evaluation
Self-assessments that cover an individual, team, or organization are ideal for making customized product recommendations. However, be careful to use a data-driven approach and structure your text so there are no foregone conclusions. Otherwise, it may sound salesy.
Offer ROI Calculators to Help Close the Deal
Buyers want to understand ROI before they move forward on a final selection. You should try to bundle your interactive ROI calculators as tightly as possible with your case studies and product demo request content so they have both the data- and narrative-focused answers to their questions.
Your interactive content can strengthen and reinforce existing static content, especially your blog posts and videos. Interactivity will keep people on your site longer, giving you more opportunities to make the sale and helping you rank in search engines, too.