It is believed that traditional static content can be viewed as a monologue. This means it delivers information to an audience without asking them for input. However, interactive content is considered a dialog because it requires users to participate actively.
It’s true. However, it only scratches the surface of the potential of interactive content. There are many kinds of dialogs. These range from casual conversations to professional interviews to open-ended interrogations.
These are only somewhat appealing. Therefore, it is essential to consider what type of dialog you want your audience to enter when creating interactive content.
Personalization is a great way to add value.
Personalization, like dialogue, can refer to many things. It is the concept of providing each user with an individual experience through personalized content. This can be done using their learned information to provide more relevant content.
Personalization allows a single piece of content to speak directly to multiple audiences. Each audience receives a slightly different interpretation of the material depending on their perspective.
Personalization can be used in interactive content in many ways. Some of these are straightforward. For example, you can pull the user’s name directly from the lead form to copy in the content.
You can also make your user’s behavior affect the content and even change it.
No matter the details, personalization rewards users for engaging with content in real-time, adapting the experience to be more relevant and engaging.
Let’s now look at some personalization options to help marketers and audiences better understand how it can make interactive content more valuable.
Conditional Text
Interactive content is a great way to communicate with clients. But how can you make the most of the information they already give you?
Conditional lets you pull in information that someone has submitted and distribute it throughout your experience. Place a lead form at your content’s beginning that contains a field for the user’s name. You can then refer to the user’s name in any text you see, resulting in a more personalized user experience.
One of many pieces of information that can be pulled from the rest of the experience is the user’s name.
It doesn’t matter how you use text, but the value to the user is the feeling of being listened to and directly engaged. The user’s ability to know that their information is being used in real-time helps them stay engaged throughout the experience. It also encourages them to pay closer attention to every step.
Conditional Content
This concept is similar to conditional texts but takes the idea to the next level.
Conditional content allows you to present different content depending on the user’s behavior and interactions. For example, let’s say you have two verticals for your products and services. You want each one to receive it’s messaging and CTAs in interactive content. Ask users to identify the verticals they belong to, then ask them to answer additional questions and get results.
You might have a whitepaper you want to only make available as a free download to users with a specific need. You can also ask them if they have the condition. If they have the market, you can give them the whitepaper immediately. If you still need to, you can take them to the next stage of the experience and provide access to other assets later.
Conditional text, which refers to user information, can be used to personalize interactive content. It allows you to give your audience only the relevant questions and assets and leave out the less pertinent pieces. This makes your content more relevant, resonates with users, and allows you to reuse the same interactive component to reach multiple segments or audiences.
Download Custom
The user receives their experience at the end. It could be a maturity rating, an ROI calculator, or any other essential value prop for your interactive content. What happens next? What can you do to help them take action in the future or expand on their results? How will they remember what effect they received, how it was obtained, and the recommendations or CTAs they were given?
You can answer all these questions by giving your audience a customized download, usually a type or document. This will give them a tangible takeaway. You could review the answers and provide feedback.