Why You Should Leverage Interactive Videos [Data from 500+ Marketers]

A 2021 Wyzowl report found that the use of video content from brands has increased roughly 25% over the past six years.

Lately, the conversation has been focused on short-form video lately, but interactive video is one we should be talking more about.

Learn what interactive video is, how to create one, and examples from some top brands.

What is interactive video?

Interactive video is a non-linear form of media that allows viewers to engage with the video they’re watching by clicking on hotspots, answering questions, choosing their own paths, and other forms of engagement.

You can use interactive videos for a number of purposes, including increasing engagement, fostering two-way communication, and boosting conversions.

In Q1 2022, we surveyed over 500 global video marketers to ask about their video strategy. Roughly a quarter of marketers surveyed (28%) said they currently leverage interactive content in their videos.

Of those who do leverage it, 8% plan to invest in it more than any other video type.

There are multiple types of interactive videos:

• Branched stories – This allows viewers to choose their own path when watching a video and decide what they will watch.
• Hotspots – These are clickable areas within a video that allow viewers to discover something new in the video.
• Polls and quizzes – You can engage your audience with questions related to the content in your video.
• 360-degree view – This allows viewers to immerse themselves in the video and get an augmented reality experience.

Interactive video is still relatively new to many marketers with 27% leveraging it for the first time this year. Considering leveraging it? Let’s go over the benefits of this strategy.

Benefits of Interactive Videos

The biggest reason to leverage interactive videos is the high return on investment.

Our video marketing report revealed that interactive video offers the fifth-highest ROI, behind product-related, funny and trendy, and behind-the-scenes videos.

In addition, 47% of marketers surveyed say interactive content is one of the most effective lead generators.

When it comes to engagement, interactive video is also one of the best performers. In fact, 47% of marketers surveyed say interactive content is one of the top three video types that get the most engagement.

This video type can also leave a deeper impression on its viewers. With so many brands fighting for our attention, one way to keep them engaged longer is through interaction.

Doing so can help your brand awareness and recognition, helping you stand out from the competition. In fact, 7% of marketers say interactive video is most likely to go viral.

Lastly, you can gain more insight into your audience through interactive content. Say you include a quiz in your video, not only do you get insights from the video itself (views, time watched, etc) but you also learn more about them through quiz results.

So, you end up getting more data through a single piece of data.

How to Make an Interactive Video

1. Brainstorm your concept.

Before you create your interactive video, you have to build a concept. What will the video be about? What’s the journey you want to take viewers on?

Your answers to these questions should be driven by your marketing objectives. Otherwise, it will be difficult to create a successful concept.

Once you have that sorted out, how will you engage the audience? Given the various types of interactive content you can have, you’ll need to determine which one will work best.

2. Choose your video platform.

The platform you choose will depend on the type of content you’re creating and what you want to accomplish.

Popular interactive video platforms include:

• Mindstamp
• Eko
• Verse
• Adobe

Once you select the right platform, it’s all about putting the pieces together, creating a draft, reviewing it, and re-editing until you have a great final version.

3. Analyze results.

Once your video goes live, the hard work isn’t done. It’s now time to assess its performance.

During your concept phase, you ideally set some KPIs. If this is your first time creating an interactive video, use your other videos as a benchmark.

This way, you’ll know what numbers to expect and have a baseline to evaluate your results.

1. Mile 22

To promote this new action movie "Mile 22," the marketing team behind the film created an immerse, interactive video that allowed you to choose your path and get snippets from the movie based on your selection.

What makes this video interesting is that it doesn't rely on just the trailer to build excitement. It takes the viewer on the journey of the characters and gives them a peek into how things play out.

2. Sweet Digs

Usually, if you want to catch the latest episode of Sweet Digs, you head to YouTube. However, recently, Refinery29 decided to switch things up with an interactive video instead.

In this interactive video, viewers get a tour of someone's home, as usual, but this time, they get to make guesses as they watch about costs, designs, and more.

It's a great way to bring some freshness into an established series and keep viewers engaged.

3. Boursin

Ever wonder what a fridge full of Boursin products looks like? With this interactive video, you can.

This brand reimagines what a food commercial looks like by offering viewers a 360 virtual experience through a fridge.

As the gold carpet guides them through the fridge, the viewer sees various Boursin products and can move the mouse to see other items in the fridge.

4. CSC Go

The interactive video created using Mindstamp not only informs the user of CSC Go's business and capabilities but also provides helpful resources and interactive elements to create an engaging and immersive experience.

Viewers can interact with clickable in-video CTAs that link to external pages and can explore branching storylines based on their responses throughout the video, resulting in a truly personalized user journey.

Like all new technology, interactive video might have started as a sort of fringe technology that seemed slightly intimidating and inaccessible. Now, that's changing.

There are lots of exciting things happening in the world of video marketing but interactive video might just be the most exciting of all.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in May 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.