Not all content is the same and results in the same level of engagement. Two main types of content to consider include interactive content vs. static content while the former has growing attention. Knowing the difference between them and how they work can help you decide which to use for your business.
Definition of interactive content
Interactive content is a type of dynamic content that changes based on a person's input. The user must complete a certain action for the content to alter in any way.
Examples of interactive content
There are many potential types of interactive content you can use to engage audiences, including:
- Quizzes
- Surveys and polls
- Interactive emails
- Assessments
- 360-degree videos
- Interactive infographics
- Apps and mini-games
- Calculators, such as financial calculators
- Interactive Stories
- Interactive videos on demand
- Shoppable mediaWebinars with Q&A sessions
- Live videos with audience interaction
- Web Stories
- Buttons that encourage a call to action
- Image sliders
- Games
Definition of static content
Static content is a type of content that users don't directly interact with or modify in any form. It could include visual or text content that informs, entertains, or encourages action from users without requesting an action from an end-user.
Examples of static content
Some examples of static content include:
- Landing page content
- Videos
- Emails
- Blog posts
- Ebooks
- Whitepapers
- Images
- Infographics
- Slideshows and presentations
Differences between interactive and static content
Interactive content actively engages users by requiring their participation or input, whereas static content is passively consumed as it presents fixed, unchanging information.
Static content is stable and looks the same for all users while interactive content is constantly changing and is unique for each user.
However, each comes with certain advantages and disadvantages. Some of the main differences between these two types of content include:
User engagement: Interactive content vs static content
Interactive and static content can both be engaging to users, but interactive content is inarguably more engaging. It requires users to engage with it, which automatically makes users more invested in it. Their input influences the content and its output. Whether by asking them to answer questions, click buttons, or perform other active tasks.
In the process of engaging users, interactive content can make them feel more like they're in control of the content they connect with. Their input directly affects the content, giving them a unique sense of involvement they wouldn't find with passive content experiences. For example, a user interacting with a 360-degree video can choose the specific areas of the frame to focus on. Based on what interests them, whereas a static video viewing experience would be passive and potentially lose the viewer's interest.
Statistics also confirm just how engaging interactive content can be. One survey found that 66% of digital marketing professionals saw an increase in engagement with the use of interactive content.
According to a study conducted in 2022, 52 percent of marketers worldwide find interactive emails as the most effective marketing content tool. Another study showed that Mediafly customers who leveraged interactive content saw a 94% higher increase in content views than customers leveraging traditional, static content.
In short, using interactive content is a great way to get people invested in the content you push. In turn, you can ensure your brand and any message you want to convey will stick in people's minds. This will go a long way in driving conversions and increased sales.
Cost-effectiveness: Interactive vs static content
One of the main benefits of static content is its cost-effectiveness. It doesn't cost as much to put together static blog posts, landing pages, and other content.
So, if you want to save some money on your content strategy, you might want to consider using some static content. At the same time, you shouldn't completely disregard interactive content. Interactive content, because of its higher levels of engagement and the ability to establish stronger connections with audiences, can be invaluable in boosting your ROI. This means that interactive content can be very worth the investment. Hence, consider developing a balance between interactive and static content.
The right strategy can help you harness the powers of both static and interactive content together. As you see increased sales and revenue, you can then begin investing in more interactive content. Doing this, that further moves people along the customer journey.
Suitability: Interactive vs. static content
If you're looking for ways to maximize the reusability of your content, interactive content is the king. According to a survey, 77% of participants who are marketers agreed that interactive content has a reusable value, which helped result in multiple exposures to the content and more repeat visitors.
Also, 88% of marketers say at least 10% of their static content will be made interactive in the next two years. For example, you can use the static assets you've created, including various forms of text and images, to create an interactive experience, such as a survey or poll. Another example of this could include incorporating product sheets into a 3D product configurator that allows customers to develop fully-customized products. Meanwhile, you can use your company's pricing sheets to develop calculators that give customers free and convenient quotes.
You can also mix and match content to formulate new interactive experiences and make the most of what you have. As a result, you benefit from increased sustainability within your organization. You won't need to craft as much content from scratch, and you can also automate certain processes, such as calculating estimates and configuring products, freeing your teams up to complete other more pressing tasks.
Effect on branding: Interactive content vs. static content
Interactive and static content can be enormously helpful with branding, but interactive content also dominates this area. In a survey, 88% of marketers stated that interactive content effectively differentiates their brand from the competition.
Games are among the most effective means of helping with brand awareness, trust, and recognition. People enjoy these experiences and find them highly engaging, and you can use them to promote your brand in a way that's fun and very shareable. Audiences who interact with these content pieces will be more likely to share them with friends and family, which can help spread your brand far and wide. Games and other gamified experiences can also make your brand more memorable.
If you provide people with a uniquely engaging interactive experience, you'll automatically stick out compared to competitors offering blander content experiences. You'll differentiate yourself, which can help maximize memorability and recognition as you convert more leads.
How to choose: Static content vs interactive content
When choosing which type of content to use, there are some key considerations to take into account. These include the following factors:
Business goals and target audience
Think about your specific goals and target audience when choosing between interactive and static content. Interactive content tends to be more attention-grabbing and can be great for attracting people at the beginning of the buyer's journey. This makes interactive content ideal for campaigns where the goal is to boost brand awareness and captivate new prospective customers. If you're trying to boost brand awareness and visibility first and foremost, interactive content is often best to use. If you want to increase conversions and sales after initially capturing leads, a blend of static and interactive content can help.
Available resources
You must also consider the resources available to you in your organization. Ideally, you should have plenty of static content, from text to images to video. This static content will help you with your initial efforts, especially if you're starting with a low budget and can't afford a lot of interactive content.
As your business develops and you build a more extensive customer base, along with a ton of static content assets, you can then begin developing interactive content experiences. For instance, you can repurpose images and videos for use in interactive polls, surveys, games, 360-degree videos, and more. This would help you reduce the amount of money it takes to develop interactive content while helping you take advantage of static and interactive content together.
The nature of your offerings
The types of products and services you offer can also determine the effectiveness of using interactive content.
One example of this would be if you're selling customizable or configurable products. Using interactive product configurators, you can repurpose static product and component images for use in an interactive configuration experience. You could also use polls and surveys to determine each customer's preferences to provide them with a personalized shopping experience. Also, with interactive content, you can tailor content to each customers' preferences.
Interactive content vs. static content
Generally, it's not a matter of choosing one or the other when deciding between interactive vs. static content. Instead, you'll want to use both as much as you can to create a balanced content strategy.
Interactive content will be great to push at the beginning of the buyer's journey as you work to grab people's attention.
Using interactive content wisely will help you make the most of the content you have and boost your ROI. In the process, you'll be able to stand apart from competitors as your brand grows and your business expands.
Create and stream interactive content with Storyly Stories
If you're looking for the perfect tool to help you create and push engaging interactive content, Storyly Stories is here to help. You can use interactive Stories on your website or mobile app to connect with users uniquely and excitingly.
Using Storyly Stories, you'll have the ability to use existing static assets such as images and videos along with other branding elements to craft compelling interactive experiences. For example, you can create a Story that details featured products with existing product images. You could also create personalized messages with equally personalized product recommendations on your site or in your app.
Storyly Stories include many tools to help you develop the ideal interactive experience. These assets include quizzes, question stickers, rating systems, emoji sliders, and more. You can then publish these Stories and begin collecting valuable zero-party data, which you can use in conjunction with our Audience Builder to optimize your marketing efforts and develop new audience segments.
Conclusion
Interactive content and static content are both helpful for brands of all types while interactive content plays a more influential role. Interactive content can help with initial branding efforts and bring people into the sales funnel. With the help of tools like Storyly Stories, you can easily and cost-effectively develop all kinds of interactive content in a comprehensive content strategy.
