Ask An Expert: How to Use Interactive Content for Increased Lead Generation

An overwhelming 83% of marketers claim they pursue lead generation with their content marketing efforts. We asked Dr. Saksham Sharda, the Creative Director at Outgrow, about interactive content and how it can increase conversion rate.

Interactive content has proved its worth as a conversion machine time and again. We hope that this blog gives you some insightful tips on how to boost your content marketing efforts and increase your lead count!

1. What is interactive content? Why should it be used as a tactic for lead generation? 

Consider this scenario: you're looking to generate leads and are fairly optimistic. The problem is, there are already 600 million blogs live right now and 2 billion more blogs are getting published each year. And the competitiveness only increases from there as your target customers in the get exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 digital ads on a daily basis.

Content for content's sake no longer works. You need a marketing solution that cuts through the noise—that's where interactive content jumps in. Interactive content is content that requires the customer’s real-time participation to derive a result. It is personalized and provides real value to the customers by addressing their queries in real-time.

2. How can interactive content boost your lead generation efforts?

Interactive content caters to customer queries and provides value. Because of this, it tends to collect more qualified leads in a much shorter time period. In fact, interactive content converts leads twice as often as passive content.

For instance, let’s assume you are looking to market your construction company online, and your ideal buyers are those who aspire to build their dream home. A cost calculator that quickly takes your prospects through a series of relevant questions to estimate the cost of their house will provide instant value and can encourage them to interact with your business further. An American remodeling and construction company created a similar remodeling cost calculator and earned numerous quality leads.

Interactive content is also inherently personalized. Each result is tailored specifically to the lead who interacted with the content. For instance, in the calculators described above, the response would depend on the prospect’s specific remodeling need, their ownership specifications, and geographical location.

Real and actionable solutions, coupled with increased personalization and engagement, makes interactive content a great mode of lead generation.

3. Should I use different interactive content types for different stages of the funnel?

Yes, using the right interactive content that's in sync with the buyer’s journey ensures a high conversion rate. The reason is simple: if your content helps a customer, the chances of you securing their contact information increases exponentially. Here are some examples:

a. Top of the Funnel: Outcome Quizzes and Giveaways

The top of the funnel is all about increasing customer knowledge. At this stage, the buyer is trying to understand the problem they are facing but has not settled on a solution or a provider. Your job is to educate them enough to spark an interest. For instance, an e-commerce site used interactive content to garner TOFU leads by marketing their merchandise via a quiz and the prospects stood a chance to win free merchandise.

b. Middle of the Funnel: Product Recommendation and Cost Calculator

Middle of the funnel leads are aware of their pain points, so you need to demonstrate how your solution is the best fit for their needs. It makes sense to show them content that helps them better understand what problems they have and how to address them effectively. For example, financial institutions looking to sell retirement saving plans can quickly create a retirement savings calculator that takes prospects through a series of questions and shows them how much they need to save for their retirement. This can be followed up with a list of products that can help them achieve their retirement goals—making for a highly-engaging, interactive experience, as well as an effective lead generation tactic.

c. Delight Stage: Savings And ROI Calculators

Your bottom of the funnel leads are looking to buy, but they are not sure if they will buy from you. In this stage, we need to have an extremely strong CTA that acts as the final nudge to lead the prospect to buy the product. A savings or ROI calculator can be that perfect type of interactive content to encourage users to make that final buy.

4. Where can we use the interactive content we create?

You can use your interactive content in multiple ways. You can:

  • Embed it in your blog to increase engagement and lead generation rate.
  • Add it to your landing pages to make them more interactive.
  • Embed it in your lead nurturing emails for better customer communication.
  • Include it in your live chat to convert website visitors.
  • Use your interactive content posts and ads for social media platforms.

5. How can we ensure the maximum conversion rate?

To ensure the maximum conversion rate, your interactive content needs to be:

  • Based on trendy topics and include keywords that people would search for.
  • Visually attractive and easy to interact with. Make sure it includes just the relevant and limited number of questions.
  • Value-driven. Make sure it provides in-depth results with comparable outcomes.
  • Easy to share with social media buttons and pre-drafted tweets/messages that users can share on their social network.

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