We’ve already told you about interactive storytelling and interactive news stories, but now you’re asking yourself, “how can I replicate successful interactive storytelling campaigns for my organization?” It’s time to lay out a revised content plan—and we’re here to help you with a few guidelines for introducing interactive storytelling in your marketing department.
The first step in creating standout interactive stories is identifying the topic best suited to an interactive treatment. What will hold high value for your prospects, and also lend itself well to an interactive form?
This may be data-heavy content, where your team can create graphs and charts that the audience can manipulate, as in the Planet Money examples we shared on Monday. Or, you may find that your organization has opportunities to use interactive sidebars and video to illuminate a white paper, and you can repurpose an old piece to increase engagement. And don’t forget the first rule of content: keep it educational.
Creating interactive content is resource-intensive. While interactive offers some of the highest potential for engaging your audience members and moving them further through the sales funnel, it needs to be reserved for the areas where it can make the greatest impact.
Before you begin work on your interactive content piece, outline it. How will you arrange the various media elements of your piece so that they complement rather than compete with one another?
For example, make the interactive elements of your content compelling by requiring audience engagement to complete the experience. If your content includes an audio or video piece, don’t make the text a simple written transcript. Instead, use the writing to comment on and further the conversation in the multimedia. If you incorporate a quiz or survey questions, set up the piece so that your audiences’ answers shape their journeys through it.
In this stage, you must also determine the resources you will need to create the interactive content. Does your own marketing team have the necessary capabilities, or would it be a good choice to find a partner firm?
Once you’ve determined the team members you need to work with to create your interactive story, it’s critical to work together strategically to create a cohesive piece. Avoid working separately and trying to stick the pieces together at the last minute. Throughout the creation of this content piece, you should be collaborating closely to make sure that every element supports each other in the finished product.
Need some content best practices review before you move on to interactive content? Take a look at our past blogs:
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