This type of content has become relevant marketing resource, as it is possible to understand user’s behavior within a website and what their preferences and habits are while browsing it.

To be able to understand the importance of this topic, it is necessary to understand what it means. Interactive content is different from passive content because it engages the audience. This type of content was used long before the internet was created - it was used in television programs and on the radio, where viewers were encouraged to participate in contests or choose songs over the phone.

With the evolution of the web world, interactive content is no longer exclusive to these channels and has gained a relevant role on websites. It enables user interaction, increasing the time spent on the sites, engagement and conversion, more specifically in the collection of user databases, and subsequent data analysis to optimize the creation of future content.

If you want to invest in interactive content to improve your website and bring more users to it, it is important to understand what types of interactive content exist to understand which one is best for you and your business:

1. Simulators and Calculators: They are increasingly used and very interactive. You have the possibility to choose a calculator that best suits your type of business and that makes sense for your target audience - calculate body mass index, convert dollars into euros, understand how much money you can save, among other examples.

2. Infographics: Infographics serve to convey information through a visually appealing way. Making this content interactive through animated graphics or buttons makes the user participate in the content.

3. Maps: Interactive maps are used to inform or entertain users and are used in different ways. A great example of this type of maps and in a very current context, is the maps that was available on the DGS (Directorate-General for Health) website that is related to the COVID19 Epidemiological State in Portugal, where users could click on the various areas of the country and understand the numbers of each place.

4. Interactive Videos: This type of content is also widely used, but you must always take into consideration your target audience to be able to produce educational materials that, for example, explain well what your business consists of. Inviting the user to interact with the content of the video is quite appealing and a website o exemplify this interaction is one of the US Air Force websites, which serves to explain how a rescue mission was carried out in the middle of a snowstorm - Into the Storm.

Investing in more content of this kind on your website has potential benefits for your business, the key is to define the target so that it is really relevant, balancing the investment made in producing it with the return you can extract from it.
Interactivity makes navigation more attractive, holds the user’s attention and gives the user a feeling of greater proximity to the brand, boosting consumption. 

I conclude by mentioning that passive content - articles, blogs, podcasts, among others - still plays a key role in websites. Interactive content must be reconciled and complemented by passive content and therefore must continue to produce both.

If you liked this topic, also read: “Why is differentiated content so important today?”.