Ever attended an event only to be bored halfway through, just waiting for it to end? A lot of us have been there, done that and don’t want to go there again!

Put an end to one-sided content and make your events interactive. Attendee input and engagement is how we can make it exciting and get deeper insights into the wants, likes and psyche of our customers. Use interactive content before the event to promote it, during the event to keep things interesting and after the event to gauge success or gain ideas for improvement.

So what is Interactive Content?

Any type of content that requires active participation from the reader is classified as Interactive Content. This type of content tends to generate more conversions than passive content as it gets people more involved. Some examples of interactive content include quizzes, polls, surveys, assessments, chatbots, competitions for giveaways, etc. Pretty much anything that can grab the attention of the reader and get them to participate in some way is great.

Interactive content can be used to get to know your customers/attendees and generate leads in a fast, proficient and inexpensive way. Here’s how:

1. Build Excitement – when promoting your event, create content with visuals that would get people interested thereby generating ‘forwards’ and chats about your upcoming event, which would result in greater attendance numbers. Ensure that your content is shareable via a range of media channels

2. Interaction – once you’ve got people to attend your event; don’t just leave them hanging with one-sided content. Attention spans can be short therefore keeps things interesting but be careful not to create media overload. Arrange for polls to see reactions, surveys to learn more of what works, quizzes to improve knowledge related to products or services or maybe even prize giveaways for the most interactive person at the event

3. Follow Up – so the event went well (or at least you think it went well) but how can you know for sure? Interact with your customers/attendees after the event by sharing a short survey and requesting for feedback. Don’t make it too long or people may get annoyed if there are too many questions. Anywhere between 5 to 8 well-worded questions should be enough to gauge satisfaction. Most important is to find out if your events’ purpose was fulfilled whether it was to boost brand awareness, amplify sales or offer greater networking opportunities.

Final Thoughts: For superior interactive content use pleasant visuals appropriate for your event, create value-enriched content that is relevant to your event and ensure the content is shareable especially photos taken at your event and finally keep any feedback request short and snappy. Providing Interactive Content will create User-Generated Content (UGC), which is one of the best marketing tools there is since it is content created by your customers (or potential customers) and shared through their own social media channels therefore take advantage of it by creating interaction that is worth sharing.