It’s no secret that personalized content gets more attention and better engagement than vague, anonymous messaging. But adding interactive elements to personalized content could be the one-two punch that takes campaigns from good to great.
Recently, VentureBeat confirmed what most marketers had long suspected: adding a personalized touch to marketing campaigns meant the difference between getting ignored and closing the sale. The study found that e-mails addressing the recipient by name increased open rates by 41%. The findings highlight the efficacy of “hyper-personalization,” which implies the use of data to provide more personalized and targeted products, services, and content.
Of course, hyper-personalization means more than calling customers by name. Adding interactive elements to your content is a great way to get users sharing useful data to make future offers as personal as possible.
Pay Attention to Intent
Intent data is one of the most important tools for creating hyper-personal content. However, that data can be pretty hard to come by. For example, according to Marketing Land social media “likes” aren’t actually great indicators of user interest, since followers sometimes like things they don’t really have strong feelings about.
A better way to track which parts of content gets users excited is to break white papers, eBooks, and even blog posts into sharable parts. That way, audiences can share the interactive infographics, stats, and quotes that most resonate, giving readers a great way to interact with static content and marketers a better understanding of which pieces are resonating.
Make Sure Content Adds Value
Right now, there’s more marketing content out there than ever before, and according to recent studies, we should brace ourselves for even more. But in the rush to create more content quickly, many marketers forget that content has to give more than it gets. In fact, the VentureBeat study shows 40% of consumers want a guaranteed offer before they’ll even give up so much as an email address.
Adding quizzes, calculators, and assessments can create context around a piece of content, offering the audience specific solutions rather than generalized sales pitches. For example, when Pearson Education released an eBook offering solutions for improving instruction systems, the company also included an interactive quiz that allowed educators to self-identify pain points within their organizations. Pearson then tailored solutions to the responses, which allowed the audience to explore the eBook on their own terms, identifying relevant information for themselves and discovering exactly how Pearson could help solve problems unique to the individual user.
The hard truth is that there are already thousands of pages of content targeting every audience under the sun, but offering personalized solutions could be the key to ensuring your brand doesn’t blend in.
Suggest Products Based on Need
What’s more, offering audiences quizzes, calculators and assessments to show the value of a product means that marketers get valuable data for targeting future offers. In the age of cross-device, hyper-personalized marketing, customers expect offers tailored to them. In fact, 77% of digital natives expect personalized website experiences.
As customers crave more attention but less face-to-face contact, online companies that offer interactive customization thrive. For example, Stitch Fix is an online clothing company that gives new customers an introductory assessment of their clothing preferences along with a lifestyle quiz. The brand then sends users a monthly box of customized clothing that users can purchase or return. It’s a formula that works: Stich Fix was recently valued at $250 million, proving yet again that just because many consumers would rather shop online doesn’t mean they want to be anonymous.
Show Your Appreciation With Personalization
Just like a receipt from a waiter with a personalized, handwritten message ensures a bigger tip, a piece of content marketing that shows just how much brands appreciate their customers increases audience engagement. Marketers who personalize content are doubling their returns in marketing performance and response. Using interactive content to personalize communication means that marketers can go beyond being on a first-name basis with customers in subject lines: it’s the next step in creating highly specific, hyper-personalized solutions that reward audiences for their engagement with individualized offers in the future.
