Small talk can be super awkward. We’ve all been there: stuck at a party trying to make connections but every attempt at a conversation seems to be met with pauses. Maybe we panic and just begin hurling comments into thin air until our would-be acquaintance makes a polite excuse and walks away.
For marketers, awkward party talk happens all the time: every unopened email, unclicked call to action, and ignored message can feel like an ignored attempted at conversation, but instead of throwing good messaging after bad, why not start a new dialogue with an interactive quiz?
Quizzes are more than personality tests or cheap click bait. When done right, they’re the perfect way to get to know new leads and start a dialogue that continues straight down the purchase funnel. Here are a few ways a good quiz is like a great conversation.
A Good Quiz Reciprocates
The principle of reciprocity states that people naturally want to give back when they feel they’ve been given something of value. When you think about it, that’s how all great conversations work: someone is genuinely interested in you, so naturally, you’d like to know more about them. Quizzes can be the same way. If brands offer quizzes that add value, users want to know more about the brand.
However, great conversations don’t usually start with random questions, and useful quizzes are more complicated than “Which ______ are you?” Do your homework. Know your target audience and tailor your quiz to what might matter to them. For example, when beauty blog Pompadour created a Qzzr quiz for its users in the days leading up to Mother’s Day, they gave users a series of questions that led up to a recommendation for which beauty products to buy their moms.
Of the 357 people who took the quiz, 229 users answered the CTA and gave up their information. Why? Because the blog started a meaningful conversation. Who doesn’t like to talk about their families, and who doesn’t need a little help finding the perfect gift for mom? Be genuinely interested in quiz responses, and customers will be genuinely interested in you.
We All Like a Little Affirmation
We all know that a head nod generally indicates interest and is the universal symbol for “go on.” The right quiz can offer the exact same encouragement.
According to Buzzsumo, the most shared quizzes are outcome quizzes, meaning quizzes that give the user some insight into their own lives. Outcome quizzes are a useful conversation tool because they validate a user’s choices or give them inspiration for the future, whether it’s “Which marketing or media job is right for you?” or “Which lipstick trend should you try for fall?” Outcome quizzes are the marketing equivalent of asking a new acquaintance, “So, what do you do?” and then genuinely listening to the answer.
Getting to Know Each Other is What Conversation is All About
A good conversational partner talks as well as listens, and quizzes can be an excellent way to educate buyers about your brand in a productive back and forth rather than shouting them down with a megaphone. Case in point, Act-On recently wrote about Endicia, a postal services brand, using quizzes to educate buyers about postage rates. Not exactly a sexy subject, but through the conversational question and answer quiz style, the company say its conversion rates go up by 70%.
Quizzes are a wonderful way to educate buyers about a complicated or less than scintillating subject because they establish brands as authorities in their industry while still asking users for their input. Just like a great conversational partner can make the mundane interesting, quizzes can add intrigue to even the driest subjects.
Productive Quizzes Lead to Further Conversation
A truly productive conversation leads to a new relationship, and an effective quiz should too. While it’s great to get more email subscribers from a quiz, all those subscribers don’t mean much if they aren’t responding to messaging. It’s the difference between saying, “Let’s do lunch,” and actually doing it. Fortunately, Act-On found that the greater number of opt-ins from quizzes also resulted in six times the number of follow up email opens from new subscribers. That’s a lot of lunches.
So if you’re considering adopting quizzes into your marketing strategy or if your quiz performance is kind of lackluster, remember to approach your audience just like you would an new acquaintance, ask questions that add value and, most of all, be genuinely interested in the responses. You’ll be the most popular person at the party in no time.
