It may not be too far-reaching to assume that interactive videos will be the next big trend in video-making. Interactive video is slightly different from traditional videos. Here is why? With traditional videos, the audience does not have control over the outcome of the video, but with interactive videos, viewers can decide which way the video goes. It is like a mini video game played by viewers.
The simple interactive YouTube video will help you learn more about interactive videos. The video may seem simple, but it gives the viewers an interactive experience.
Interactive video is all about giving viewed the freedom to control the narrative of the video. While in the traditional linear video, a user can just passively watch, in an interactive video a viewer can actively interact in the video and contribute to the narrative.
The next burning question is How does a viewer interact? An interactive video has different spaces in the video called hotspots and branching ( we will get into that a little bit later), where viewers can click and control the flow of the narrative.
Interactive videos are like little video games designed to increase viewer engagement. Such videos haven't blown up yet, but slowly creators, marketers, and brands are realizing the potential of interactive videos. Here is why you must also start creating interactive videos.
If you didn't know already, now is the time to learn more about interactive content. 23% of the marketers have shared that they used interactive content, 83% of them assured that it was a success. It may not be making news right now, and many aren't exploiting it. But this is the right time to try your hand at something new and roll out interactive content. Let your audience decide whether they love it or not.
The taste of the audience keeps changing. Sometimes viewers get tired of watching the same kind of videos over and over again. A great interactive video can be refreshing to watch. It also provides more engagement. While in traditional videos, the audience can watch passively, in interactive content they can engage by clicking on hotspots and change the narrative of the video. Your audience can also have interaction with your brand or product.
Interactive videos can engage viewers. While a regular video can only record views and comments, an interactive one can analyze clicks, the view path that viewers would like to choose, the date of the video, and more. So, understanding the audience becomes much easier with the interaction.
It is no surprise that interactive videos can ramp up sales. Spiel Creative did a survey, with 73 business professionals who had already created one or more interactive videos, and 100 viewers who had watched such content. The survey showed that 87% of the businesses who incorporated interactive content into their strategy, saw an increase in sales. It is a given that more engagement means a higher conversion rate, interactive videos have 11% more conversion rate! Which means increased sales.
Having a salesperson sing out the product details isn't too attention-grabbing with customers. They would rather prefer interactive videos to salespersons. According to the survey done by Spiel Creative, 75% of consumers said that when they were initially introduced to a new product, they preferred learning about it through an interactive video rather than from a salesperson. So, if your customers prefer interactive video technology over traditional salespersons, then why not use it?
Knowing that interactive video is more effective marketers are trying to exploit it to the fullest. Before you start making such content, here are some features you should know about -
In the post, we have already mentioned hotspots and branching. These are the features that make a video interactive. Let's get into more details -
In mobile devices, we are already familiar with the idea of hotspots. But in these videos hotspots are different. Clickable hotspots are areas on the video which can be clicked on to reveal more information.
These hotspots are also of different types.
Hotspots are used in videos to create an interactive story for the users. It can be used in many ways.
The video takes you from one interactive experience to another, creating a beautiful view path. Branching is a great way to give the viewer options. This way users can make their narrative. In interactive video ads as well, like that of Nike air Max Dia, viewers get to choose their outfit, which is pretty cool.
In branching, you create a view path for the audience. When a user clicks on the hotspot, they choose a certain narrative. However, Overlay is the pop-up information that shows on the screen once a hotspot is clicked on. Creating an eye-catching overlay is important because it decides whether the viewers will take further action or not. Overlays have additional information like data capture forms, detailed information on the scene or product, downloadable content, URLs, contact forms, and more.
Interactive video is a fun, new, and exciting type of video that is revolutionizing video as we know it. But how to create one? Interactive video technology is relatively new. That's why it can seem a bit daunting to create one. But if you have set your goals and are creative enough, you can achieve what you set out for.
The first step while making any video is to set a goal. Why are you creating the video? What purpose does the video serve? Is it a Product demo? Is it an ad? Is it meant to create brand awareness? You need to be clear about the goals of your video.
TIP: Once you are set on your goals, try being Creative. Think of different ways to make your interactive videos more unique and exciting. Try to create an immersive experience for the users, like using the 360° viewing experience.
An interactive video may look exciting but it is harder to plan than a regular video. In this type of video, you have to
It is better to keep the video simple and not too complex. Choose a title for the map, then span out all the options you will have for the viewers to choose from. Use branching in your video, creating a map is essential. The more options you include, the more branches you’ll create.
TIPS: Use a simple flow chart, make sure you keep branching out the possibilities to keep track. A clear map will help you when you forget the flow of the video.
To write an impressive script for your interactive video you will have to take into consideration all the view paths. Remember, that like all the videos, the interactive video also needs to be engaging and memorable. So, you not only have to pay attention to the interactive elements but also the story of the video. Find a fun way to incorporate both the elements and the story.
TIPS: Try writing a script by segregating different branches of the video, the writing about various hotspots in the video.
The storyboard is an essential part of video making. From popular filmmakers to animators, everyone relies on storyboards to bring their stories to life. Scripts may be the lexical representation of your video, but storyboards are about how you visualize your video to be.
The storyboard of an interactive video may be very helpful. With the help of it, content creators can understand how to map their videos.
After making a clear storyboard, it's time to bring it to life. It is time to shoot it.
May it is an interactive experience or a video with a linear storytelling arc, both need video clips. It may be recorded or animated, but your videos need video content. You can shoot the video yourself if you are well-equipped and have the skills to edit it. Or you can hire an agency to shoot the video for you. If you want to shoot it yourself, make sure you have included all the necessary shots, an interactive menu, and followed the multiple view paths. Once you have recorded or created your video, the final step is to add clickable areas and interactive elements.
To add the elements you will need interactive video software.
If you plan on adding the elements yourself then you need to know what options are available in the market. There are multiple choices available, choose what suits your needs the best.
When you search about interactive videos then this is the first software you will come across. Many brands have used wirewax to create videos with different paths. It is the most comprehensive tool out there. With Wirewax you can add static as well as sticky movable hotspots. Along with that, it offers other features like branching, pulling in live data feeds, and even connecting your video to your site via their iframe API. The pricing may be a bit on the higher side, but it's worth it.
Wirewax and Rapt are on the higher end of interactive video software. But what makes them unique is their ability to not only add interactive experiences but also video edit. So, one software would be enough to edit and add elements. Rapt is an easy-to-use option that requires no prior video editing experience, just like Offeo. It is a cloud-based software that allows you to build interactive experiences with their ‘composer’, publish videos to their ‘player’ platform and measure them with their ‘analytics dashboard’.
Hapyak is well suited for enterprises rather than small businesses. It focuses on changing the passive lean-back experience to an active interactive experience. Hapyak has Simple drag-and-drop tools that let you add hotspots, links, overlays, chapters, calls to action, choose-your-own-adventure, shopping carts, and more. Easily customize the look and feel to match your brand with the help of this easy tool. You can visit their website here. All these three tools, Hapyak, Wirewax, and Rapt aren't cheap, and cost about $15000-$20000/year.
There are other affordable options to choose from if you aren't looking to invest such a huge amount of video marketing alone. Vixy, Hihaho, and Verse are your affordable options.
Vixy is a cheap alternative to other high-end tools like Rapt. It is an online video platform that can also create interactive videos. Thanks to the intuitive design and the drag & drop interface, you can create interactive and personalized videos in no time with Vixy. Adding elements is easy in the tool interactive player studio with timeline functionality. Not only can you create amazing videos with this tool but you can also analyze them. It provides reports, which you can use to acquire business insight, better understand trends, and see how successful your content strategy is. Furthermore, you can send events and conversion metrics back to the Google Analytics property of your website or app.
Hihaho is one of the best options for content creators who are looking for a budget option. You can create interactive and engaging videos with Hihaho. It is a Netherlands-based company. You can try and play around with this tool until you are familiar with it. Only start paying when you want to share your interactive video with others. You can not only add an interactive menu, helpful information, and interactive questions to the video but also collect viewers' data and add subtitles. You can contact the company here.
Vidzor was another tool, but it has been discontinued. However, Verse is another option creators can use to keep viewers engaged with their videos. Along with basic creatures like clickable hotspots and interactive explainers, Verse has many additional features. It has multilingual captioning, advanced analytics, 360° video feature, and Monetisation tools. With such amazing features, it is a surprise that Verse is available at such an affordable price. Here is the pricing, if you want to check it out.
Camtasia may not be an interactive video software per se, but it can be used to add interactive features to the video. It is mostly used as a screen-recording and video editing tool. You can use the editing tool to add elements like quizzes and hotspots. It is also in a similar price range as Verse, Hihao, and Vixy.
Note: You can use Adobe Captivate to create e-learning content in HTML format. It is a much cheaper option than the rest.
There are few interactive video examples on YouTube, so it may be a bit tough to search for ideas. Like linear videos, you also need to get creative with these kinds of videos. You need to understand that the digital advertising ecosystem is always evolving, so you need to think outside the box. Below we have mentioned different types of interactive videos you can make -
As mentioned earlier in the post, the more the interaction, the higher the conversion. It is no surprise that the audience likes getting engaged. More engagement increases the chances of conversion. A sales video, featuring your products will create a buzz among the viewers.
Regular videos are great. When a person wants to learn something, they can easily search for a tutorial on YouTube and watch the video. But sometimes, that doesn't cut it. Creating an interactive experience for learners can boost their interest... It also leads to better retention of the information than regular videos. Students find it easy to take tests, quizzes, and exams through interactive content. Moreover, it is easy to segregate chapters and subjects through the use of ‘branching’.
If edited correctly interactive recruitment videos can be mini-interviews. You can use these kinds of videos to screen your candidates. It saves time and hassle.
A company culture/ recruitment video does not need to be boring. You can make it useful as well as enjoyable. An interactive film is exactly what you need to make interesting and educating videos.
The best thing about demo videos is you get to showcase your products. In a regular linear video, you would just ramble on about your products and hope that the video made an impression on the viewers. But with interactive video, you can create an immersive experience, where users have more control over Inthe narrative. As we have mentioned before, customers would rather prefer an interactive experience over a salesperson.
Everyone is on social media nowadays. If you want to attract a younger audience social media is the best place to be. However, videos have taken over social media. They are everywhere. If you have to stand out in this saturated market, you need to do something different. Interactive video is a relatively new and underused concept on social media. You can leverage it to boost engagement.
A linear video may follow the script and do the job, but an interactive video creates an immersive experience for viewers. You can explore the many possibilities offered in the video. If you don't know where to start we have curated some of the best interactive films to inspire you-
Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling stone" is a great example of interactive video. The video is quite simple, it does not have many hotspots. The one hotspot lets you flip through various channels where the characters are lip-syncing to Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling stone. You can find an anime channel where characters are lip-syncing to the song, or even a news channel. This music video is one of a kind and entertains the viewers.
The end-user might see a beautifully animated film but the Jungle Book was tricky to shoot. Disney released the behind-the-scenes video of The Jungle Book, as an interactive video. It has a slider s hotspot, which shows the movie scenes and the BTS. You can see Bagheera is a man in a blue leotard, moving his hands to mimic mouth movement. It helps with editing when the characters lip-synching. This interactive film is a good example of why you should start making such videos for your business.
It's not only Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley who have made interactive music videos. The contemporary band Coldplay also has made one. Ink is the story of a man who is searching for his lovers. The viewer chooses the path of the man to help him reach his lover or keep suffering loneliness. This video has 300 view paths and beautiful sceneries to enjoy.
The anatomy of surf is a 360° interactive video narrated by pro-surfer Ian Walsh. The video offers a 360° panoramic view of what it feels to be in the barrel of a wave. The video is also in slow motion, which makes it more exciting.
May it be a music video like Ink, or a portfolio video like Ted Baker, interactive video offer what linear videos can't, active involvement of viewers. If you want to boost your engagement in the most natural way possible use interactive video.
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