Best 5 ways to use interactive video

Text, standard videos, graphics and gifs are great content marketing formats. However, these still remain ultimately passive user experiences. No matter how exciting, interesting or attention grabbing, only interactive video has the power to turn the passive viewer into an active participant.

Brands can tag videos with products on an interactive overlay. This creates hotspots that viewers can click, swipe, spin and more to find out information about products. Using interactive video content marketing can provide businesses with clear metrics as every click that occurs in the video can be measured! This makes it a valuable tool for measuring the effectiveness of campaigns.


Check out these 5 examples for inspiration on how to make interactive video that engages, immerses and impresses your consumer.


1. SHOPPABLE VIDEOS ON E-COMMERCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Examples of Valentino shoppable video
Example of laptop with Valentino shoppable video

Smartzer's interactive video platform allows users to turn new and existing video content into dynamic, immersive clickable marketing content. Using an interactive overlay, brands tag videos with product images, URL's, text, via product feeds and API's. These videos are shareable across social media and can be implemented seamlessly into e-commerce landing pages.

Valentino used Smartzer's software to create a video featuring multiple collections. Viewers could click on an item modelled to open a popup and add the product to their bag, or follow a link to e-commerce. The shoppable carousel alongside the video allowed viewers to browse as the video played.

The Valentino shoppable video experience included the following features:

  • Seamless Add to Basket integration giving users the ability to shop instantly on the Valentino website
  • Shoppable carousel alongside the video that features all items
  • Sharing across all social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter
  • Campaign launched globally with each market seeing an automatically language and currency optimised version of the shoppable video experience
  • Automatically optimised for mobile experience


2. INTERACTIVE LIVESTREAM


The Bambuser app allows brands to incorporate livestream into their video content marketing strategies. The add on lets brands embed a code on their e-commerce that allows them to set up streams one-to-one or one-to-many. Brands upload product links prior to the stream so that viewers can shop along by adding items to their baskets from a shoppable carousel. There is a chat room that allows consumers to communicate with stream hosts, by asking questions or giving feedback. Bambuser brings the benefits of in-store shopping online.

Bambuser previously worked with Swiss electronics retailer, Kjell. “One thing we are always striving for is to have the best service in retail,” says Jonas Swärdh, Head of Education at Kjell & Company. “We wanted our sales personnel to meet our customers online to show them that our company's service is off the charts". So, they set up a one-to-one streaming service with the app.

Features:

  • service available in 126 Kjell stores
  • 800 store associate hosts available to take calls
  • bespoke one-to-one customer service experience
  • e-commerce booking system
  • video chat, audio chat or text only chat options

3. GAMIFICATION

Through gamification, you can easily convey your brands message while educating and entertaining your audience. Through branching technology you can easily gain data from the choices your consumer makes. Cinema8 helps brands create gamified experiences through interactive video. Various interactive actions can be connected to the clickable areas on the video. These buttons, hotspots, links, images can serve your intended purpose such as opening a web site, jumping a specific part on the video, opening another video, opening popups, audio or trigger something else. Cinema8's platform lets brands create immersive video content through drag and drop methods. Videos can be made interactive in minutes without needing any technical knowledge and skill while creating the contents.

Above an example of Cinema8's gamified recruitment experience. In the video two employees are working in the same office, the company manager wants to choose someone for management. The viewer acts as a manager to answer the question 'What makes a better leader?'. This video was prepared for International Women's Day to discuss ideas of gender equality.


Features:

  • Clickable hotspots
  • Time queues
  • Data measuring
  • Personality results, an accurate outline of your viewer
  • High engagement rates reduce user drop-off


4. VIRTUAL REALITY 360 EXPERIENCES

VRCraftworks high-tech platform allows brands to creat 360 degree virtual realities for viewers. Unlike traditional user interfaces, a 360 VR experience places the user inside the video. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to delve into the created worlds. VR can give users a near real life experience allowing these applications to evoke real emotion and presence within the created environment. The platforms partnership with Quark Expeditions saw the company embed the 360 degree video within an application. Using an innovative video compression technique, VRCraftworks deployed the 10G video within the application as a 1.25G file. This allowed for the highest good quality distribution.

Results:

  • unique method of selling a £15,000 holiday
  • effective insight into Antartica
  • immersive VR experience


5. B2B INTERACTIVE WHOLESALE


B2B interactive wholesale example

JOOR's interactive video platform supports buying with confidence through dynamic and 360 degree imagery. Brands can share their collections and make shoppable videos and images by adding hotspots. The interaction videos allow retailers to clearly see products online by clicking, zooming and spinning. The dynamic interaction videos provide stylistic content of shoppable designer interviews and runway shows. The call-to-actions encourage a "see now, buy now" philosophy. Brands can also personalise and merchandise looks for virtual market appointments with the edit story board. This adjustable feature creates a bespoke experience for retailers looking to buy products.

Sustainable fashion brand, Tribe Alive, streamlined processes and powered wholesale growth with JOOR. Showrooms alone weren’t getting the Tribe  Alive mission across to buyers fully.  Wholesale success depended on finding a  way to consistently communicate the  brand’s story because it’s an essential part  of their product.


Results:

  • 200% company growth
  • 138% retailer growth
  • Effective story telling of the brand's sustainability
  • Effective retailer interaction and understanding through interactivity