In recent years everybody thought marketing is a one-way street to make awareness. Our aging process starts with a video commercial aired in a specific region with massive investment in the hope of a positive response as a fruit of the Advertisement.
Traditional advertising fails to engage consumers in a two-way conversation about the offered goods. You may just use advertisements to convey your message and wait for others to follow it.
Once successful, traditional advertising strategies are now ineffective. Customers in the target market often want a personal connection to the brands they love.
There’s no intention of really adhering to it; instead, they want to contribute their thoughts to enhance the product.
HBO’s network hoped to capture fans’ interest in the Game of Thrones television series. They started their campaign by asking which fictional hero people would most want to see at the helm of the coming conflicts.
Many viewers voted for their favorite characters, rising from 1.3 million in the first week to 1.6 million in the last.
This is how HBO rolled out its innovative interactive marketing strategy. Here is today’s topic: interactive advertising.
What is Interactive Marketing?
To improve a product, marketers use a technique called “interactive marketing,” in which customers have a two-way dialogue with the business about their thoughts, opinions, and preferences related to the product.
Marketers need cutting-edge technology, such as seeing their clients from every angle, to successfully implement an interactive marketing campaign.
The primary nervous system of many modern marketing initiatives is interactive marketing, which is why we can not ignore its value cannot be overstated in today’s internet-savvy, tech-driven world.
Marketers now need to respond to consumer activities and satisfy client expectations and requests due to the rise of interactive marketing. This customer-centric approach has sparked a significant shift away from conventional campaign-based marketing.
Despite its roots in direct marketing, the proliferation of interactive marketing has established it as a distinct subset of the marketing mix. Creating a positive online reputation for a brand is a significant objective of interactive marketing.
Some could even go so far as to call the rapid dissemination of knowledge made possible by the internet and online search tools “viral.”
Interactive marketers may refine their consumer engagement approach using customer feedback and input. The use of IMC has simplified and streamlined the marketing process. Rather than sending a lead, they must follow the clients themselves. Any time they provide criticism, you have a chance to hone your approach.
Interactive Marketing Types and Their Examples
In today’s digital environment, marketers confront new challenges that may be mitigated with the help of interactive marketing.
These challenges include the short attention spans of internet users, the need to differentiate products, and the lack of direct contact information for consumers.
Marketers created interactive content to attract clients, establish a distinct online presence, and provide a safer environment for customers to disclose their contact information. We have also given some Interactive marketing practices that may work for you.
Quizzes
These things attract individuals because they provide difficulties, provide amusement, and, most importantly, keep them actively involved. These quizzes are often quick, simple, and entertaining, with outcomes dependent on the user’s input.
Product Recommenders
The consumers are asked about their shopping habits and interests and provided with personalized product recommendations.
Interactive Storytelling
As the tale develops, the user is presented with a series of options, the selection of which will influence the story’s resolution.
Users are drawn to these kinds of instant messaging (IM) campaigns because they believe they have a reasonable possibility of winning a prize while putting in minimal effort.
Several contests are available on the Amazon India app, for instance. User registration and login are necessary for participation.
Games
It’s a fact that people of all ages enjoy playing games, so incorporating them into advertising is a great way to increase both enjoyment and user engagement.
Interactive Polls
Users who fill out online polls and submit their responses may see how others feel about the same issue.
Interactive Surveys
Customer feedback is invaluable, and surveys are a fantastic method to gather it. Using interactive and visually appealing online surveys, marketers may collect user input.
You’ve encountered online calculators on several sites, allowing visitors to determine the precise or ballpark cost of the service or item they’re considering purchasing.
Interactive Infographics
Have you ever lost interest in reading boring reports and statistics? We can resolve with interactive infographics, these infographics offer facts in different, more appealing, and more explorable ways.
This year’s Annual Report from the email marketing platform MailChimp is an excellent example of making dry data exciting through imaginative individual presentations.
Interactive Videos
Unlike static films, interactive ones let viewers participate in shaping the narrative by asking them questions and providing more information about the product (pricing, description, etc.) on mouseover.
Contest
Prizes in contests and competitions encourage individuals to participate and strive for victory. Companies may further their goals of increasing brand recognition and customer loyalty as well as sales and conversion rates through contests.
Greater interest will likely be shown if a sizable sum is at stake. But there are other types of contests to choose from. Depending on the nature of the goods, these parameters might include intellectual, physical, comic, video, textual, and so on.
Several companies host contests offering prizes like trips, autographed memorabilia, and free food to market their goods.
Countdown
A countdown may build anticipation for an upcoming event. Things like the company’s anniversary, Christmas, Black Friday, Easter, or a food festival. In most cases, the numbers are counted down from the end, starting with 3. 2. 1.
To build up excitement and anticipation for Black Friday, many retailers and malls begin counting the hours in the days leading up to the big sale.
Calculator
Some businesses provide their consumers with a free calculator service, where they may enter their information and instantly receive the desired results. The ROI calculator would reveal the potential profit from the investment.
Interactive Marketing Best Practices
The following are examples of some effective methods of interactive advertising:
Pay close attention to marketing psychology. Customers’ mental processes, motivations, and preferences may all be better understood through marketing psychology.
Take a picture in your mind. The impact of a marketing effort can be amplified via the use of visual media.
The secret to success is putting your stamp on things. The secret to a successful marketing strategy is adding a personal touch.
We need to get more people involved. Customer input should be valued above all else if you want to encourage participation from your clientele in the debate.
Advantages of Interactive Marketing
The following are examples of how interactive marketing may help your business:
Increased Consumer Engagement
Direct client feedback is one of the most valuable assets of interactive marketing. For instance, one bakery lets clients purchase bespoke cakes online, where they can choose their baked goods’ flavor, filling, and appearance before placing their order.
The bakery proprietor would benefit from knowing what aesthetic blends are most popular with their clientele.
Greater Brand Awareness
Marketers and salespeople who interact with their target audience demonstrate that they value and respond to consumer input.
Many potential new consumers would be drawn in and educated about your company. There will be more people who might buy the product if more people know about the brand.
Increase Consumer Loyalty
Customers are more likely to remain loyal if businesses value their input and act on it that they’d be willing to wait for your brand’s goods and buy them when they hit shelves.
Lead Generation
In interactive marketing, creating a lead is significantly more straightforward. The conversation might end with a humorous, rhetorical, or thought-provoking inquiry. More individuals are likely to respond if the question seems intriguing.
You don’t have to hassle them to receive the details. The methodology entails posing questions that clients may quickly answer.
Consumer Feedback
Customer opinions matter much. If you don’t have it, you may forget about enhancing your company’s operations or expanding your marketing reach.
As a result, you won’t be able to anticipate your client’s requirements, so you’d make a subpar good or run an ineffective ad campaign. In any case, it won’t be successful in the marketplace.
Consequently, it is crucial to conduct polls and surveys to avoid misunderstandings. Interactive marketing allows you to gain direct input from your target audience, which is essential for developing a successful marketing plan.
Personalization
Companies’ use of too generic terminology like “consumers” and “customers” makes the millions of people who use the internet daily feel like they don’t matter as individuals.
To be successful with interactive marketing, you need to treat each customer like a person and learn about their preferences. The next step is to find answers to their problems and gratify their needs.
Interactive marketing allows you to create a one-of-a-kind, individualized experience for your target demographic. It’s a fantastic chance for consumers to have their say, and they may express their issues through polls, surveys, quizzes, and questionnaires.
Increase in Sales
Any advertising initiative may be evaluated by tracking its conversion rate. Advertisements in traditional media only convey the company’s message in one direction.
Alternatively, interactive marketing generates a two-way flow and prompts instantaneous action from the target audience.
The salespeople are there to answer any queries and set the record straight. Thus, the company’s sales are boosted by using interactive marketing.
The drawback of Interactive Marketing
The following are some of the drawbacks and difficulties associated with interactive marketing:
Accessibility
Customers who can see the ad will likely already own the advertised product. Consumers have the product and may or may not still enjoy it.
Due to client demand, businesses will continue their marketing efforts, but consumers will ignore the offers since they have what they want.
Control
You’ll see growth if you start listening to your clients and adapting your products accordingly. Because it caters to what consumers want, the firm will soon cease to be distinctive because it offers nothing of itself. Putting out inappropriate products in response to consumer demand would ruin the company’s image.
Conclusion
From this article, we can conclude that interactive marketing is crucial in the age of social media. Different industries can benefit from one form of interactive marketing over another. Choose a strategy and process that makes sense for your company and its products.
Interactive marketing is one of the various methods a company can use to get its name out there. As such, it deserves equal weight in the eyes of the marketing department and a proportionate percentage of the marketing budget. You should take full advantage of every opportunity and few drawbacks of interactive marketing since it levels the playing field for businesses of all sizes.
