Videos are taking over the internet due to their increased engagement rate and ability to personalize the message for each viewer. But when it comes to interactive videos, businesses still seem to be skeptical about them. Some of the common responses that come up are:
- “I don’t know what I’d use it for.”
- “How to create interactive videos?”
- “Which applications should we use to create interactive videos?”
These are all legitimate questions since the concept of interactive video is still new in the market and businesses need to have a clear notion of where it can fit into their overall sales strategy. But with even feature films incorporating interactive videos into their storylines, the benefits of interactive video are no longer a secret. In this blog post, we will tell you everything you need to know about interactive videos and explain 5 scenarios of how you can make your sales video like the Bandersnatch interactive video.
Decoding Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and interactive videos
Have you watched the popular Netflix original called ‘Bandersnatch’? For those of you who did, you already know the power of interactivity. But for those of you who didn’t, let’s introduce you to it. In Bandersnatch, the viewers can make certain choices for the main character, which ultimately leads to multiple different endings. It can be considered a type of video in which the audience has a certain level of control over the direction of the story. While a large percentage of movies are linear, the idea behind ‘Bandersnatch’ was to create a new movie-viewing experience that engages the viewers and enables them to actively participate in the story. The concept has since been adopted in various other forms of media, including sales videos. Now, let’s learn more about interactive videos.
Importance of Interactive Videos
Interactive videos are an up-and-coming type of video content that allows its viewers to interact with it through different kinds of in-video elements. Some of the in-video elements that you can add to your interactive video are polls, meeting links, call-to-actions, annotations, etc. These nonlinear videos are more engaging and compelling as compared to their linear counterparts. Here are some of the benefits of interactive videos that can help you in your marketing campaign:
a.Time-saving:
Interactive video elements can help the sales representatives be more productive as they do not have to send multiple emails to gather feedback, schedule meetings, etc. You can use in-video elements such as forms, polls, annotations, quizzes, etc. to seek interactions with the target prospects.
b. Enhanced user experience:
Interactive videos offer a personalized and immersive viewing experience for the viewers. This helps improve user satisfaction and leads to a better brand perception among prospects.
c. Real-time data collection:
By implementing interactive video elements, you can gather valuable client data. This will help the sales and marketing departments come up with better strategies to navigate their campaign.
d. Higher conversion rates:
They help engage the viewers and keep them interested in a product or service. It is estimated that interactivity in videos can help increase the engagement rate by 3 to 4 times. This helps to achieve a higher conversion rate, which ultimately leads to increased revenue.
e. Competitive advantage:
Interactive videos are a new tool compared to conventional, linear videos. Hence, not a lot of companies use this tool. If you use interactive videos in your sales process, it can help you gain a competitive advantage against other companies with similar products and services.
f. Higher CTR:
The click-through rate (CTR) of interactive videos is estimated to be about 10 times higher than that of linear videos. Hence, interactive video content is likely to get more views and likes as compared to non-linear videos.
Now that we have explained what interactive videos are and how important they are in your sales videos, let’s understand how you can implement them in your sales funnel.
Key Learnings Sales Can Adopt From Bandersnatch
Below are two important key lessons that every sales team can learn from Bandersnatch:
1. Netflix makes use of Bandersnatch to collect and monitor data
Each time a viewer selects an option in the storyline, it becomes a data point. Netflix records and monitors all these data points to understand user behavior. Avery, 2019 discusses that this move helps the company track customer preferences about products, decisions, and aesthetics. For a sales professional, these data points are a gold mine because they give them an upper hand in establishing a new circuit between the customer and the company. Furthermore, it also helps them get easy access to customer preferences and video consumption characteristics. For instance, in Bandersnatch, the audience has the ability to choose different situations for the main character, such as his preference for breakfast cereal (sugar puffs or frosties), to understand the consumption preferences in the market.
2. Personalisation is essential if you want to capture the audience’s attention
Bandersnatch allows the audience to control the story and personalize the content. This concept can be put to good use in sales campaigns as well, helping sales reps capture their target audience’s attention with personalized storytelling and creative visuals. The interactive format of Bandersnatch will ensure that each viewer’s experience is unique.
5 sales scenarios to use interactive videos
Interactive videos are a powerful sales tool when used correctly. In order to get the most out of every interaction with prospects, it’s important to know exactly when and where they should be used in sales. Here are five sales scenarios that could benefit from interactive elements:
Scenario 1: Use annotations to attach relevant blog links or reports to a video
By using annotations, sales reps can attach additional content such as external links, ebooks, collaterals, blogs, and reports to a video. This provides viewers with an interactive experience and encourages them to explore other resources related to the video.
During the prospecting stage for example, adding relevant links or blog posts as annotations could provide prospects with the information they need to make informed decisions. Additionally, by including interactive elements like annotations into videos, brands are able to increase their visibility online and boost their overall reach.
Scenario 2: Use polls to understand the pain points of the target prospects
Do you want to get an in-depth understanding of your prospects’ pain points as quickly and efficiently as possible? Polling is a great way to do this. By sending them a list of possible pain points, they can easily and quickly provide valuable feedback based on their experiences. This information can then be used to create tailored solutions that address their individual needs. Moreover, polls allow you to engage with your prospects in an interactive manner, which increases the chances of getting accurate responses from them.
Scenario 3: Make use of in-video polls to measure the interest level of your audience in your product
Have you been waiting for a response to your meeting invitation? Instead of sending yet another email, utilize an in-video poll and ask an engaging question with multiple choice options and see where they stand on the matter. This could be anything from “What is the main reason you haven’t replied yet?” to “Are you interested in our product, and why or why not?” Using a poll here will also help relieve any tension for the respondent. Plus, time spent composing long emails can be saved!
Scenario 4: Make use of polls to confirm the details of the scheduled meeting with your target prospect before the actual meeting
Emails are an outdated way to confirm a scheduled meeting with your target prospect. Rather than sending out a conventional email, you can use an in-video poll to set up or confirm a meeting. This allows the prospects to choose a convenient time for the meeting with just a single click.
Scenario 5: Use an in-video meeting link to schedule a rendezvous with the prospect
If you are looking to book meetings with your target prospect to discuss their pain points and requirements, you can do so by embedding in-video meeting links in the video. This can act as a direct and convenient way to book appointments or consultations with prospects. This helps the brand provide a streamlined and integrated user experience to the viewer, in which they can book consultations at the end of the video.
Wrapping up
Interactive video is a new type of video content that can be used to engage viewers and improve conversion rates. One of the most successful applications of Interactive videos was done by Netflix to create the movie Bandersnatch. There are many scenarios where you can use interactive elements such as clickable annotations, in-video polls, and in-video meeting links, etc to offer a more immersive and engaging viewing experience for the viewer. It is estimated that interactive videos result in twice more conversions as compared to the linear form of video content. Also, interactive videos are 13 per cent more capable to educate a buyer. In conclusion, interactive videos like Netflix’s Bandersnatch can be a game-changer in the sales domain.
To create interactive videos in the quickest and easiest way possible, a platform like Hippo Video will help you do that and more. Give it a try and change the way you interact with your prospects.