If you're a content creator, the chances are you've written your fair share of blog posts, created an infographic, produced a whitepaper, or recorded videos.
Although audiences still engage with the content, these formats don't really create the same kind of excitement they used to. However, help is at hand! We've put together a list of different formats to help you stop content format fatigue in its tracks.
1. Gigographics
Remember the first time you saw an infographic? You were probably excited to see data presented in such a visually appealing way, and we're willing to bet it wasn't long before you started to create your own infographics.
Infographics still work, but they have started to lack that "wow" factor.
To make your infographics stand out, try a gifographic instead. Gifographics combine the imagery and data of an infographic with the movement of a gif, making gifographics more interactive than infographics.
Imagine being able to show increases or decreases in data with moving graphs instead of just arrows. The small animations can guide the viewer through the information in a specific order, enrich your story, and make for a more exciting way of presenting data.
The next time you're making an infographic, why not try a little animation, too, and see what impact it has on your results?
2. Interactive Whitepapers
Do you remember those "choose your own adventure" books that had their heyday in the 1990s? Game books allow the reader to participate in the story by making effective choices and influencing how the story unfolds.
In 2015, we are bringing the idea to whitepapers. The goal is to harness the power of interactive content to boost demand generation and turn content into leads. Companies like SnapApp specialize in these interactive content experiences by allowing readers to adapt content according to answers given in quizzes or custom surveys. You can expect many benefits: enter in a dialog with your clients and prospects, increase engagement scores, and build prospect profiles. Interactive whitpapers can be an absolute gold mine when establishing your buyer persona.
3. Click-to-Buy Content
E-commerce has been one of the hottest topics in digital media in recent months and much has been said about the efforts being made by social media sites to create a more straightforward purchase paths for users.
If you're a retailer, do you spend enough time thinking about purchase paths within your content? If you've spent time creating beautiful catalogs or look books for your brand, have you considered turning them into an interactive experience? Increase reader engagement by making your photos clickable so users can get more information about the products that are of interest to them. Most importantly, include a call-to-action.
China's social network Nice, defined as being halfway between Instagram and Pinterest, has popularized the concept of brand tagging on its images. The concept is simple: On each photo, platform users are given the option to add tags that lead to online stores where you can find the products featured on the photos. Why not take it one step further though and link directly to the checkout? Reduce the hassle for the user and the likelihood of drop-off for you.
4. BOOCS
Several e-learning methods have emerged in recent years, probably inspired in part by the rise in popularity of TED conferences.
This is particularly the case for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The concept is simple: Courses delivered by teachers or experts, usually free and accessible to all, are made available on the Internet. The courses focus on specific topics and have the advantage of being interactive.
Similarly, LinkedIn recently acquired Lynda.com, a pioneer website that has been offering online courses since 1995. With this acquisition, the professional network has clearly stated its ambition to become the world's online training hub.
With these in mind, it is possible to imagine the rise in the near future of a variant that I have called "Brand Online Open Courses." Brands could disseminate training tailored to their business to create bonds and interact with consumers. This could result in the appearance of a BOOC on make-up artistry, issued by a selective distribution giant such as Sephora. BOOCs blend storytelling with consumer trends and could have an even greater impact on sales when clickable content was added.
5. Branded Stickers
You are probably familiar with emojis, those small Japanese symbols used for expressing your mood or illustrating objects and concepts in social conversations. These days, they are everywhere. They adapt perfectly to the mobile era, to wearable technology and, more generally, to the snackable content trend that involves vivid and concise content.
Brand stickers are like a new generation of emojis. Companies such as Feeligo have developed Duracell stickers with the look and feel of the brand (especially the famous pink rabbit, its company mascot) and made them available for free on messaging platforms. The rabbits in love, hysterical or upset, were shared in private conversations 20 million times this winter.
Why are these branded stickers so appealing? Because audiences respond to them emotionally, they make it a powerful and non-intrusive way for brands to connect. Besides this, with these customized stickers, brands can reach consumers they may not have been able to reach the traditional way.
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Use the above tips to combat content format fatigue and get audiences excited about your content.
