The Best Interactive Video Platforms to Try Right Now
With the recent surge of commercial content on the internet due to the pandemic, one of the biggest names on digital marketers’ lips right now is interactive video technology.
There’s a compelling case for the efficacy of interactive videos for digital marketing. In addition to possessing a sense of novelty, it garners higher engagement levels and more conversions than its traditional linear counterpart. It also enhances content functionality with elements such as branching, data inputs, and hotspots, giving digital marketers the ability to create more elaborate content such as quizzes and and immersive scenarios. Furthermore, it provides trackable insights into the decisions consumers make within the videos themselves.
In order to harness interactive video technology, the strategies digital marketing agencies come up with depend very much on whether they plan to produce their content in-house or hand production over to professional developers. Here’s a roundup of the best interactive video platforms on the market so you can figure out what works best for you!
Adobe Captivate: Best For Mobile Markets
This member of the Adobe Creative Cloud family is an ideal choice for beginners, providing basic features for interactive content such as link embedding, overlays, quizzes, and drag-and-drop actions. Its user-friendly interface resembles a combination of Adobe Premiere and Microsoft Powerpoint, allowing creators to compose their initial slides before embedding video overlays with interactive elements.
The only catch is that it currently only supports HTML5 formatting, which means that videos created with Captivate will only appear on mobile devices and tablets. However, it works well if your target audience consists mainly of mobile users.
Companies that have used this software include Zendesk and the American Red Cross. Try out their 30-day free trial, or choose from four tiers of plans starting at USD33.99 per month.
Kaltura – Best All-Rounder
Kaltura provides cloud-based interactive content solutions with a seamlessly integrated composer-player-publisher pipeline. It’s one of the fastest-growing interactive video platforms out there due its user-friendly dashboard, which furnishes users with an automated specification analysis to create an easy-to-follow, personalised content creation path for each video project.
Its standout features are hotspots and multiple choice functions, making it a powerful tool for highly engaging and immersive content– and its publishing platform allows content to be accessed via any device, from laptops to mobiles.
This platform has been utilised by larger companies such as Deloitte, Maybelline, and Allianz; however, smaller companies can get a feel for the platform with a 30-day free trial or choose from a variety of flexible pricing plans on their website.
Spott – Best For Retail
With an impressive lineup of clients such as Ikea, Clinique, and Adidas, Spott is a fantastic option for companies who want to incorporate interactivity into their retail content.
With features such as customisable and clickable product tags, drop-in prompts, product feed links, and automated optimisation for various languages and pricing fluctuations, Spott enables companies to create a streamlined e-commerce experience within a single video. It also provides great accessibility, with the ability to publish across multiple platforms- including YouTube.
In addition to a 14-day free trial, the platform offers a unique pricing plan that allows their clients to pay based on interactions. Plans start from just under USD$60 for 500 interactions that can be carried over to the following month, so you only pay for what you use.
Eko – Best Value For Money
Eko supplies both free and paid services to enable the creation of choice-based short films using branching tools.
Its highly intuitive editor dashboard uses a drag-and-drop interface for easy navigation, and offers an extensive library of preset formats as well as customisable coding options for added personalisation. On top of that, it provides performance analytics tools to easily track video performance and consumer choices.
The platform’s free version is easily available for use and can be accessed with any Google ID, making it great for small businesses or personal use. Their paid plans are incredibly affordable as well (starting at a mere USD$1.50 per month) making Eko one of the most budget-friendly options on the interactive content market.
Wirewax – Best Premium Option
When it comes to versatility, Wirewax is a tough act to follow. It offers an incredible variety of advanced interactivity features, such as time-triggering branching, highly customisable hotspots, embedding, slider views, and camera switching, and has helped create some truly game-changing campaigns for companies such as NBC and Porsche.
Wirewax provides high comprehensive services for a broad variety of purposes, from e-commerce and education to unique marketing campaign content. However, its pricing does skew towards the higher side. A single video with 30-day metrics access costs USD$7999, and their monthly plans start at USD$999 per month.
That being said, the platform’s extensive features and incredibly user-friendly interface makes it a solid choice for brands who are willing to invest in a killer interactive video campaign.
Final Thoughts
With an abundance of tools and resources available to tap into, interactive video technology is a gold mine of potential for digital marketing agencies. It’s a wonderful way to boost engagement levels and help brands establish their identities as trailblazers within the digital sphere.
Social Grooves is one of the few digital agencies in Malaysia that offers creative, concept-driven interactive solutions for your social media and marketing needs. If you’re a brand that’s interested in enriching your digital marketing strategy with interactive content, drop us a line at ask@socialgrooves.com.