First-party self-identified data is a type of data that has been willingly and actively given to your company by your customers. The value of self-identified data is in its relevance and accuracy compared to those of others. If you can utilize self-identified data in a way that allows you to fully engage with your audience, you can have the ability to capture their motivations, interests and preferences at scale; allowing you to create a truly personalized customer experience. Passively collecting marketing data limits your chance for growth since the information about your customers is not enough to build accurate buyer personas. In addition, interacting with your customers raises both trust and engagement that increases customer loyalty and boosts retention rates. We live in a world where there is an abundance of content. Marketers are struggling to create content that actually engages. To make your content stand out, you should put some effort into attracting your target audience. Interactive content is the best way to have a conversation with your audience because it brings in the persuasive power of an in-person interaction. Static content is no longer sufficient to engage visitors. As Abhyudaya Tripathi, a digital marketing expert and Associate Director at ResultFirst, put it: “Interactive content is king”. According to Demand Metric’s Content Experience Impact and the Buyer’s Journey Report, interactive content is more likely to be effective at educating buyers and differentiating from competitors compared to passive content. Adopting a user engagement and self-identified data strategy through the use of interactive content can:‌‌ • Increase engagement‌‌ • Attract an audience (lead generation)‌‌ • Boost site traffic and conversion rates Classic tools used for customer feedback such as surveys usually have limited reach and naturally boring. Given the benefits of interactive content, the proper ways to create engaging content for the purpose of collecting data and promoting is worth taking a look.

Make it fun!

1) Of course, not every question has to be about collecting data. The whole purpose of producing interactive content is to achieve high reach, especially if the content is created for promotion. Hence; the content should be fun, engaging, and non-intrusive. Example: You can challenge your existing or potential customers by giving them a chance to showcase their knowledge on a topic they’re interested in. You can also incentivize with prizes and offers.

If a question is boring, try to find a creative way to ask it!

2) You should start by figuring out what you need to learn about your customers. Think about particular segments you can create to retarget your audience based on the information you receive. Example: A question like the one below can provide important information about a customer. Given the answers, the business can create different segments of an audience such as “parents”, “in a relationship”, or “party lovers”.

This is much more effective than asking a classic survey question such as “What is your martial status?” and it gives you the chance to get answers to two questions with one – without the necessity of asking a “Do you have children?” question.

Don’t ask what you already know

3) You shouldn’t ask about what can be inferred from behavioral or transactional data. Instead of asking how much time they spend on the internet, ask about why they spend time on the internet.

Make it personal

4) The questions should be clear and to the point. Generally, content that addresses personal values or emotions have higher engagement. A user that is interested in movies would be more inclined to engage with a “What’s your Oscar pick?” poll or a test that gives him or her a personal recommendation on what movie to watch next.

Make it mutually beneficial

5) Be creative and offer value. Interactive content creates a two-way dialogue between you and your customers. There is value for both parties. Successful content provides information your audience is looking for while the marketer gets educated about the audience. Example: A user interested in wine would be willing to take a test and share personal information in return for a personal wine recommendation.

Target communities of interest

6) Instead of trying to collect all the information you need from your users with just one content, try creating different contents for different segments. Users would be willing to spend more time and share more information with content that is more appealing to them.