Speaker 1: In this video, you will learn everything you need to know about interactive videos, including how to make them and how to use them to grow your business. Interactive video is a new, exciting form of media that is revolutionizing video as we know it. Top brands across the world are already using interactive videos to engage with their customers and to great success. And today, I will show you how you can join them. Hi, I'm Kev here at Spiel Creative. Before we get started, make sure you click the subscribe button and hit that all-important bell so that you get notified every time we upload a new video to help you with your video marketing. Now, let's start by going through what exactly are interactive videos. Well, in a nutshell, interactive videos are videos where the audience participates in the viewing experience. Unlike traditional linear videos, interactive videos aren't for passive viewing, but instead they encourage the viewer to engage directly with it for a more immersive experience. The technology behind interactive videos is still relatively new, but more and more advertisers and content producers are starting to adopt it, and for good reason. According to research from Mobile Marketer, interactive videos, on average, boost viewing time by 47% and increase purchaser intent by up to nine times. They also have, on average, a conversion rate of around 11%, which is significantly higher than the 1% conversion rate that is usually seen with Google Ads. Now that you know why you should be excited about interactive videos, let's go through some practical ways to use them. Firstly, we have shoppable videos. Interactive videos are being increasingly used to provide more immersive shopping experiences, and the results are supporting this shift, as interactive videos are proving to generate higher conversion rates than standard videos. Ted Baker's videos are a great example of this, where the viewer can purchase a clothing item that they view in the video. So make sure you check them out if you're interested in creating a shoppable video for your business. In addition to shoppable videos, interactive videos are also fantastic for product demos, storytelling, data capture, and e-learning. For example, Lifesaver used interactive elements to create an educational video that helped its viewers learn about saving lives while practicing their decision-making ability. Okay, so now that we know what interactive videos are and how to use them, let's go through the key features which make them unique. Key Features of Interactive Videos Firstly, we have hotspots. Hotspots are the areas in the interactive video which are clickable. When a hotspot is clicked on, it will lead to a specific action, such as more information being revealed. There are two types of hotspot that you'll find in interactive videos. The first type are static hotspots. These are basically hotspots which are anchored to a fixed position in the video and don't move. Then we have sticky hotspots. These are hotspots that stick to people or objects as they move in the video. Because sticky hotspots are more in sync with the clips in which they appear, they tend to look a lot better than static hotspots in most cases and consequently tend to generate a lot higher engagement than static hotspots. According to the interactive video platform WireWax, you'll see a drastic nine times higher engagement with sticky hotspots when compared to static ones. The second feature of interactive videos that you need to know about is overlays. Overlays is the name given to the pop-ups which appear when a hotspot is clicked on. The overlay can include anything from additional information, data capture forms, links to external websites and downloadable content. Thirdly, interactive videos often include branching. Branching basically gives the viewer the choice to control the narrative by choosing the next scene. Branching is great for storytelling and, if done right, can really boost your engagement levels as it can help you provide your audience with a more personalized viewing experience. Another great feature often incorporated into interactive videos is 360 degree viewing. This basically provides the viewer with a more immersive experience where they can change the viewing angle to any position that they prefer. So now that you have a good idea of the key features used to create interactive videos, you're probably wondering how do you actually make one? So let's go through that process now. To make your very own interactive video, firstly you'll have to create a map. This should include an outline of how your video will branch out and the different interactive features that you will use throughout it. Once you've created the map for your interactive video, the next step is to write your script which takes all the different elements of your map into consideration. For example, if you're using branches in your video this will mean writing scripts for each branch of your video and then preparing the content for all the different overlays and hotspots that will appear throughout it. Once you finalize your script, next it's usually a good idea to put a storyboard together which clearly shows where the different interactive elements will appear. After that you'll be ready to shoot or animate your video and start putting it all together. Once you've filmed or animated your video, the final step is to then add your interactive elements to the footage. To do this you'll need to use an interactive video software. So let's go through the different options that you have for this. There are a lot of interactive video platforms out there to choose from, so making the right choice can be tricky, especially since the features and pricing can vary significantly from one to the other. On the higher end of the scale you have WireWax, Wrapped and HackYack. Alongside allowing you to add interactive features to your video, these three tools also give you access to a comprehensive editing tool that allows you to complete the whole video production process on the platform alone. Furthermore, WireWax makes extensive use of machine learning algorithms to create sticky hotspots which, as we have mentioned earlier, have substantially higher engagement rates than static hotspots. It can also help automate segmenting your assets for easier editing, remove duplicate assets and subtitle videos automatically. All of these platforms are considered to be top of the range in terms of what they're offering, and unfortunately aren't cheap. Costs can range from between $15,000 to $20,000 per year, so do require a substantial investment. If you're looking to go for a more cost-effective option, you can look into Vixee, HiHeyHo and Vidzor. These platforms are much more affordable than the high-end platforms, but can still achieve great results. Expect to pay around $150 to $300 per month, depending on how many videos you're uploading. If you want to try out before you splash any cash, HiHeyHo offers a free trial where you can play around with the platform before deciding on whether to purchase. Another option worth mentioning is Camtasia. Camtasia is marketed primarily as a screen recorder and video editing tool, but it also includes features that allow you to add interactive elements. For example, you can use their editing software to add interactive quizzes and hotspots to your videos, and it also has a similar price tag to Vixee, HiHeyHo and Vidzor at around $250 per month. Finally, for a more DIY approach to interactive videos, you can use Adobe Captivate. It's a much cheaper alternative that you can use to create interactive e-learning content in HTML5 format. All you have to do is create a project and add your video. You can then use slides as clickable hotspots by marking them as overlays and add bookmarks to your video's timeline to create your own DIY video branches. It's a little more limited than the interactive video platforms I mentioned earlier, but you can still create videos with branch scenarios, randomized quizzes, and other interactive elements. So that's it, folks. I do hope you've enjoyed the video. If you have any further questions about interactive videos, then let us know in the comments below and we'll do our best to answer them. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more videos to help you with your video marketing. And finally, if you do need more help in creating an interactive video for your business or need more help with your video marketing in general, don't hesitate to get in touch with us here at Spiel. Simply visit www.spielcreative.com. Bye for now and thanks for watching.