The different types of interactive features

As consumers of content, we’ve long been accustomed to interacting with the things we’re served on our devices. We like, comment, share and repost the content that interests us. We tap Instagram images to find out who’s tagged and we’re accustomed to clicking shoppable photos to get an instant retail fix.

Interactive video takes this a step further, turning watching a video into an active viewing experience that adds new levels of memorability, shoppability and effectiveness. Making an interactive videos doesn’t require a new type of video or specialized content creation skills. They can be created using any digital video footage, regardless of when or how it was created.

Uploading to the Vudoo platform allows our software technology to let you add different kinds of interactions at any point in your video. Each of these interactions generates viewer data in real time, which is fed back to your Vudoo dashboard as insights.

So, what’s possible?

Add a pin to your interactive video

A pin is a clickable element that’s placed in your video. You get to choose the moment when a pin appears and where on the screen it will sit. There are three types of pins that encourage viewers to get clicking:

Example of a label and a pulse

Pulse: A marker that appears in your video, subtly beating to draw the viewer’s eye. The look and feel of a pulse is completely customizable-choose more than 20 styles, from a tick to a shopping cart, and select a color that works with your video or branding.

Label: Add text that pops up when you wish, in a style of your choosing. Labels can have up to 40 characters and the style of the label, font and color of the text is customizable. You can even create a single interaction that includes a label with a pulse.

Hotspot: Adding a hotspot creates a transparent area in your video that becomes clickable. You get to adjust the size of the hotspot. Make it cover the entire screen or a specific element within it.

Once you’ve decided the type of pin you want and placed it in your video, you can then choose the action or function that happens when someone clicks on it.

Overlay: When clicked, the video pauses and launches a popup overlay. This overlay can take the form of a product showcase with photos, text and a call-to-action button with custom link; you can build an image slideshow with captions and CTA button; or you can make a custom form that lets you grow your subscriber base, generate leads, conduct a survey or whatever you need. The look and feel of your overlay is customizable and once it’s closed the video automatically continues playing.

Link to video: This is some Inception-style wizardry, letting you send viewers of your video to another video.

Link out: You can use a pin to send the viewer to your website or online store, let them email you or link to your phone number (a handy option when content is viewed on mobile).

Jump to: When viewers click on your pin, they are taken to a different point in the video. Say your content promises to explain the technology and pricing plans of your product, a viewer can click a pin to go straight to the pricing plans.

No action: If you just want to provide additional information or highlight particular elements in your video with a pulse or label, you don’t need to include an action.

Add a checkpoint to your interactive video

A checkpoint is an overlay that automatically pops up at a given point in your video. This is handy when you absolutely require the viewer to interact with your overlay because they aren’t required to click to open it. You’ll be familiar with this style of interaction if you’ve ever watched a YouTube video and seen those little grey notifications pop up saying “subscribe now” or “check out more vids”.

The big difference with Vudoo checkpoints is that they’re much more sophisticated and entirely customizable. You choose when the checkpoint appears and what it looks like-as with pin overlays, above, you can build a product showcase, image slideshow or custom form. You can even set your checkpoint to pop up in the end frame so it’s the last thing the viewer sees.

Add subtitles/CC

Subtitles and closed captions are incredibly important for many reasons. The combination of video and text is powerful, giving viewers different ways to access the information you’re sharing. It improves accessibility for the hearing impaired and makes it more likely to hold on to a viewer when your video autoplays in their feed on mute (it’s estimated 83% of mobile users watch videos with the sound off). Subtitles also help improve the SEO of your video.

Because the internet is global, Vudoo lets you add as many different subtitles in as many different languages as you require, so customers from around the world can choose what works for them.

End actions

Holding a viewer’s attention right to the end of your video is a big achievement, so if they’ve made it that far, there’s every chance they’re interested in what you have to say. Vudoo lets you set an action that takes place when the video ends.

Loop this video: Hey, if they liked it so much, they might just stick around to watch it again. Particularly if there are multiple interactive elements in your video, viewers may well want to re-watch and click on different pins or interact with other checkpoints.

Play another video: Keep your audience glued to your interactive content by serving up another Vudoo video.

No end action: In the words of Kenny Rogers, you gotta know when to hold them and know when to fold them, so sometimes it’s better to leave your audience wanting more (they can always hit ‘replay’).