When it comes to content marketing, you probably think of the usual suspects – blog posts, ebooks, white papers and so on.
But tools such as quizzes are underrated in the marketing toolbox – at least for now.
With the rise of platforms such as TryInteract making quiz creation quick and easy, quizzes are set to be a staple in content marketing.
Most people can’t help themselves when they see those BuzzFeed quizzes. Who can resist clicking on topics like “This Condiment Quiz Will Reveal Your Taste In Men†or “If You Get 12/15 On This Spelling Test, You’re A Geography Wizard�
So, is there an inherent appeal in quizzes? And if so, how can content marketers use this to stir interactions with their brand?
Why create a quiz?
The statistics
Research has shown personalised content could improve click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%. Another set of data shows a higher than 10% conversion rate of in-quiz lead capture forms. Quizzes can also improve other engagement metrics such as bounce rate and time on site.
Consumer psychology
Humans are naturally curious, especially about themselves! Quizzes that help to validate existing perceptions or explore new angles are irresistible. Plus, we as social creatures have the need to express ourselves to others, which is why the social sharing of quiz results is so popular.
Impact on branding and sales
Following from the previous point, quiz takers who share their results contribute to growing word of mouth. There’s also the potential for viral content, like this New York Times quiz about local dialects that went viral in only 11 days.
But quizzes are not just good for creating a quick buzz – marketers can also inject branding and messages subtly, through visuals or in the way they frame questions.
You can also make quizzes part of your marketing automation process. For example, the evergreen nature of most quizzes makes them ideal for use in a lead nurturing email sequence. Imagine a day after someone downloads a piece of content from your website, they get an email saying “You’ve read the guide, now take our quiz to find out what sort of X you are.”
And if it’s a quiz created to help customers choose between your products, or to incentivise customer purchase (e.g. coupons at the end of quiz), there’s also a direct impact on sales.
Are quizzes right for me?
Quizzes are suited to almost all industries, both B2C to B2B. Plus, they can be used to spice things up for “boring†industries as there’s an opportunity to inject brand personality, and get to know your customers. And importantly, quizzes can be used right across all stages of the buyer journey – from pre-awareness right through through to customer and evangelist stages.
Where to start with quiz building
To create a quiz, start by determining a relevant theme or topic based on your business. There’s no point creating a quiz about cheese if you sell consulting services, unless you can tie them together somehow.
Next, decide on a quiz type. The most popular ones are “personality” and “knowledge assessment” quizzes. Within these, there can be variations, such as a hybrid of quiz and poll, or a quiz on the personalities of others, rather than the quiz takers themselves.
For a “personality” quiz
Think of this as brainstorming for a listicle with less than 5 items. Some questions to get you started  with this brainstorming process could be:
- What are your buyer personas and how can we match the outcomes to them?
- What are the product variations that you have or want to focus on, and which we can funnel people towards?
For a “knowledge assessment” quiz
If your business provides complex products or services and there’s a need for education, this is a good type of quiz to use. The topics could be about:
- How much your customers know about an area your product deals with
- How up-to-date people are on trending topics.
Making the most of your quiz
To ensure your quiz isn’t just a one-hit wonder, check that it has the following.
Share button
Make it easy for the audience to tell their social network about themselves by incorporating share buttons. Be sure to frame the results in a positive way, so they feel good about them and want to share.
Call-to-action or “next step”
This is a chance to get quiz takers to explore your brand more while they’re feeling good about themselves. Send them to product pages that match their personality, or blog posts that discuss the topic they care about.
Visual branding
Use your brand colours or product images, but only if they’re subtle enough. When it comes to quizzes, people want a fun experience, not a sales pitch.
Lead capture form
Most quiz tools, including TryInteract, provide the option to connect to your email marketing software and can ask the respondent to provide name and email to get their quiz results. This is a great way to use your quiz to grow your email list. Be upfront and honest that you’re going to email the quiz takers, and let them know what you’ll be sending them, ideally including a link to your privacy policy.
Follow-up email sequence
If they consent and enter their email to get the results, you can set up an automated email sequence to thank them, giving them more value and building trust.
Blog posts about results
You can then decide whether the collected data about your audience is worth blogging about. For instance, if an overwhelming majority has a certain personality, or lacks knowledge about a potentially dangerous issue, it would make a great topic. Or if you collect enough responses on a topic you might decide to create a lead generation piece such as a white paper about the results.
Bottom line on using quizzes in your content marketing
So why not mix your marketing up and give quizzes a go? They’re a fun and memorable way to connect with your customers and make a nice change from the usual marketing channels. And they might just bring you some new leads too.
Try the quiz tool we use to generate leads and engagement for our clients. Sign up for your free at TryInteract.
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