It’s naïve to think that only social media can help you in building a strong interaction with your customers. Email is the king of all marketing channels for a reason and these days, email interactivity has made it even more effective. As said by Logan Baird, design services lead at Emma, “Interactivity in email is all about keeping your subscribers playfully engaged.”
“Interactivity in email is all about keeping your subscribers playfully engaged.”
It is also interesting to know that in 2017, email interactivity topped the charts at 27.2% making it a buzz in the email market.
Why Interactivity?
1. Provides real-time experience to subscribers
We all, including your subscribers, prefer real-time information over plain content or facts. Interactivity allows subscribers to actively engage with the email through real-time content, thereby enhancing the campaign performance. For example, let your subscribers know about the sale that is going to end soon with a live countdown in the emails… Or even better — how about allowing them to select movie seats and book a ticket from the inbox itself?
2. Catches your subscribers’ attention
With so many interactive features like GIF, gamification, audios, and videos, you can keep your subscribers hooked and make them looking forward to more. Wall of content in the email is really a pain to the eyes but interactive content can serve something new to your subscribers and thus, grab their attention.
3. Increases lead conversion
If your customers get impressed by your emails, then obviously, your click-through rates might increase. Incorporating interactivity in your email helps you to outshine the other emails in the subscriber’s inbox and once you crack the code to do so, the lead conversions are sure to soar.
Some Popular Interactive Features
COUNTERS
The counter is used when you need to show a time countdown that creates a sense of urgency for the subscriber. The counters in the mail can be used when you need to promote a limited time offer. It helps to maintain the excitement among the subscribers and entice them to make instant purchases.
Application: If you are launching a new smartphone, you can use this feature to create a buzz among your customers, that helps you build a market before the product launches.
GIFs
Last year in 2017, GIF celebrated its 30th anniversary and during the same year, it was found that GIF was the most popular tool in digital marketing.
GIFs add a fun element and give a humorous touch to your emails. These animated elements make it simple to display complex ideas. Therefore, they can help you in capturing the reader’s attention and boost the email response.
Restrictions: Not supported by Microsoft Outlook email client.
Applications: If you own a restaurant and want to promote an event, then you should definitely give GIF a try to make your promotional campaign look more effective.
For example, you can use something like this to promote Valentine’s Day offers for your restaurant.
FIXED CTA
It is the brand-new feature in the world of emails that is worth a try. With the help of a single CSS line, you can fix your CTA in a layout. The concept behind this is to provide a good experience to the mobile users. Mobile devices have smaller screens and you might not be able to access the entire email at one go. In order to click on the CTA, you may have to scroll again to the top of the email. Fixed CTA helps you in eliminating this concern. Fixed CTA allows you to glue important information as sticky notes. By doing so, the CTA won’t go unread even if the subscriber is scrolling the email.
Restrictions: Only supported by Android Native and Boxer App, but not by IOS platform yet.
Applications: For e-commerce companies, a fixed CTA can do wonders as it ensures that the subscriber does not overlook the CTA.
ACCORDIONS
This great feature allows you to stack your information in a limited space, thus saving your subscriber’s time. The users can expand, or contract the information based on their interest. You can categorize your content under different tabs. The best part of this feature is that it enables you to track which section was viewed the most.
Restrictions: Accordion is supported in Mobile Native App and does not function in Windows Phone.
Applications: Retailers can use this to show their different products and for smart categorization.
MENUS
This is yet another way to make your emails interactive. It is also called the Hamburger menu because it resembles burger in between two buns. It lets you provide more information in limited space and also saves your scrolling time. You can navigate to different sections through here.
Restrictions: Not supported in Windows Phone.
Applications: E-commerce website, travel, and hospitality industry can ease the navigation through hamburger menus in the emails.
In a Nutshell
Email is a very strong tool in the world of marketing, but it is important not to make it boring with lengthy content. Include the email interactivity features discussed here and impart a pleasant experience to the subscribers by giving your emails a total makeover.
