Have you ever heard a song on the radio or Spotify and immediately thought about something seemingly completely random, such as gum?
Darn it, Extra Gum!
And why are you suddenly, absolutely starving for chicken nuggets?
It couldn’t be that billboard you caught from the corner of your eye two miles back. Could it?
Content is everywhere, bombarding us from every direction in every form.
Most of the time we don’t even realize it’s surrounding us, and thank goodness for this.
Because if we did, the song that’s stuck in your head would change with every advertisement.
And we’d all weigh 700 pounds because we couldn’t get away from all those constant craving-creators.
But as a marketer, how do you create messaging which cuts through all that noise?
More importantly, how do you create content that actually interests the song hummers and billboard cravers and keeps them coming back for more?
The answer: quizzes.
Let’s take a look at how to create a quiz that will open a conversation with your audience.
One which takes your content marketing strategy to the next level.
Why Quizzes in Content Marketing?
The main goal of quizzes in content marketing is to increase the conversion rate on your website.
A conversion can be any goal you want to reach on your site, such as a newsletter subscription or a product purchase.
Thanks to the interactive experience of a well-crafted quiz, website visitors will be more engaged. In turn, increasing the conversion rate.
This study from Demand Metric states that interactive content, such as quizzes, can generate twice as many conversions (compared to static content like a regular sign-up form).
Image courtesy of CMI
Moreover, a CMI Study about interactive content reveals several other benefits of quizzes, including increased visitor’s attention and retention.
Given all these benefits, is it right to state that everybody should use quizzes?
The answer is no: while you can use quizzes during several stages in your sales funnel, it is important to know who your target audience is beforehand and organize your content accordingly.
(And we clearly need to be careful about quizzes on Facebook.)
This means having different sections on your site with content that targets your audience segments.
In this case, quizzes are a great addition to make content more interactive and conversational.
This is important in making your website ready for the future. And that’s the magic of content marketing through quizzes.
Now here are tips for doing it right.
Pay Attention to Design
While this might sound obvious, use a memorable quiz and one that is appealing.
You want your quiz to reflect your company and its unique style.
So look at your logo for color inspiration and choose one or two colors from it.
Using logo colors will add variety to your design while evoking the style of your business.
Also, if you want to feature a background image, find one without a lot of color variation.
You don’t want it to take away from the actual quiz questions and answers.
Be sure your quiz looks neat and organized.
While your instinct may be to fit as much as you can into each slide, you should respect the white space.
Look at the images below to see what Brandeis International Business School did with their quiz.
Images courtesy of Brandeis International Business School
Overwhelming your audience by filling in every nook and cranny makes it more likely they won’t finish the quiz.
It is also important to stick with one font throughout the entire assessment and make sure everything is aligned.
Your quiz can be fun while still being organized and clean. How?
With media! After all, who doesn’t like a fun GIF?
Including media such as a GIF, image, or video will add variety and prevent your quiz from becoming redundant.
Typically, those taking the assessment start to stray around the fourth or fifth slide, so that’s where you should add your media.
There are several sites such as Giphy, Unsplash, and Pixabay where you can find free images for websites.
Make it Mobile Friendly
Most people take quizzes on their mobile devices, and that’s likely to increase every year.
Think about it. How much time do you spend scrolling on your phone while waiting at the doctor’s office or in the car (as the passenger, of course)?
The time we spend in front of an actual desktop is usually reserved for work or specific tasks.
That’s why you need to make sure your quiz is mobile friendly.
It can be challenging when you’re embedding a quiz on your website.
Luckily, most survey makers offer responsive embed codes you can include in your website without vast technical knowledge. Others offer WordPress plugins.
It’s important to display your content where your audience spends its time.
So make sure your quiz looks good on the small screen as well as the big screen.
Keep it Short and Simple
In today’s world, we all have a lot going on. And that means short attention spans.
GIF courtesy of Giphy.com
While quizzes are interactive and all about your audience and their interests, you still should keep it short and to-the-point.
The ideal length for a quiz includes five to 10 slides. After 10, your audience is much more likely to drop off.
Ten slides or less shortens the time it takes to complete the quiz to two to three minutes.
Your audience is also more likely to hit that dreaded red “X” if the quiz is too challenging.
We get it; you’re smart! You know a lot about your industry! Good job, person.
But, you need to make sure you’re talking with your audience, not at them.
Treat your audience with respect, the last thing you want them to feel is stupid.
Given that you want people to feel good about themselves, the average person should be able to answer 70 percent of the quiz questions correctly.
Mix it Up
The last tip is to mix things up.
You are fighting against every other content marketing tactic in the world.
And you need to do everything in your power to capture audience attention and hold it until they finish.
Mix up the style of quiz questions throughout the slides.
You can include multiple-choice answers, picture choices, a draggable scale, or even emoji questions. This kind of variety keeps things fresh and exciting.
More importantly, it ensures your audience is paying attention and not just doing a quick click-through.
People will better remember your message when they learn something useful.
According to CMI, people saw an average of 2,000 ads each day in 1984.
By 2014, that number more than doubled to 5,000.
There’s no doubt competition is stiff, but if created correctly, quizzes will make your content marketing rise above the rest.