As a sales or marketing professional, you may be your organization’s top brand ambassador, but you don’t have to go it alone—quite the contrary. Consider beginning your next campaign by inviting your potential customers or clients to participate. If you can spark their sense of fun and nurture their sense of belonging to a larger community, you can persuade them not only to choose your product or service for themselves, but also recommend it to others. The element of personal connection is crucial. If your content is enjoyable and makes viewers feel like they’re part of something bigger, you’ve just handed them two powerful reasons to convert.

But first, the basics. What draws visitors to your site and makes them want to stay there? You might start their initial journey by offering them a discount off their first purchase in exchange for their email address. Once you’ve collected enough addresses for a robust mailing list, you can send an email blast that directs them to an eye-catching portion of your site. That’s where the fun begins—literally.

Games and prizes have always been popular, and today’s Internet has a fresh new take on them. For instance, you can introduce site visitors to a virtual casino complete with playing cards, dice, tokens, slot machines, and similar elements in brand style that, when clicked, reveal items like fun facts, coupon codes, and invitations to in-person or affiliate-sponsored events. The final image in the game should include a clickable call to action such as “Learn more.” Link the CTA to a campaign microsite featuring a design portfolio, a slide deck, or other technical or persuasive content.

But you’re not done yet. Once you’ve enticed your visitors with the CTA, they’ll start evaluating your content in earnest. This is important because marketing campaigns aren’t just for print publications anymore. The right content is integral to the success of your web or mobile campaign. Don’t tire out prospective purchasers by asking them to read blocks of uninterrupted paragraphs; this is especially challenging on small screens. Instead, break up the text using bullets and charts/tables. Better yet, keep the interactive momentum going with a clickable process flow in plain language that supports the organization’s overall objectives. Likewise, make product descriptions and pursuit documents easy to digest, visually appealing, and consistent with other materials in the same campaign. If your marketing efforts pay off, don’t abandon the sales cycle after completing the transaction and saying thank you. Instead, provide a comments page for your buyers to connect with one another, and be sure to include links to multiple third-party review sites. Creating a space for interaction among clients, customers, and potential leads will help make your campaign dollars go further. That’s because your brand-new brand ambassadors will encourage future site visits, future relationships, and future conversions.

And review sites are just the beginning. Established social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram let purchasers become marketers with minimal effort on your part. Customers can share reviews and (copyright permitting) use branded frames and photos in their personal profiles. In turn, the organization can repurpose complimentary reviews as testimonials. And even negative reviews have value; they can help organizations understand lessons learned and chart a smooth course for the journey ahead.

Marketing efforts don’t have to be one-sided to make an impact. Nudging your potential customers or clients to participate in your campaign means you’re sharing the work along with the benefits. Contact us to help you kick-start your next interactive marketing campaign.