The journey to today’s interactive video is a timeline of fascinating and innovative firsts. From experimental movies to multimedia CD-ROMS, QuickTime VR, Flash Technology, and social media, interactive video has become increasingly immersive. Today’s current interactive video offerings build on these major steps, creating communities around engaging content.
But how can video creators get started with interactive video platforms, and what tools should they look for when choosing such a program? What options make a streaming video platform a must when looking for interactive video features? Let’s take a closer look.
What are Interactive Video Platforms?
Unlike traditional video content, which is linear and passive, interactive video platforms allow users to participate actively. Interactive video features enable creators to design videos that tell a story and respond to viewer inputs, creating personal connections through the content itself. Interactive video boosts engagement and conversion rates by turning users from passive viewers into active participants.
Interactive Video Platform Features to Look For
When choosing the right interactive video platform, looking for a few key features rooted in active participation is essential. This means gaining valuable data on viewer preferences and behaviors to consistently reiterate and build upon what you learn. Here are some of the most important features to consider when deciding among interactive video platforms.
Customizable Video Player
When creating interactive videos, creators need full creativity to create a space that reflects their brand’s visual identity. Streaming video platforms that allow for a customizable video player helps creators develop that space and create a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints, becoming more recognizable.
Ongoing User Feedback
Creating an ongoing feedback “loop” is crucial for interactive video platforms. With the right kind of feedback, creators can continue crafting engaging videos that further cement the relationship between viewer and broadcaster and gain valuable insights on what their target audience wants to see more or less of.
Polls, Messages and User Reactions
Learn in real-time what your users want to see more of. Choose an interactive video platform that allows for the use of engagement features like polls, Q&A, direct messages, user reactions, comments and more. These interactive features help foster a closer-knit community and help the audience feel more connected to the content creator.
CMS Headless Technology
Traditionally, the CMS (content management system) consisted of a front-end and back-end that were closely joined together. With “headless technology”, the content repository part (the “body”) and the presentation layer (the “head”) are treated as two separate entities. This lets developers use any type of front-end tool to display the content. CMS headless technology gives creators the freedom and flexibility to control how and where their content appears
Real-time Interactions and Live Streaming
Live streaming and real-time interactions continue to grow in popularity. Few other media channels let viewers get up close and personal with their favorite personalities in real-time. As a result, viewers become personally invested in the streamer, and the creator/viewer relationship grows.
Look for a live streaming solution incorporating engaging features in its interactive video platform, including live streams, live chat, reactions, comments, forums, events, and more. Present this information via a familiar community newsfeed-style design, and you have the recipe for the perfect end-to-end video platform.
User-Friendly Options to Create a Professional End Result
Not everyone is a brilliant graphic designer. When deciding among interactive video platforms, look for tools that prioritize ease of use. This includes collaboration features, like the ability to include multiple speakers. It also provides engagement features like interactive polls and Q&A from your viewers. Place special emphasis on platforms that let you share your live streams to social media and custom destinations all at one time, including:
- Facebook (Pages and Groups)
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X (Formerly Twitter) and
- Twitch
Is There an Interactive Video Platform That Does All This?
It may seem like a tall order to fill, but one cloud-based video platform allows for all of the features mentioned above: FanHero. FanHero is a cloud streaming video platform that provides lightning-fast hosting and exemplary features ordinarily found in enterprise products. FanHero gives entrepreneurs a centralized hub to create and monetize their videos their way.
Although FanHero also offers a premium-level subscription for businesses, it also caters to startups, business owners, and creators just beginning to get their feet wet with video creation. Through its intuitive platform and interactive video features, FanHero makes it easy for video creators to monetize their offerings. The service even includes its own payment processor, which allows creators to receive payments in their local currency at the lowest transaction rates in the industry.
Some of FanHero’s top interactive video features include:
- Multi-channel management to effortlessly organize content
- Video edge delivery for blazing-fast streaming and playing on any device or network
- Live video chats during streams to help build community in real-time
- Custom branded player to tie together your branding and visual identity
- Multiple monetization options, including pay-per-view, subscription, and advertising models
- Interactive polls and Q&A, plus community-building features, reactions, and comments
- Customizable overlays and the ability to upload images, GIFs, and videos
- User-friendly Studio option to create a beautiful design with no experience necessary
- On-screen calls to action (CTAs) and messages to help encourage engagement
The Complete Cloud Based Video Content Solution
FanHero is designed to grow and scale with your business. Its free plan offers unlimited bandwidth and storage, together with advanced video analytics, making it an excellent springboard for aspiring creators. Professional and enterprise-grade cloud streaming are also available for a monthly fee. Learn more by visiting FanHero.com or contacting the team directly for a custom-tailored interactive video plan that meets your needs.
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