Using Interactive Video for Learning and Development in Your Business

In our current digital era, video is becoming an increasingly popular form of digesting content and information. According to reports, online videos have an audience reach of 92% worldwide amongst internet users. 

Further research has highlighted that videos are one of the most successful forms of content when trying to engage the public, with a previous survey of 4,000 adults highlighting that video was the most memorable form of content for 29% of millennials and 21% of consumers. Not only this, but 80% of millennials consider videos when trying to research or make a decision about a purchase, additional articles shared.

In an ever-evolving professional learning landscape where it’s becoming increasingly important to ensure that learners remain engaged, there’s more demand for content that is captivating and interactive. As such, there’s a call for resources to adapt to increase engagement, but video as a learning tool in itself won’t quite cut it alone. 

So, how can videos for learning be adapted and utilised to ensure they make learning experiences active and engaging? The answer is simple: interactive videos. Creating multimedia content for learners to gain a comprehensive understanding of topics without their attention dwindling, interactive videos are becoming an increasingly popular way of delivering e-learning content.

In this article, we aim to address what interactive videos are alongside their benefits and how they can be incorporated into a business learning and development (L&D) strategy to revolutionise the learning journey. 

What are Interactive Videos?

Interactive videos are videos that allow some sort of interaction, such as a click or touch, to trigger an action. This action could be revealing more information, asking a question, giving the user feedback, or jumping to other sections or videos in the content.

Traditional video, in comparison, is simply playing a video and control being limited to pausing, skipping, or rewinding the video in question. This creates a completely linear experience, hence its alternative name - ‘linear video’.

Unlike typical videos, interactive videos can also capture data about how the viewer interacts with the content. This can be used to monitor the personal development, performance, and training requirements of employees when accessed through a learning management system (LMS).

Therefore, interactive videos build on the typical multisensory experience of linear videos with visual and auditory stimuli, and they also create the need for a response. This requires input from the viewer and therefore a higher level of engagement, which is one of their many benefits. 

Does Interactive Video Have a Place in Learning and Development Strategies? 

Interactive videos are becoming more and more popular in workplaces across the country when delivering learning and development opportunities. Research has highlighted that 95% of companies use some form of video when training employees. 

Learning and development within a business is widely beneficial for the organisation itself and its employees for several reasons, including improving job satisfaction, increasing productivity, attracting the best talent, and retaining staff. In fact, employees are increasingly prioritising learning and development, and it is becoming a ‘vital’ factor that determines whether an employee chooses a position, with 83% of employees reporting this in a survey. 

Alongside this, almost 9 in 10 (89%) of learning and development professionals believe that building employee skills proactively will help to navigate ever-evolving industries. 

If workplaces aren’t already offering learning and development opportunities to their employees, they should. When doing so, all businesses must recognise and appreciate the value that interactive video can have when integrated into their learning and development strategy.

Research has shown that interactive content is one of the top three video types that get the most engagement. If anything, this speaks volumes about how incorporating interactive video for learning and development in your workplace will increase the chances of your workforce developing core skills essential to the business and their development. 

What are the Benefits of Interactive Video in Learning and Development Strategies?

While we have addressed that interactive video should be incorporated into the learning and development process, we haven’t delved into the specific advantages of weaving this media asset into your L&D resources.

Below, we’ve revealed some of the key benefits of interactive video in learning and development so you can better understand why it’s important to incorporate it into your learning and training strategies and processes. 

Improved Knowledge Retention 

Statistics reveal that only 47% of viewers watch a video to the end, which means that 53% don’t finish watching. This is problematic, as viewers could potentially miss the key message that your training is trying to communicate. 

With interactive videos, however, viewers can actively engage with the subject matter and so are more likely to absorb the information. Ensuring that you combine engaging and compelling narratives and storylines in videos alongside good interactive activities will guarantee that you grab your audience’s attention.

Makes Learning More Accessible

Interactive videos make learning experiences much more accessible. Creating short and snappy videos with interactive elements will mean that learners will find the material much more digestible, and therefore more accessible to take away its key learnings. In a world where attention spans are dwindling more and more, ease of accessibility is essential to consider in any learning environment. 

Alongside this, the benefit of video content is that it can be accessed repeatedly. Unlike in-person classes, videos provide an opportunity for learners to re-address content whenever they want, making it easier for those who need to give certain topics additional attention to do so. This is also considerably more cost-effective, as in-person training can be costly especially if delivered multiple times. 

Interactive videos are also accessible due to their being able to be accessed across a whole range of devices. Whether laptops, mobiles, or tablets, it means that a lot more learners can make the most of e-learning resources. 

Personalised Learning Journey

Thanks to interactive videos, learners can have an active hand in altering the direction that their learning takes. Interactive videos themselves can be built so that, as learners progress through resources, the responses they make will impact the topics and activities that they are offered later down the line to best support their learning. 

This interactive element will make learning all the more personal and will better guide learners in developing the skills and knowledge they need. This also plays a significant role in making your learners feel valued, which has a knock-on effect in improving engagement and satisfaction in their roles and benefits your business. 

Analysing Progress

When utilising a learning management system whilst offering training that incorporates interactive videos, the progress that your learners make can be tracked and stored for you to view. This is beneficial for employers and managers to see what areas learners may be struggling with and therefore where they may require additional training or education. 

Encourages Learners to Think Critically 

Many interactive video resources incorporate some form of task or activity that is scenario-based, such as a case study or storyline. By engaging learners with these types of activities, they have to think outside of the box and utilise the knowledge they’ve acquired on a topic to solve a problem or form a decision. This tests learners’ critical thinking skills, which is essential in any workplace or education setting for success.

How Can Interactive Videos Be Used in Learning and Development? 

There are several ways that interactive videos can be used to support learning and development. We’ve highlighted five key ways to do this for those hoping to integrate interactive videos into their learning and development strategy.

Support ‘Just-in-time’ Learning

To support employee development, relevant learning should be available on demand and accessible for when employees need it. Providing short bursts of digital content in the form of interactive videos can enable employees to access information anywhere, at any time, and at any pace. 

This is particularly useful for those who learn using mobile technology too, as they can easily access resources - including interactive videos - from a range of devices, allowing them to learn even when they’re on the go, rather than in one environment, like an office. 

Show Multiple Outcomes

Interactive videos allow viewers to control what happens next and see the outcome of their decisions. This permits branching, choices and consequences, and enables employees to be in the middle of the action, driving their own experience. So, by incorporating interactive videos into your learning and development strategy, it is important to explain to employees how their actions will drive their learning journey, so they understand the importance of being fully engaged with these resources. 

Further Information or Clarification

Hotspots and pop-ups can be incorporated into a video in several ways, including:

• To highlight important aspects that require additional attention
• To point out best, or incorrect, practices
• To bring up further information
• To ask questions
• To jump to other sections

As such, having these elements embedded into your interactive video can prove beneficial to ensure that your workforce gains the essential additional information they may need to understand a topic entirely. A good example of this is Stagework’s ‘A Conversation with Sir Ian McKellen’, where Sir Ian McKellen discusses Richard III and Shakespeare based on questions which can be selected in any order.

Show Multiple Perspectives

Allowing employees to experience different points of view in real-life situations can help them to see how their actions affect other people, promoting a higher awareness of their role and empathy towards coworkers or customers. 

Multiple perspectives can also be used to provide personalised experiences, so employees can go through learning tailored to their role. This example, developed by the UK Resuscitation Council as a way to educate viewers about CPR, handles this extremely well.

Implement Gamification

Interactive video can also offer some aspects of gamification within a disciplined and consistent learning experience. The content of the video can promote the key message, but the interaction can offer a fun twist, like this example by Rapt Media and Warner Bros.

Incorporating game elements into your interactive videos can prove to be a great way to increase engagement further, and ensure that your employees enjoy their learning experiences.

FAQs

What is the Future of Interactive Media? 

As the landscape of internet content and learning continues to evolve, the future of interactive media is somewhat of a mystery to industries across the globe. 

But if one thing’s for certain, it’s going to be essential to ensure that media, whether interactive videos or otherwise, are inclusive and accessible for all. This means creating user-friendly interfaces and designs and even assistive technologies to ensure that everyone can benefit from learning new skills and digesting information.

What is an Interactive Learning Activity? 

Interactive learning involves getting individuals engaged and interacting with a learning process. As such, an interactive learning activity could be several different things, from team-based discussions to sessions with quizzes. Any activity that encourages and actively engages learners to become involved in the learning process can be considered interactive. 

What are the Three Components of Interactive Learning? 

There are three components that professionals recommend must be included in all interactive learning techniques: engagement, interaction, and feedback. You want to actively engage learners so that they’re paying attention to a topic, you want to get them engaged during activities that involve interaction, and you want to gain their feedback during this process.

Summary

Now more than ever, learning and development strategies are becoming more and more important to employees and employers alike to help working professionals grow in their roles and teams to work effectively and efficiently for the benefit of their business. 

Interactive video is a game-changing resource that has several benefits to being implemented into a learning and development strategy, from increasing engagement to being inclusive and supporting employees to develop critical thinking skills. Thanks to interactive videos, learning and development can be delivered in an accessible, personalised, and digestible format to learners all around the world, and can be flexibly incorporated into several educational and professional settings seamlessly. 

We hope this article has shared with you how you can harness the full potential of interactive videos in your learning and development strategy and understand why it is so important to do so. 

We offer bespoke training solutions that are high-quality and innovative which can be customised to your organisation's needs, and can incorporate interactive video elements to deliver core learning and training to your team. If you’re looking to enhance your L&D strategy, you can learn more about these custom e-learning solutions on our website.