9 Examples of Seriously Cool Interactive Tools, Calculators, & More

Jeff Bullas may have put it best when he said “No doubt you’ve heard the phrase ‘content is king,’ however…. I believe that ‘interactive content is king.”

Marketing continues to change at a rapid pace because consumers and end-users are continuously evolving the way they engage with content online.

It seems fewer people are opting into reading long whitepapers or eBooks and, instead, gravitating towards content that is more actively engaging, quick to consume, and catered personally to them.

Hello, video, right? But video isn’t the only content option you have when wanting to provide your users with fun, personalized content.

Interactive content like calculators, assessments, generators, and quizzes among other things can keep users engaged with your brand and on your page longer with useful, relevant information while often still giving your team the ability to capture their opt-in information.

In fact, statistics show 88% marketers list interactive content as an effective way to differentiate their brand, with 58% saying their existing content doesn’t create enough opportunity for engagement.

From ROI calculators to style assessments, let’s take a look at 9 effectively engaging interactive content tools and what you can learn from them.

1. HubSpot’s Website Grader

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve used HubSpot’s Website Grader as a tool to show clients just how vital improvements to their website are.

The headline “How Strong is Your Website?” grabs any user’s attention who is considering a website redesign. It presents a challenge; an opportunity to see how your work stacks up to HubSpot’s standards.

After plugging in your URL and email address (there’s that clever lead gen aspect), you then receive a free “grade” of your site.

The entire report is customized to your website. It breaks down four critical areas: performance, mobile, SEO, and security.

Then, if you saw a concerning score, it would be hard not to convert on the free trial offer at the end of the result page to receive HubSpot’s default configuration.

2. ThirdLove’s Fit Finder

Did you know nearly 80% of women wear the wrong bra size on a regular basis?

ThirdLove set out to solve for this issue with its Fit Finder® quiz, a personalized tool where women are able to answer a few short questions to find a better fitting bra.

The best part?  They provide users with the reassurance and confidence that their Fit Finder works saying, “We’re confident you’ll love the fit, feel, and style of our bras. If you’re not 100% happy with your purchase, we'd love to help.”

At that point, you can order a bra to try on in the comfort of your home for free. You’re only charged for the bra if you love it and keep it, andany returned items are donated to a charity to provide bras to women in need.

Even if they’re not in the market for a new bra, I think it would be hard to find a woman who wouldn’t take this quiz even out of curiosity.

3. ClosetWorks’ Style Quiz

When I was decorating my apartment, I wished I had Joanna Gaines on speedial but, alas, no such luck.

Decorating or organizing your apartment is an extremely personal thing. More often than not, it’s a reflection of your personality, lifestyle, and what’s important to you.

ClosetWorks (A former IMPACT client) offers custom organization solutions and with this  style quiz, users can select different furniture styles, patterns, colors, and more that best match their personal taste.

What I love most about this offer is that the results page not only offers you a simple explanation of your style, but also includes related resources you can use to get started decorating or organizing.

4. Sydcon’s Assessment

Sydcon (another former IMPACT client) provides custom software development and the most commonly asked question by users is if they truly need custom development for their project.

To help answer that question, Sydcon created an interactive assessment for users to take.

In this assessment, users simply select what their main goal is and a few points about their project before entering their name, email, and company name to receive their results.

Not only is this personal to the user’s project and help answer their biggest question, it also helps qualify leads, alerting sales to those that are (and are not) a good fit to work with.

5. Trunk Club’s Style Profile

Founded in 2009, Trunk Club set out to solve a simple problem:

“Building a great wardrobe is hard. We make it easier by connecting people with personal stylists, online or in person at one of our six Clubhouses.”

It all starts by creating a style profile that is then sent to a personal stylist.

During the style profile assessment, you go through a series of questions that not only focuses on your style but also your budget.

For both men and women, Trunk Club shows you multiple clothing and shoe options, posing the question “How much do you typically spend on these items?” with the goal of ensuring you’ll be sent items in a price range you’re comfortable with.

From there, you’re able to communicate with your stylist -- reviewing and approving select items to be shipped your way.

This offer is great because it takes into account all of the common factors that people consider when shopping for clothing to deliver results that you’ll truly be happy with.  

6. HubSpot’s Advertising ROI Calculator

No surprise here that HubSpot has made our list twice; the marketing platform is renowned for creating creative, engaging, personalized content on a regular basis.

And why not? When it tested it, personalized content performed 42% better.

Here we have its  ad ROI calculator, another favorite tool of mine.

Unlike Website Grader, the ROI calculator is completely ungated (meaning you don’t need to give up your email address or name to engage with it).

You do, however, need to have a good understanding of your business.

For instance, you need to be able to enter an estimated amount for a monthly budget, targeted conversion rate, average sales price, and more.

The result is so worth the thought. After scaling the fields to reflect your appropriate estimates, you can a full breakdown (in real time!) of:

• Number of clicks
• Number of leads
• Cost per lead
• Value of a lead
• Expected revenue
• Expected profit
• Return on ad spend

Now, even though this doesn’t have a form attached to it, this page is clearing targeting a very specific issue. If HubSpot takes a look at the contacts who have visited this page and it could have a good idea of what pain point or problem they’re trying to solve.  

7. Employee Fiduciary’s Pricing Tool

Employee Fiduciary (a current IMPACT client) provides low-cost 401(k) plans to small business owners.

Can you guess what every employer wants to know?

Cost. How much will opening a 401(k) plan cost me?

To help answer that question, Employee Fiduciary created a quick and easy-to-use pricing tool where users can answer 2-3 questions (depending on their first answer) to see exactly what their annual base fee will be.

The results page then goes on to provide fee comparisons of more than 50 other 401(k) providers, solidifying the fact that Employee Fiduciary is truly the low-cost provider.

8. ISideWith’s Political Quiz

Though they say never talk politics in business, this has to be one of my favorite quizzes.

ISideWith allows you to answer questions to unbiasedly see which political parties and candidates you side with.

Politics are hard! And if the last presidential election taught us anything, it’s the power of persuasion and perception.

ISideWith helps citizens see -- without prejudice -- what officials they should be voting for based on how well the users’ personal beliefs or answers align with the different candidates’ stances and viewpoints.

Try it out! You may be surprised with the results.

9. TRUPOINT Partners’ Budgeting Tool

When your department’s budget is often scrutinized, every dollar counts.

When TRUPOINT Partners (another IMPACT client) realized its target audience of compliance officers had a hard time determining a proper budget for their compliance programs, it set out to provide clarity.

TRUPOINT’s Budgeting Tool does this by allowing compliance officers to see what kind of budget range they should request when planning for their compliance program.

Get Interactive!

Regardless of the format your choose, interactive content tools can help engage your user and create a more memorable experience with your brand that’s worth talking about.

But more than that, tools like those I shared can also increase your conversion rate. In fact, interactive content like these calculators, assessments and quizzes can convert twice as much as passive content like articles.

So, are you going to give interactive content a try? What cool examples have you come across? Let me know your plan in the comments below!