Interactive video is a type of video content that lets viewers interact with the screen through clicks, choices, and other actions. Unlike traditional video, it turns the audience from watchers into active participants. Companies use interactive video for marketing, e-learning, and brand engagement because it increases attention, provides measurable insights, and creates personalised experiences. This guide identifies interactive video's main uses as well as the formats and strategies that make it effective.
What are interactive videos used for?
Interactive video is used across industries to meet a variety of goals such as driving sales, educating audiences, and creating entertaining experiences. By requiring viewers to take part, it boosts engagement and creates a more memorable experience than traditional video. Below are five of the most common use cases for interactive video.
Product marketing
Interactive video can be adopted by marketing teams to make product promotions or product demos more engaging and persuasive. Instead of watching a standard product demo, audiences can click on hotspots to explore features, see colour or style variations, or even buy directly through a shoppable overlay. This shortens the sales funnel by reducing the steps between discovery and purchase. Interactive product videos also provide detailed analytics, such as which items were clicked most, giving brands valuable insights for campaign optimisation. For companies competing in crowded markets, interactive video marketing offers a way to capture attention, differentiate products, and directly influence buying decisions.
Shaping brand image
Brands also use interactive video to communicate values, tone, and personality. For example, a company focused on sustainability could design an interactive brand film where viewers choose different paths showing eco-friendly initiatives in action. This creates a personal connection with the brand’s story while reinforcing credibility. Interactive storytelling helps audiences feel like participants in the brand’s mission. This approach is especially valuable in sectors where brand identity and emotional connection drive loyalty, such as fashion, lifestyle, and technology. By aligning interactivity with narrative, companies strengthen how audiences perceive and remember them.
Raising awareness
Public service organisations, NGOs, and nonprofits use interactive video to raise awareness of important issues. Unlike traditional PSAs that viewers may skim past, interactive videos prompt active engagement through clickable prompts, decision points, or embedded learning modules. This makes the content more memorable and impactful. For example, campaigns have used interactive video to educate audiences about accessibility, healthcare, and climate change, encouraging viewers to think critically and take action. By requiring participation, interactive video ensures that viewers are not only exposed to a message but also interact with it, which increases retention and emotional impact (a crucial aspect of awareness-driven campaigns).
E-learning
Interactive video is an extremely effective tool in e-learning and workplace training. Learners retain more information when they are asked to participate, and interactive video delivers that through quizzes, branching scenarios, clickable diagrams, and step-by-step tutorials. If you ran a coffee company, for example, and wanted to train interns to make coffee correctly, you could create a video that allows them to choose ingredients, methods, and steps along the way. This kind of interactive practice simulates a hands-on experience while providing valuable data for trainers on where learners succeed or struggle. Because it blends flexibility with active engagement, interactive video is now widely used by universities, corporate training teams, and even small businesses to improve knowledge retention and track learner progress.
User experience & entertainment
Interactive video is a powerful way to improve user experience on websites and to create engaging entertainment. On e-commerce platforms, interactive video allows customers to explore products within a video, view details, and purchase instantly, creating a seamless and enjoyable shopping journey. This reduces friction in the buying process and makes websites more interactive. In entertainment, platforms like Netflix have used interactive storytelling in shows such as Bandersnatch and You vs. Wild. These experiences give viewers the power to shape narratives, making them more immersive and memorable than standard video. Both in UX and entertainment, interactive video shows its ability to blend convenience, creativity, and engagement in ways that resonate with modern audiences.
What are the different types of interactive videos?
Interactive video comes in many forms, each suited to different goals. Some formats are best for marketing campaigns, others for training or tourism. Below are three of the most popular types of interactive video, including some examples to show how they can be applied.
Choose your own adventure
“Choose your own adventure” videos give viewers the power to shape what they see next. At key points, the video pauses and asks the audience to make a choice, leading them down different paths. This branching format is especially effective for training and recruitment, where learners can explore realistic scenarios and see the consequences of their decisions. Businesses also use it for product demos, allowing customers to select which features they want to explore. By creating personalised pathways, this type of interactive video ensures viewers remain engaged and invested in the outcome.
360-degree and VR experiences
360-degree interactive videos let viewers look around and explore an environment from every angle, making them especially valuable in industries such as travel, real estate, and culture. Viewers can navigate a space as if they are really there, deepening immersion and understanding. For example, a tourism board might create an interactive video tour of cities such as Rome or Venice, where audiences can move through streets, landmarks, and scenic views at their own pace. For even richer immersion, virtual reality (VR) formats extend this concept to headsets like Samsung Gear VR, where core interactive elements remain accessible in a fully immersive setting.
Gamification
Gamified interactive videos turn content into a dynamic learning experience by adding challenges, quizzes, and point systems. Viewers are asked to complete tasks, answer questions, or collect points as they progress through the content. This format works particularly well in e-learning and corporate training. For instance, an educational project like World of Cultural Heritage uses interactive questions that influence the outcome of the video, helping learners stay engaged while reinforcing key knowledge. By weaving in game mechanics such as scoring, branching, and feedback, gamification encourages active participation and boosts knowledge retention.
What makes a good interactive video?
Creating an effective interactive video involves designing an experience that helps viewers learn, explore, or buy in a way that feels natural and rewarding. If you’re wondering what makes a good interactive video, here are five key steps that top brands and educators use to achieve impact.
1. Define a clear purpose
The best interactive videos start with a focused goal. Are you trying to increase product conversions, onboard new employees, raise awareness for a cause, or improve knowledge retention in training? Knowing the “why” behind your video helps you decide which interactive features will actually support your objective. For example, a software company running a product demo might use in-video CTAs to capture leads, while a coffee brand training new baristas could design a step-by-step practice video that lets staff choose ingredients and methods.
2. Understand your audience
A good interactive video resonates because it’s built with the viewer in mind. Marketers might create branded experiences that let potential customers explore features most relevant to their role, while educators might focus on knowledge checks and instant feedback for students. By tailoring content and interaction styles to your audience’s preferences, you increase engagement, completion rates, and satisfaction.
3. Match the right interactive style
Interactive videos can include branching storylines, clickable hotspots, and 360-degree views. A good interactive video matches its style to the context. For example, an HR team could use a branching scenario to let employees practise responding to workplace challenges, while a travel brand might use an interactive 360° tour to let viewers explore a destination. Platforms like Cinema8 make this easier by offering pre-built templates for quizzes, surveys, and branching paths, so you can mix and match formats without custom coding.
4. Focus on production quality
Even the most creative interactivity won’t land if the video itself is difficult to watch. High-quality visuals, clear audio, and smooth playback are all part of what makes an interactive video effective. Keep your design aligned with your brand identity. Using consistent colours, logos, and layouts builds trust and makes the experience feel professional. Cinema8’s customisable player is a great tool to ensure your interactive elements are consistent with your branding.
5. Plan for distribution and measurement
A good interactive video only delivers value if it reaches the right audience and its impact can be measured. This is where a strong video hosting platform becomes essential. Advanced hosting solutions ensure smooth playback across devices, provide secure access controls, and make it easy to embed content on websites, e-learning systems, or internal portals. They also allow you to integrate video data with tools like CRMs and LMSs, so that performance metrics feed directly into your wider strategy. With Cinema8, for example, you can export SCORM packages for training, track individual viewer activity, and maintain brand consistency through a fully customisable player. By thinking about hosting and analytics upfront, you ensure your interactive video actively drives results.
What is the future of interactive video?
Interactive video is being used in targeted areas where engagement and measurement are priorities, and this is where growth is most likely to continue. Key trends include:
- Immersive formats: 360° video is being adopted for tourism, real estate, and site training. Browser playback makes it accessible, while selective VR use adds depth for audiences with headsets.
- Data-driven insight: Platforms like Cinema8 provide granular analytics and SCORM/LRS exports, feeding data into LMSs and CRMs to link video with learning or sales outcomes.
- In-player commerce: Shoppable overlays, lead forms, and contextual pop-ups are shortening the path between discovery and action, especially in e-commerce and training environments.
How can you make your own interactive video?
Creating an interactive video requires clear goals and the right tools. If you want to create your own interactive video, follow these steps:
- Set your objective: Define whether the video will generate leads, train staff, or improve customer experience.
- Map interactions: Plan clicks, choices, or questions. For example, a training video might guide new baristas step by step through making a latte.
- Choose a hosting platform: Tools like Cinema8 provide drag-and-drop builders, templates (quizzes, hotspots, branching), and 360° support.
- Distribute and measure: Embed on your site, LMS, or CRM. Use analytics and A/B testing to refine performance.
Final thoughts on interactive video
Interactive video is steadily moving from niche experiments to practical tools for marketing, training, and customer engagement. The examples and use cases show how interactivity can make content more memorable, while formats like 360° and gamification point toward an even richer future. Success with interactive video comes down to setting clear goals, choosing the right style, and hosting on a platform that makes design, delivery, and measurement seamless.
Cinema8 brings these elements together in one platform, helping businesses build interactive video strategies that scale across departments. For organisations ready to make video work harder, now is the time to explore what interactivity can unlock. Book a demo to learn more or browse our plans to get started right away.