5 Tips for Creating Engaging, On-Demand Content

With companies rushing to convert their live training offerings to an on-demand, course module format, you may be wondering how you can still incorporate engagement or interactive elements into your content.

Just because your on-demand course content is self-paced and available for your learners to consume without a live instructor walking them through the process, it doesn’t mean that you can’t engage with and excite your audience! Here are a handful of the options that you have for incorporating learner engagement techniques into your current and future course offerings.

Mix up your format

Changing up the format of your content within your catalog (or individual courses) is a great way to break up the monotony for your learners. Visual changes to content can act as a way to keep learners engaged as they view your training material. Don’t be afraid to try new formats or techniques. For example, a mix of on-camera and presenter mode is a great way to give your audience a face to connect with while they go through training.

Make your content interactive

While interaction is practically built into in-person training, there are ways that you can still get your audience to participate in activities that allow your learners to extend learning beyond the materials in a course. An easy way to get started would be to create an introductory text lesson for your course. Here you can provide an outline of what to expect in the rest of the course, but also provide links to handouts, documents, webpages, and online collaboration tools. A summary lesson at the end of your course can include the same valuable resources, as well as provide recommended links for exploring more. Interactions with your learners typically provide ways for your audience to explore beyond the content provided as well as deepen their understanding.

Use Polls/Surveys

We’ve probably all had an instructor at a live event ask questions to get a feel for the audience throughout the training. Gaining input using polls and surveys in on-demand training content is also essential for gathering learner feedback. Utilizing short polls periodically during your courses to check for understanding and get a read on how learning is going can give you a sense of their understanding, but it also lets you know if you should make edits to the material or create additional content to help with areas they’re consistently struggling.

Gamify it

Finding ways to add interactive gaming elements into your course material can really enhance the learner experience and make it exciting. Awarding points for certain achievements, hiding ‘easter eggs’ in your videos, and providing links to review games are just a few ways that on-demand content can be transformed into game-like learning. Promoting a sense of friendly competition can encourage your audience to engage with others and try their best.

Provide opportunities to connect

Just because your learners are absorbing your on-demand material at their own pace doesn’t mean that they aren’t looking for ways to connect with you and their peers. Comment sections in courses, online communities, on-topic webinars, and virtual events are all ways that you could encourage your audience to extend learning beyond the course itself as well as provide outlets for asking questions and sharing their experiences.  

Want to learn more? We’re working on a new course in Skilljar Academy, called Creating Engaging On-Demand Content – stay tuned for its launch! For additional detail surrounding these techniques and to see some of them in action, be sure to check it out in Skilljar Academy!