Social-sector organizations are turning to chatbots to meet their goals for learning initiatives. It’s challenging, though, to attract users to educational content. Think about how you might feel if you click on a link and get a 50-page document in a new browser tab. Like most users, you might close both tabs and move on. The user hasn’t received the message. Quizzes, though, are a great addition to a chatbot that delivers educational content.
Quizzes are already proven to get users’ attention. Back in 2016, Content Marketing Institute noted that 81% of marketers thought people paid more attention to interactive content, like quizzes, than static content. How much more? The 2019 State of Interactive Content Marketing report put that engagement rate at 2x higher. Those numbers aren’t surprising. Quizzes offer a brief, fun experience and even pique users’ curiosity. We usually think of quizzes as a way to show what someone learned, but they can also educate users about topics your organization values. We’ll look at 3 reasons that quizzes in chatbots can be a valuable tool to educate your audience.
1. Respond to User Preferences
Quizzes help users explore the key information a chatbot provides in the way they prefer. We often may think that users start with content and then move on to quizzes. When given a choice, though, users just as often prefer to engage with a quiz first instead of longer content. They want to see what they do and do not know. Then, they will review the content sections they want to know more about. Users may even end up taking a quiz several times because they want to get a better score or see what the bot says.
We developed a chatbot named Maya for Plan International Nepal to educate Nepali youth about the risks of human trafficking. Maya has 3 true/false quizzes related to 3 topics – trafficking, online safety, and safe migration for work. We’ve seen that about 26% of users choose an information module before a quiz, and 27% choose a quiz module first. Empowering users to choose how they want to receive information boosts learning.
By taking into account user preferences, your organization can attract a more diverse audience. That means more visibility for your organization and its ideas.
2. Increase Engagement
Users stick with quizzes longer than less interactive types of content. Chatbots can serve various types of content like video and images. This content, though, often doesn’t take advantage of the interactivity chatbots can bring. Users don’t have to stay in a chatbot longer than they want to. Even if they access a document or resource, users may leave before even reading it.
Quizzes give users a reason to stay – to see their score. They know the experience will be pretty short. The brevity, interactivity, and purposefulness of quizzes encourage users to stay longer. In Maya, most users finish an entire quiz once they start. Quizzes in Maya generally see a 25% drop-off, meaning that 75% of users finish the quiz. That engagement is much harder to achieve in sections that only deliver information.
Users engage with quizzes, and that interest can benefit your organization. They may want to know more about a topic or about your organization. A well-placed CTA after the quiz could take them to a newsletter subscription or a donation page. In short, users may explore more of what your organization has to offer.
3. Learn What People Are Learning
The quiz responses you get can show what your audience is learning through the chatbot. A user accessing content does not mean they learned the information well. Quizzes can help you see which topics, or even specific parts of topics, people are less familiar with. True/False quizzes provide an easy means of getting averages. Short answer responses can show users’ thoughts, such as what lesson they valued most. Your organization can use quiz responses to improve the chatbot and its content. But, keep in mind that users explore quizzes by intentionally giving wrong answers. The data quizzes provide can be useful, but it needs to be analyzed with care.
Quizzes aren’t just for schools, they can be a valuable tool in your chatbot. A well-designed quiz can give users key information in an engaging way. They can give your organization insights into what your audience is learning. Quizzes work well with other content that your chatbot might serve. We’ve put together some tips for making effective quizzes to educate your audience.
10 Tips for Making Quality Chatbot Quizzes
- Limit quizzes to 5-10 questions
- Make the answer choices clear
- Give feedback after each question instead of at the end
- Question + Answer + Feedback should fit in the chatbot window
- Set expectations with directions and explanations before the quiz
- Pick questions that target the most important information users should know
- Tie quiz items to your organization’s objectives
- Add prompts from the quiz to other content (or vice versa)
- Give users the option to share their results
- Consider having CTAs like email subscriptions or signups after the quiz
We can help you leverage chatbots to educate your audience about important issues. We make chatbots that not only use quizzes but also other engaging content to spread your message.
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