In a survey conducted by Sprout Social, 46% of consumers indicated that they want brands to create interactive social content. Interactive content is a great way to encourage fans to engage with your brand on social media. It is a way to acknowledge the presence of your followers and to show that you are sincere in building a meaningful relationship with them.

Here are five creative and interactive content ideas for your brand’s Instagram account.

1. “Stop-motion” Instagram Story

On Valentine’s Day this year, we gave our fans a fun little treat on Instagram Story.

Inspired by stop-motion animation where movement is created through the sequencing of static visuals, we invited fans to “grow” a flower through the simple act of tapping on their phone screens. It’s probably not the fanciest Valentine’s Day gift but the effect was still pretty cool, if we dare say so ourselves.

2. Gamification

You might’ve already guessed that “gamification” comes from the word “game”. It is the process of making use of the existing functions of a platform to implement game mechanics.

Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it sounds. It doesn’t have to be AAA-level stuff.

Check out how one user, jamesp0p, created a simple but pretty fun game out of Instagram’s ‘like’ function.

It’s such a novel concept that it’s actually quite irresistible. Who wouldn’t try to catch those hearts?

The mechanics of this mini-game are really simple. In fact, the simpler the better; overly-complicated rules may end up being a turn-off.

3. Creating a story

Instagram is probably the last place you’d think to find a mystery.

Crittersville is an interactive story on Instagram created by Behance user Fong Xue Ting. Users are invited to solve the kidnapping of a chick named Pippin Peep by methodologically exploring each grid, starting from the one on the bottom right of the screen.

This is probably one of the most creative uses of Instagram we’ve seen. Think of the possibilities for your brand – you could tell your own story or even organise an online scavenger hunt.

4. Polls & Quizzes

Out of all the items on our list, polls and quizzes may sound the least avant-garde but that doesn’t mean they’re less effective.

Instagram polls aren’t just a Millennial’s tool for shifting the burden of decision-making onto others (should I go for an avocado or cheese toast?), they are also great for instilling a little fun.

Check out how Oceana has been using Instagram polls to conduct mini quizzes on marine animals.

Airbnb uses the polling function in their weekly Travel Tuesday series to keep their fans coming back to their page.

5. A counterintuitive approach to carousel

Carousel posts are handy for showcasing multiple visuals in one post; that is how brands typically use them.

However, some brands are subverting this norm.

Casper, an e-commerce company that sells sleep products, uses Instagram’s Carousel function with humorous effect.

There’s no mountain that’s too high and no image that’s too big. Harley Davidson made use of the Carousel function to break up one large canvas into five separate images. Users are invited to swipe left to see the full picture.

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As social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram roll out more features, brands should relook at their marketing plans and find innovative ways to establish a real connection with their audience through interactive content. Don’t let conventions dictate your marketing strategy.