Interactive video for sales

The pitch is already recorded, and the viewer can only watch. Interactive video software is the player layer that adds a click: a path, a button, a gate, or a form.

If the next scene depends on an answer, use a branching editor. If the pitch is one straight line, put a timed button, a play gate, or a form on that line. I would settle that job before I compare hosts.

Open the six-question player picker

Details below come from each vendor's product and pricing pages, and from what long-term users report. We read those pages before we name a fit. That method is explained on the How we rate page.

Vimeo describes viewers taking part through branching, quizzes, polls, hotspots, and shoppable elements. The same page sells video branching as choose-your-own-adventure paths, and its FAQ says the editor is drag-and-drop, with no coding required.

On a sales or marketing page, that means a button, a form, a gate, or a path the viewer chooses, not a game inside the video.

Wistia's interactive page names in-video forms, chapters, calls to action, and links. Those are clicks on one recording. They are a different job from a story that forks.

To create an interactive video for a pitch, follow Vimeo's FAQ. Plan the moments where someone chooses or answers. Upload the file. Add the buttons, hotspots, quizzes, or branching. Test the path, then publish.

1. Mark each moment a viewer chooses or answers a question.
2. Upload the recording to the host.
3. Add the button, hotspot, quiz, or branch at that moment.
4. Play it through, then publish.

Wistia limits each video to one form and one button. You can add as many annotation links as you want, and those tools cannot overlap in time. A second ask on that host is an annotation link.

A fork is worth the setup when two viewers should see different scenes. One offer, told once, does not need that build.

Vidalytics calls these Interactive Smart Vids. The features page describes a flowchart, jumps in the middle of the video, and CRM tags taken from the viewer's choice. A countdown can send anyone who does not choose down a default path.

Building that flowchart, including the default path, is the work. The pricing page puts the editor on Premium and Enterprise. Anything past the flowchart is in the Vidalytics review. If Wistia is the other host on the shortlist, read Vidalytics vs Wistia.

Vimeo's interactive editor is the other place that markets a branching path you assemble in the browser. A sales or demo route can be one of those paths. Wistia vs Vimeo compares the two hosts. The Vimeo review goes further into the host.

One recording, one offer. The click can appear before playback, at a chosen second, or after the viewer pauses. Nobody picks a second storyline.

Wistia's pricing page puts buttons and forms on Business. Marketing-automation integrations and pipeline attribution sit on Business + Signals. Open the Wistia review if you are choosing a plan for the whole account.

SproutVideo includes timed buttons inside the player, lead-capture gates, and post-play screens on every plan, including Seed. The pricing page groups those with CRM integrations. The host, past the button and the form, is written up in the SproutVideo review.

Spotlightr includes clickable buttons and in-video lead capture starting on the Light plan, along with more than 20 overlay templates and email or SMS gating. Quizzes are on Premium. The Spotlightr review continues from those overlays.

Vidalytics Play Gates collect an opt-in on top of the video, including when someone pauses. The form can ask for a name, an email, a phone number, or a combination of those. That replaces a separate opt-in page for this one recording.

Vimeo's lead-generation page says each in-player form holds up to 20 custom fields, and playback resumes once the viewer submits. A gate can sit before the video, at a mid-roll timestamp, or on the end screen. Submissions can sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, or Marketo with the video title and the timestamp.

SproutVideo's pricing page lists CRM integrations beside the lead form. On a G2 discussion, a buyer asks how to fire a Facebook Pixel when someone submits that form, and assumes it has to be done in code because they see no integration. I would budget for custom code if a Facebook Pixel has to fire when that form is submitted.

Vidyard video actions add a button or a link while a hosted video plays. Starter includes CTA templates. Custom buttons that use HTML or a form start on Teams. The templates fit a single click on a clip sent to one person. Sending a clip, past that button, is written up in the Vidyard review.

I would start with Vidalytics when the next scene depends on the answer and the CRM should store that choice. I would skip a branching editor for one straight recording: Wistia Business if the file already lives there, SproutVideo or Spotlightr if you want the click on an entry plan. Vidyard's templates are what I would use for a clip one rep sends to one person. I'd judge the host by whether the click it offers is the click the pitch needs.

If you are still unsure which job you have, answer the six questions. The full ranking is on the best video sales tools page. For the fork versus the single pitch, the longer reads are the Vidalytics review and the Wistia review.

Open the six-question player picker