IMPACT OF MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS ON USER ENGAGEMENT AND CONTENT RETENTION IN DIGITAL PLATFORMS

Abstract

Introduction: In the digital age, multimedia elements have become an integral part of content delivery across various platforms.
Objectives: The main objective of the study is to find the impact of multimedia elements on user engagement and content retention in digital platforms.
Material and methods: This mix-method approach study was conducted at Westcliff University, Irvine, CA, USA in Collaboration with Ziauddin University Karachi Pakistan from August 2022 to March 2023. Data were collected from 195 participants from different fields who used multimedia. Participants were selected using stratified sampling to ensure representation across various demographic groups, including age, gender, educational background, and digital literacy levels. The sample included users of diverse digital platforms such as educational websites, e-commerce sites, social media platforms, and news portals. Surveys and questionnaires were distributed online to gather data from a sample of 195 participants.
Results: Multimedia content, including videos, images, and interactive features, achieved significantly higher engagement levels (75%) compared to text-only content (25%). Similarly, multimedia content led to better content retention, with 70% of participants recalling information compared to 40% for text-only content. Moreover, user satisfaction was notably higher for multimedia-enhanced content, averaging 4.2 out of 5, whereas text-only content received a lower satisfaction rating of 3.3 out of 5.
Conclusion: It is concluded that multimedia elements significantly enhance user engagement and content retention in digital platforms, as evidenced by both quantitative metrics and qualitative insights.