SlideShare: Unfamiliar, Underused, and Unparalleled
SlideShare, an online presentation and slide hosting site, has been dubbed in the social marketing world as the future of content marketing. It’s a resource that inbound marketers are utilizing to draw client and consumer attention in all sorts of industries, and yet it’s still underused and unfamiliar to many companies, brands, and people. Since its creation in 2006, it has become available on all mobile devices through the SlideShare app, was bought by LinkedIn in 2012, and has recently become incorporated into Hubspot’s services.
Hubspot’s been on the SlideShare train for a while now, but waited until recently (we don’t know WHY) to integrate the brand’s platform into their lead generation feature. A few months back, they posted a blog article with the Top 25 Presentations on SlideShare Every Marketer Should See that we LOVE.
Before we tell how to do it, here’s why you should:
Buffer found that SlideShare has 50 million unique visitors per month, 7 million views daily and collects 500% more traffic from business owners than Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Need we convince you more?
FPD has created a list of 7 actionable best practices for SlideShare for users new and old, expert of beginner, that we hope will make you question your marketing principles (if you don’t already use SlideShare, of course!).
Secrets to SlideShare Success
- Make it long-lasting. Was the presentation previously shared at a live event? In order to keep your content relevant, make sure to edit the slides so that they can be read at any time, anywhere and still get across the ideas and information you want to share. If philosopher Adam Smith was uploading a powerpoint that he gave to government officials about his “laissez faire” ideology, he may want to change the language to connect with today’s viewers versus those who originally heard it in 1776 (bad example, we know).
- Make it thought-provoking. One of the key problems with failed SlideShare content is the dullness of the written content. Take an extra few minutes to create exciting, eye-catching titles and slides that will keep your viewer interested and inspired. Which leads us to our next point…
- Make it visually stimulating. Visually, presentations can be a drag, maybe because they bring you back to highschool or college and the slides that made you drool on your desk in deep sleep. SlideShare presentations are most shared and successful when they are visually appealing. Without straying from your brand’s core values, try to incorporate appealing and unique styles and images.
- Make it organized. You never want your viewer to be wondering when the presentation is over when viewing a SlideShare. The interface does tell you which slide you are currentlyu viewing out of the total in the presentation; however it is important to also give the viewer a presentation outline. By doing so, it illustrates a professional, organized feel to your content and gives the viewer a clear message at to your purpose and goal for sharing the message.
- Make it difficulty free. Does your formatting transfer well? Whether you’re uploading a PowerPoint or a PDF makes a huge difference. Make sure to recognize that links and formatting change when uploading your slides through PowerPoint. In addition, GIF and animations are not yet compatible, so keep that in mind when creating your presentations.
- Make it actionable. Include links for viewers to DO. Whether you want your audience to read more, learn more, sign up, shop, follow, etc. there’s no purpose in creating content without linking it back to your main purpose for sharing, whatever it may be.
- Make it worthy. Most importantly, make sure the content you are sharing with your audience is worth their time. There are thousands of articles, videos, photos, and presentations being created and shared every day. After your viewer sees your content, you’ll want them to be talking about it, and sharing it, for days.
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