Originally Posted on Edelman Digital
As a public relations firm, we are always looking to engage with key audiences and share ideas though unique avenues. Recently, we began doing this through SlideShare. Think of it as YouTube for documents: SlideShare offers us a platform for listening and discussing what matters most to our work, our clients, and the industries and communities we participate in.
As communicators creating new content moving forward, we keep in mind the below five best practices for creating and sharing effective content on SlideShare:
1. Make It Visual
Some of the most viewed and shared presentations on Slideshare go beyond bullet points and extensive copy in favor of highly visual presentations that communicate ideas quickly and in an engaging fashion. Presentations can be made more visual by leveraging imagery from sources such as Flickr pending that a user has a Creative Commons license stating that the work is free to use pending attribution to the creator. Presentations that use info graphics, charts and information design instead of text-based data points also tend to do well and shared more often.
2. Have a Definitive POV
POVs and perspectives distributed on Slideshare must be definitive, ownable and expressed in a compelling way. In other words, the creator of the content needs to be opinionated and the creation must communicate these opinions in clear and memorable ways. Models and case studies should be used to help communicate and support ideas, theories and perspectives.
3. Share What You Know (and Make It Interesting)
Slideshare’s ecosystem rewards individuals and brands if they openly share knowledge in compelling ways. Pick topics that have strong communities around them and then produce a deck that tells a story about what you know and teaches the reader something. Focusing on both specialized content catered to a specific audience targets the presentation and increases the odds of it getting circulated. Good writing, images and storytelling techniques are what will make the knowledge compelling.
4. Include Others
Just like other forms of social media, putting the spotlight on others is an effective tactic in SlideShare. The inclusion of others and their opinions opens up the content to their networks and puts the author of the presentation in the position of curator. This combination creates both value and increases the odds of the slideshow getting circulated.
5. Give Your Presentation A Theme
Memorable presentations sometimes break the mold a bit and feature custom themes in the form of a concept, a visual language or even the voice of the presentation. Typically themes are most effective when all three work together. Themes help make the content more interesting, relevant and enjoyable.
This week Edelman launched our official Edelman SlideShare Network to help share more presentations, documents and content with the world through SlideShare’s growing community. Within the network, specific channels are tailored to various Edelman content categories; Edelman Showcase – provides a look at client programs from our practices; Edelman Talks – serves as the hub for presentations from conferences and speaking engagements; Edelman Insights – acts as the home for all Edelman IP; and Edelman Etc. – offers an eclectic outlet for Edelman employees to share their interests and passions. Edelman Digital even uses Slideshare to showcase its portfolio which lives both on Slideshare and Edelmandigital.com. Slideshare combined with great content and presentations gives communicators the ability to make their content more compelling, portable and sharable.
