Of all the underrated tools on the web, Slideshare is one of the biggest examples. For many who are hoping to promote, it is last on the list of helpful social dashboards. Yet, it offers a unique and effective way to increase the power of your social brand.
The lack of oversaturation means your chances of visibility are also increased, while using a visual branding method that sticks in people’s minds. Everything from a logo to a certain style can be used to great effect, giving you an immediately recognizable format.
Unfortunately, there isn’t nearly enough information out there on how to best utilize Slideshare for this purpose. The articles that exist are usually a few years out of date, and don’t take into account the changes that have occurred more recently. Or indeed look at the culture as it exists today, and how people take advantage of the platform.
New ways to use Slideshare will be coming as new features are released and we see more site integration with third party platforms. For now, here are some ways you can build your own personal brand using the slideshow network.
Upload Conference Presentations
Not everyone can attend a conference. But those who can’t will still want to benefit from the information, and you can help them to do that.
Slideshare is the perfect platform for presentations used in conferences. Not only will you reach an online audience that couldn’t attend, but people who saw it and want to refer to or share it can do so.
Anyone who speaks at public events, from huge expos to small meetups, should be using Slideshare.
Example: Co-citation and Authors – by @JimBoykin
Increase Your Authority
People who have slideshows know their stuff. At least, that is the perception. Breaking down a topic into easily understandable and visual pieces is a great way to show you truly understand the subject.
When you show yourself to be an authority on the topic, your reputation online grows. This is the essence of brand building; you have to show that you are worth listening to. Slideshare is a great tool to achieve that end.
Tell A Story
Not just any story, but your story. Let people know who you are, where you came from, and how you have gotten where you are now.
The visuals of a presentation let you tell a story in an engaging and memorable way, filled with visual cues and memory or emotion triggering images. Don’t just be a presenter, be a storyteller.
Emiland De Cubber’s deck is a great example of a memorable personal story told via a presentation:
Be Immediately Recognizable In Style
There are some boring looking Slideshares out there. In fact, I would say that makes up the majority. Sure, you can get the more dedicated in your industry to stick with a bland looking collection of bulleted slides, but they will immediately forget who created it.
Use tricks that you would normally use for other content on your slideshow. Have a bright and attractive, eye catching cover image. Make the headline really pop out and grab the viewer by the collar. Don’t overcrowd your slides, and instead present the info in an appealing way.
Most of all, remain consistent across all presentations. Have a style that is immediately recognizable, so your fans will always know who made the presentation.
I like how GetResponse brands their official SlideShare channel: Very simple, yet clean and memorable:
Go With Traditional Essay Formats
Blog posts are formatted for online viewing. And slideshows are just another medium for the same kind of content, right? Wrong!
Actually, you should follow by a much more traditional essay style, similar to how you learned to write in school. Present your objectives or points right off the bat, then spend the rest of the slides elaborating.
This will tell others what is coming, and keep them invested. When you have a format that encourages rapid skimming like a slideshow, you want to give some extra incentive to stick it out and really listen to (or read) what you have to say.
Make People Want To Engage With A Clear CTA
So many people forget to include a call to action with their slideshows! It is maddening, because it completely goes against the fundamental purpose behind having content in the first place. You are not just throwing data at someone, you are trying to engage an audience.
How can you do that if you don’t direct them towards that engagement? You can’t, and that is why the lack of CTA’s on many otherwise awesome Slideshare presentations is a clear indication of why they are not more well known.
Send people to your social media profiles, to your website, and ask them to share your presentation. Ask them to follow your profile to keep an eye on new content. Ask them for their opinions to elicit a comment or two.
Not spurring the reader into action is one of the cardinal sins of content creation.
Read further: 5 Tips to Create an Effective Slideshare Call-to-Action
Connect With Other Platforms
Whether you are embedding it into a blog post, or sharing it directly on LinkedIn, you should be spreading your Slideshare around as much as possible.
Share on social media, and try to widen your audience by pushing it on platforms you know get the highest level of engagement. Pinterest is another great one, as it matches the visual tone of the medium. If you used an eye catching cover like suggested before, you will be sure to find success on pinboards.
Conclusion
Slideshare is amazing, there is no doubt about it. Using it can be a fantastic way to establish your brand in a visual way, acting as an authority and a storyteller, engaging and spreading yourself across the web with very little effort. But you have to know what to do.
The good news is that it is pretty simple, as you can see from the easy to follow tips above. Just a bit of effort towards creating quality content, and some focus on connecting with interested viewers, and you will reap the benefits.
Have any tips for using Slideshare? Have a case study on a company that managed to take advantage of it as a builder? Or maybe you did yourself? Let us know in the comments!
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SlideShare is a undervalued platform for establishing a Personal Brand as a thought leader and/or authority. I advise my colleagues to leverage the platform in several key ways and I’ve found regular SlideShare engagement can lead to an increase in speaking gigs and even radio and television appearances for more established brands.