I’m a big fan of slide decks. When done well, they’re an incredible tool for absorbing information without actually realizing how much ground you’ve covered or the volume of new knowledge you’ve taken in.
What’s more, you don’t have to be an award-winning designer to create your own. With the right tools and a little creativity, almost anyone can kick out a slide deck that looks good and is both informative and interesting.
That said, not all slides are created equal – and there’s no shortage of decks that just aren’t worth your time. So don’t waste it! I’ve hunted high and low to find the cream of the crop and here they are – 35 of the best marketing slide decks to watch now.
Ross Hudgens – “Content Marketing in Boring Industries”
Content Marketing in Boring Industries from Ross Hudgens
Are you tasked with using content to market a “boring” industry, and feeling envious of those who get to promote “fun” industries? This one’s for you.
These are the slides from Seige Media founder Ross Hudgens’ 2013 Moz webinar, in which he demonstrates how to turn any industry on its head and create on-topic content that people want to consume – whether it’s about puppies or paper clips. You can also find the video from the presentation here.
Mark Schaefer – “6 Questions to Lead You to a Social Media Strategy”
6 Questions to Lead You to a Social Media Strategy from Mark Schaefer
In 84 quick and snappy slides, Mark will help you establish:
Whether social media is likely to be an effective tool for marketing your brand
A voice for your brand
Where your customers are hiding
How to measure your success
Overall, it’s an excellent resource for anyone debating whether or not to begin incorporating social media into their marketing strategy (hint – the answer is probably “you should”).
The Marketing Society – “Digital, Social & Mobile in 2015”
Digital, Social & Mobile in 2015 from The Marketing Society
Another social slide deck for you; this one is a detailed resource that delves into the prevalence of social media usage (both on mobile and desktop platforms) across the globe.
This is seriously valuable stuff, whether you just want to know more about how people are utilizing social media in your corner of the world, or whether you’re in the process of formulating a social strategy targeted at customers overseas.
One quick word of warning – it’s a biggie. If you’re short on time now, you might want to bookmark it for reference later.
Constant Contact – “50 Expert Tips for Getting Started on Social Media”
50 Expert Tips for Getting Started on Social Media from Constant Contact
Another worthy read for anyone about to get started using social media for business (or for anyone who already knows their stuff, but just wants to pick up a few extra pointers).
Constant Contact asked 50 social media pros: “If you were to give a one-sentence tip to a small business owner just started out with social media, what would you say?” This slideshow is their answers.
There are heaps of valuable tips and actionable ideas inside, but my favorite has to be from Ann Handley (you might have spotted her over on Marketing Profs). She says, “Be useful to your audience. Think: Would people THANK ME for this? Is it meeting their needs, or just fulfilling my agenda?”
Motivate Design – “The What If Technique”
The What If Technique presented by Motivate Design from Motivate Design
Is the growth of your business being held back by fear, tried-and-tested processes, or the resulting incremental changes? In 49 beautifully-illustrated slides, Motivated Design will show you how disruptive thinking can enable you to make BIG changes that will start driving real growth from within.
This is seriously-clever stuff, yet it’s so simple you’ll wonder how you didn’t think of it yourself. And it works – if you’ve got the guts to take risks and make great things happen.
Mark Schaefer – “Secrets to Building an Actionable Audience”
Secrets to building an actionable audience from Mark Schaefer
The best audiences are the ones that take action. These are the people that don’t just view your content – they pass it on, and, all being well, turn into customers. Put the two together and you have a seriously valuable brand advocate.
In this short but sweet slideshow, 14 industry experts share their secrets to getting the eyes of an actionable audience on your brand.
Marty Neumeier – “The Brand Gap”
The Brand Gap from coolstuff
If you’re about to start building a brand from the bottom up, or trying to identify why your brand-building efforts just aren’t catching on, this one’s for you.
The Brand Gap (the edited version of Neumeier’s book of the same name) talks viewers through the basics of establishing and executing a brand-building strategy.
Of course, I’ll be the first to admit you’re not going to learn everything about launching and honing a successful brand from a slideshow, but this is definitely a great place to get started.
Ed Fry – “How To (Really) Get Into Marketing”
How To (Really) Get Into Marketing from Inbound.org
Are you about to leave school or considering making a career move into marketing? Great start – you’re definitely in the right place! But you should also spare a few minutes to check out this excellent intro to the world of marketing from Inbounder Ed Fry. Learn:
What marketing actually is
The diverse range of roles available
How to find a job in marketing by, shock, horror – marketing yourself
Good luck – I’ll see you on the other side!
HubSpot – “The Top 10 Most Remarkable Marketing Campaigns EVER”
The Top 10 Most Remarkable Marketing Campaigns EVER from HubSpot
The title promises great things, but are these really the most remarkable marketing campaigns ever? If you ask me, it’s all subjective. However – the HubSpot guys are pretty great, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt (and you should too!)
The short and succinct slideshow features ten rather-remarkable marketing campaigns that will educate and inspire you to be more remarkable in your marketing too.
HubSpot – “What Would Steve Do? 10 Lessons from the World’s Most Captivating Presenters”
What Would Steve Do? 10 Lessons from the World’s Most Captivating Presenters from HubSpot
Deliver an awe-inspiring presentation and you’ll make people sit up, listen, and remember you. It’s a foolproof marketing tool. But to be the best, you need to learn from the best.
Another shout out for the HubSpot team in this inspirational look at what we can learn from some of the world’s very best on-stage speakers.
Sparks & Honey – “Meet Generation Z: Forget Everything You Learned About Millennials”
Meet Generation Z: Forget Everything You Learned About Millennials from sparks & honey
If you’re marketing to consumers in their early 20s or below, you’re marketing to Generation Z.
These are tech-savvy youths that have grown up and are coming of age in a world where instant and unlimited access to information is the norm.
As a generalization, they are more diverse, more open-minded, and more informed than the generations that came before them. This means big changes for marketers.
Many of their needs and concerns are unique, and understanding them fully will be no quick feat. That said, this is a great starting point for learning how to effectively connect with this digital generation.
March Media Chicago Inc. – “The 2015 Instagram Marketing Guide”
The 2015 Instagram Marketing Guide – March Media Chicago, Inc. from March Media Chicago
As you might have heard, Instagram was the fastest growing social network in 2014. Consequently, f you have a brand that can be effectively promoted through photography, you should probably be utilizing it.
March Media Chicago demonstrates how to get the most out of Instagram with examples from brands that are using the network to maximum effectiveness. They also take a look at what exactly it is that these brands are doing that works so well – important insight you’ll want to consider as you launch your own campaigns on the platform.
Michael Paredrakos – “No Brand Is Your Friend”
no brand is your friend from Michael Paredrakos
This is a stunningly-beautiful and eye-opening look into the separation and alienation of the customer from the brand.
The delivery is decidedly somber, but there are valuable lessons to be learned: to succeed, you must be the brand that taps into the real needs of your consumers. Not the needs you think they have or want them to have. You should be the brand that cares about your customers beyond the point of sale and that offers them something of genuine value.
You might not become a “friend” to your customers, but you can become an entity that they trust and rely upon – which is pretty damn close.
HubSpot – “How to Suck at Marketing”
How To Suck at Marketing from HubSpot
Are you sending unsolicited, unpersonalized emails? Stuffing keywords into your web copy? Or just throwing spaghetti at the wall as you try every possible strategy to get people to buy your products? Newsflash: you’re doing it wrong.
Learn how to become a brilliant marketer by first of all, learning what not to do, in this brutally honest and smartly presented slide deck from the HubSpot team.
Matt Sitala – “Why Visual Content Works”
Why Visual Content Works from Matt Siltala – matt@avalaunchmedia.com
Find out just how effective visual content really is (hint – very) in this charming Simpsons’ themed presentation from Avalaunch Media’s president Matt Sitala.
Uberflip and Visually – “The Art of Visual Content and the Science That Makes it Convert”
The Art of Visual Content and the Science That Makes it Convert from Uberflip
This slide deck offers another look into the effectiveness of imagery in marketing, this time from the guys at Uberflip and visual content hub, Visually. They will show you:
Why visual content works
How to figure out if your idea has legs
Proven guidelines for designing effective visuals
Examples of awesome visual content that’s gone viral
Robert Rose – “Experiences: The 7th Era of Marketing”
Experiences: The Seventh Era Of Marketing from Robert Rose
Do you think of content marketing as a relatively new, digital-only strategy? In this intro to his book of the same name, Rose demonstrates how content marketing has existed almost as long as marketing itself – albeit with rather different execution.
This forms the backdrop for a slideshow that illustrates how rapidly marketing today is evolving and how vital it is that modern marketers adapt to the changing needs of their audience.
Digital Relevance – “How to Become a World-Class Web Copywriter”
How to Become a World-Class Web Copywriter from DigitalRelevance
Did you know that “if you can hold a visitor’s attention for just three minutes they are twice as likely to return than if you only hold them for one minute?” Killer copy is key to creating a website that converts – if you’re not convinced your copy’s as good as it could be you definitely need to look through this deck.
Inside, Digital Relevance will show you how to identify bad web copy (spot it and you can stop it), as well as start creating persuasive copy that gets results.
Crealytic – “How to Write, Test and Optimize Effective AdWords Ad Copies”
How to Write, Test and Optimise Effective AdWords Ad Copies from crealytics
I don’t often talk about pay per click – I tend to focus more on sustainable marketing strategies and long-term results on this blog. That said, used as a complementary strategy for when you need to see results fast, paid search is an invaluable tool.
Take a look to learn how to increase your PPC ROI by maximising the effectiveness of your ads with this helpful slide deck by Crealytic.
Moving Targets – “Psychology Hacks to Boost Your Marketing”
Psychology Hacks to Boost your Marketing from Moving Targets
At its core, marketing is all about successfully tapping into the needs and desires of your target consumers. Or in other words – understanding the psychology of your audience.
Learn how to apply proven principles of psychology to your marketing in this eye-opening slideshow from Moving Targets.
HubSpot – “An Introduction to Podcasting”
An Introduction to Podcasting from HubSpot
A final inclusion from the brilliant team at HubSpot (yes, they keep popping up, but these guys really know their stuff when it comes to making awesome slide decks). This time, they cover most of what you’ll need to know before taking the plunge into podcasting. Namely:
Why podcasts are an effective marketing tool
Who’s listening to them (spoiler: 15% of Americans)
How to make your first podcast
How to measure and market your podcast
TED Talks – “Choosing Easier. How Businesses Can Improve the Experience of Choosing”
Choosing easier. How businesses can improve the experience of choosing. from TED Talks
Most of TED Talks’ content is well-worth your time, and this slideshow is no exception. It’s super-short, but its message is invaluable. Consumers today are burdened with a surplus of choice – find out how to boost your brand’s success by applying the rule of “less is more”.
Eric Schmidt – “How Google Works”
How Google Works from Eric Schmidt
If you’re looking for a technical breakdown of how Google locates, views, and ranks websites, you’re in the wrong place (check this out instead). Rather, this is a beautifully-illustrated story of how Google came to be one of the most successful brands of the 21st Century.
XPLAIN – “Go Viral on the Social Web: The Definitive How-To Guide”
Go Viral on the Social Web: The Definitive How-To guide! from XPLAIN
This is essentially a comprehensive strategy designed to help steer your content towards success at one key objective – going viral. As well as detailing how to create content that’s actually good enough to have a shot at going viral (not an easy feat), XPLAIN offers up tips to help you boost views and shares, and provides examples of brands who have been there, done that, and got the results to show for it.
Steven Van Belleghem – “Get Ready for Marketing 2020”
Get ready for Marketing 2020 from steven van belleghem
We’re two years closer to 2020 than when slide deck this was initially produced, but if anything, that means the message is more relevant today than ever.
In it, Steven explores how expectations are changing and how marketers need to re-evaluate their approach in order to meet the (future) needs of the 2020 consumer.
There are heaps of real-world examples to learn from, including the very well-publicized story of Morton’s Steakhouse (in case you didn’t hear – a customer tweeted them asking if they would meet him at Newark airport with a porterhouse steak – and they did), through to Tomorrowland Festival’s party planes and Zappos’ ambitious call center targets.
Bruce Kasanoff – “DO GOOD (Better)”
DO GOOD (Better) from Bruce Kasanoff
Giving back can be one of the best things you do for your brand – unfortunately it’s not always easy to get decision makers on board with your more charitable ideas.
In DO GOOD (Better), Bruce shows us how to improve our communication skills and presentation techniques in order to better articulate our ideas for simultaneously building a better brand and a better world.
Martin Weigel – “How to (Not) Fail”
How to (not) Fail from Martin Weigel
I spoke about brand advocates above. They’re very important – I’m not going to deny that fact. But the truth is that “true” brand advocates are rare. And as this to-the-point slide deck explains, “Most of ‘your consumers’ are just somebody else’s consumers who occasionally buy you. Our challenge is that people really don’t care. Our challenge is not nurturing enthusiasm but overcoming indifference.”
The overall deck is far more positive than the snapshot above makes it out to be. The key message, though, is that we need to look outside of our brands and focus on what genuinely interests people. Check it out – it’s pretty insightful stuff.
Gavin McMahon – “Pixar’s 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling”
Pixar’s 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling from Gavin McMahon
I’m a huge advocate of leveraging storytelling in your marketing – and where better to learn how to tell an incredible story than from the masters of animated screenplay, Pixar?
Salesforce – “The 2015 State of Marketing”
The 2015 State of Marketing from Salesforce Marketing Cloud
This isn’t the prettiest slide deck around, but it’s rife with interesting stats resulting from Salesforce’s recent “2015 The State of Marketing” survey.
Five thousand marketers took part in the project, and the results are a host of revealing insights into the processes of the modern marketer. Highlights include:
86% of marketers who use social say their efforts produce ROI
30% of marketers say they’ll test podcasting this year
84% of marketers plan to increase or maintain their spend in 2015
Rand Fishkin – “Why SEO That Used to Work, Fails”
Why SEO That Used to Work, Fails from Rand Fishkin
If you want to stay up-to speed with the state of organic search there are few people I’d recommend following more than the poster-boy for SEO – the brilliant Mr. Fishkin. Here, the Moz founder talks through why tried-and-tested SEO tactics are now more likely to result in a quick route to failure.
Basically, he suggests that:
Google favors trusted brands
The “easy” links aren’t worth it anymore, and the links that are worth it are tougher than ever to get
SEO won’t reap results on its own, and should be treated as part of a much larger, more holistic marketing plan
I’m only touching the surface here, so make sure to take a look at the full slide deck, then get yourself over to the Moz blog for lots more awesome tips and insights.
Hiten Shah – “Content Marketing Lessons From 10 Years and 41,525,103 Website Visits”
Content Marketing Lessons From 10 Years and 41,525,103 Website Visits from Hiten Shah
Hiten Shah, one of my former partners at Single Grain, boasts 10 years’ digital and content experience and is jointly responsible (alongside the talented Neil Patel) for the creation of both KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg. So it’s probably safe to say he knows his stuff.
This slide deck features his pick of the most valuable content marketing tips, tricks, and lessons that he’s learned along the way.
Hiten Shah – “Using Analytics to Solve the Right Problems”
Using Analytics To Solve The Right Problems from Hiten Shah
Another great deck from Hiten Shah – here he demonstrates how to delve down to the nitty-gritty of your Analytics data, identify the most cumbersome problems your customers encounter, and use this information to make informed decisions that drive positive changes to your web design and content strategy.
As he says of the slides himself, “You’ll learn how to think like a scientist, using a hypothesis-driven approach to design, and creating successful tests to help you improve your work through focused iteration.”
ELIV8 Business Strategies – “8 Free Types of Marketing Strategies”
8 Free Types of Marketing Strategies from ELIV8 Business Strategies
Who doesn’t love free stuff? There’s nothing revolutionary in this deck from ELIV8 Business Strategies, but it’s a great resource for anyone who’s relatively new to marketing.
It features clear, detailed breakdowns of the strategies it advocates – precisely what you need to be able to start putting the practices into action immediately.
Francisco Costa – “Growth Hacking”
Growth Hacking from Francisco Costa
If you’re a regular reader here, you’ll already know I’m a big advocate for growth hacking – why wait years for a brand to take off when you can apply clever marketing techniques that propel the growth of your company and the speed at which you start turning a profit?
This excellent deck from Francisco Costa, CEO at TRICUBO, details what growth hacking is and how you can apply proven hacking techniques to your business. This is accompanied by a number of real-world examples that will settle any arguments about whether or not this stuff actually works (sneak preview – it does).
Jesse Desjardins – “You Suck at Powerpoint”
You Suck At PowerPoint! by @jessedee from Jesse Desjardins – @jessedee
And last but definitely not least, if you’re feeling inspired by all these fantastic slideshows and thinking about creating your own, then you need to check out this slide deck. “You Suck at Powerpoint” is packed with actionable tips to help you, well, stop sucking at Powerpoint. The imagery used to illustrate its points are worth a look alone.
Got another slide deck recommendation that didn’t make the list? Share your suggestions in the comments section below!
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