SlideShare was recently voted amongst the world’s top 10 tools for education and e-learning. Here are 14 ways to create and share killer SlideShare decks.
Did you know that SlideShare is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations? With 60 million monthly visitors, it is amongst the most visited 200 websites in the world.
Identity and insights meet at the junction of LinkedIn and SlideShare as the professional social network purchased the presentation sharing site for $119 million – 45% cash and the rest in stocks.
Explore the new ways of professional content marketing and sharing.
The Benefits of SlideShare Decks?
SlideShare features a vibrant professional and educational community that regularly comments, favorites and downloads content.
SlideShare content spreads virally through blogs and social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Individuals and organizations upload documents to SlideShare to share ideas, conduct research, connect with others, and generate leads for their businesses.
Tips How to Create Killer SlideShare Decks
If you want to stand out in the crowd, create a killer deck is a great start. Read the tips from Marisa Wong below:
1. Make it Clickable
So you are ready to build the world’s next best presentation. Fantastic. Everything starts with your message.
SlideShare is unique in that your content is packaged as a presentation, so the best thing you can do for yourself — and your audience — is to make sure it is “clickable,” or easy to click through.
Is your audience going to want to click to the next slide? If not, reconsider how you are presenting your message.
2. Big Visuals, Minimal Text
Today’s presentations shouldn’t be buried with bullet points, headers and a logo on the corner of every slide.
Instead, opt for big imagery and minimal text. Visual information is processed 60,000 times faster than text!
3. Don’t Rely on Templates
Don’t rely on PowerPoint templates. Ever. You’re better than that.
Stuck? I always recommend darker and solid background colors – blacks, blues, and even white.
Better yet, try to mix photography with compelling typography.
4. Maximize Your Channel
When creating your account, you will be given the opportunity to pimp out your channel. Do it.
This is your opportunity to showcase your work, describe yourself, and connect with others via your other social media channels.
5. Integrate with LinkedIn
You are a working professional, so make sure you add your SlideShares to your LinkedIn profile.
It’s just another way to showcase your work and presentation talents.
6. Activate Lead Capture
If you are going to invest all this time building an innovative and creative deck, then take an extra few minutes and activate Lead Capture.
The SlideShare PRO form that allows you to gather information from your fans.
8 Handy Tools To Create Killer SlideShare Decks
If you want to stand out in the crowd, technology and tools will help you. Read the tips from Scott Schwertly:
1. Haiku Deck
You might also spend more time on your tablet or phone than on your actual laptop or desktop?
Mobile is everything today, and if you are looking for a quick, easy, and affordable way to build and develop your next presentation, you need to check out Haiku Deck (available only on the iPad).
If big visuals and minimal text are how you like to present, then you’ll love the simplicity and portability of the program.
Haiku Deck is also integrated with SlideShare so that it’s easy to share your Haiku Deck on SlideShare.
2. Think Stock Photos
There are a plethora of photo resources out on the web today, like Shutterstock and DreamsTime. Find photos that are eye-candy, since photos can say more than a thousand words.
Of course you can tap into Google images and find large size photos, Flickr, Pinterest and Instagram can also help you.
Ask the creator (if you can find him or her), if you can use the material and give credit for it.
3. Pages
Perhaps you are the kind of person who likes to storyboard your presentation content? If so, download the program Pages from the Apple App Store (available in all formats) and look for the “Storyboard” template.
You’ll be up and running in no time.
4. YouTube & Videos, not Infographics
YouTube will quickly become your friend. Enter YouTube. Just fire up Firefox or Chrome and look for the “YouTube Downloader” extension and download everything you need.
Using videos can be very dynamic and refreshing when you are doing keynote speeches. But make sure the visual quality and the audio are very powerful.
When presenting my trend shows and keynotes, I tend to use a short video every 7 minutes, to break the rhythm, to surprise the audience and to keep them engaged.
I love infographics, but not for SlideShare. Simply because they are too long to fit in smoothly. I tend to use video-infographics though.
5. Prezi
Are you tired of PowerPoint, Keynote, or any other linear approach to presenting? If so, then Prezi may serve you well. Prezi is basically the closest thing to a non-linear approach to presenting.
Think about the idea of scripting your narrative on a back of the napkin or whiteboard and then jumping from idea to idea to communicate your message.
That’s the beauty of Prezi. Download your Prezi as a PDF, then upload it to SlideShare.
6. SoundBible
Every now and then you may find yourself needing a specific music bed or sound effect to highlight or accent a key concept.
If that’s the case, bookmark SoundBible. It’s a fantastic audio resource. Plus, it’s free.
7. Evernote
Let’s say you want to capture a compelling quote from the latest book you are reading to add to your next presentation, but you have no idea where to record the information.
That’s where Evernote can become your best ally. If you are not familiar with the program, it’s basically note-taking software that works seamlessly with the cloud and all of your devices.
It turns my touch devices (iPhone and iPad) into handy on the go view masters.
8. Lynda
In order to maintain your craft, you constantly need to be learning and growing. Perhaps you want to refine your Photoshop skills or learn Adobe After Effects?
Join Lynda and start taking courses. It’s probably one of the best training resources on the web, and it’s for as little as $25/month.
My Opinion
Working on the brand called YOU, can be mega important in this era. What do I mean by that?
Map and share your high quality content in the best possible ways. That’s much better than trying to become Klout shouter #1.
We are moving towards an era of collaborative ecosystems, not EGOsystems. In this era it’s not about who you are, but who you know.
About what you know and about how fast you can get access to the relevant knowledge, shared by expert or liked-minded peers.
I see SlideShare as a perfect B2B content marketing community and elearning platform. Especially when connected to LinkedIn.
It offers you a world of crowd generated wisdom, on a variety of topics. And will help you to improve your knowledge, the brand called YOU and the brand you represent.
So I hope this story was helpful to you.
What About You?
How do you create and share killer SlideShare decks? Our readers would love to see your ideas in the comments below.
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About the Author
Igor Beuker is a serial entrepreneur, acclaimed trendwatcher – keynote speaker, marketing consultant and advisory board member at several disruptive media, tech and entertainment firms. Book Igor as keynote, follow him on Twitter or connect via LinkedIn.
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