Modern marketing is all about creating multi-channel, multi-touch campaigns that deliver content that is engaging, informative, and entertaining. Most business-to-business marketers are on point when it comes to creating laser-targeted, channel-appropriate content for their company blog, Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, and Facebook page. SlideShare, unfortunately, often becomes a secondary or tertiary concern.
It’s time to challenge that perspective and give SlideShare is due respect.
Wait. Some of you are surely wondering aloud: Isn’t SlideShare just that place where I store and distribute my conference presentations, eBooks, and marketing collateral?
Yes. And no. Sure, SlideShare can just be that handy place to store and distribute slide decks and eBooks. Savvy modern marketers, however, don’t stop there, because they know that SlideShare really shows its prowess when paired with creative, uniquely-purposed content. By uniquely purposed, I mean content that is created and optimized specifically for SlideShare. This is where SlideShare really shines.
There is one caveat, though. Unique SlideShare content requires dedicated time and resources to create or repurpose thought leadership into SlideShare content that will really stand out. To see results, in other words, you’ll need to be invested. If you’ve only posted content not tailored specifically for SlideShare (e.g. those conference slide decks), perhaps it’s time to create something with spark and find out why Joe Pulizzi thinks that SlideShare is the “most underutilized content distribution channel.”
Still not sure why SlideShare deserves a hallowed place within your marketing quiver? Below are three strategic reasons why B2B marketers should consider making SlideShare a priority channel.
1. SlideShare is Part of LinkedIn’s Media Empire
In case you didn’t hear the news, LinkedIn acquired SlideShare last spring, extending its reach by joining its massive professional network to one of the leading professional content sharing communities. Add to that the more recent acquisition of Pulse, and it’s easy to see how LinkedIn is well on its way to Deep Nishar’s goal of becoming the platform “where all professionals come to consume content and where publishers come to share their content.” To fully grok the ramifications of these moves by LinkedIn, just check out the LinkedIn Influencer channel on Pulse, or LinkedIn’s newly updated, news-centric app. In short, LinkedIn is quickly becoming the one-stop shop for professionals to find the news they need, and SlideShare is LinkedIn’s platform for delivering condensed, visually impactful content.
LinkedIn’s launch of SlideShare Content Ads in March, for instance, is a great example of how LinkedIn is leveraging SlideShare for content marketing. Now, instead of just having a banner ad, you can design content specifically for your targeted audience and have that content embedded within LinkedIn. Combine great content with SlideShare’s LeadShare and Send Tracker tools, and you have a robust lead generation machine. Interested in learning more? Check out SlideShare Co-Founder Amit Ranjan’s presentation below.
2. SlideShare Drives Traffic and SEO
SlideShare has 60 million monthly visitors and 130 million pageviews. It’s one of the top 200 websites in the world. SlideShare, in other words, delivers eyeballs, and crushes it when it comes to SEO. Even better news: If you create something that really catches their eye, SlideShare may feature you on their homepage, and deliver some of those millions directly to your content.
If you’d like to take a crack at getting featured and winning a free SlideShare Pro account, you can participate in their May #in10years contest. Whoever gets the most likes wins a free Pro account. Here’s a great example around B2B Sales:
3. Great SlideShare Content Grabs Your Audience
Great SlideShare content does what all great content does–it tells a story and grabs your attention. It’s compelling. So, throw away the bullet points and small fonts. Get rid of all the amazing, but incredibly dense, thought leadership crammed onto slides that your target buyers will never read. Show them a visually striking presentation stripped of buzzwords and jargon. Your audience wants to be entertained and informed–they didn’t sign up for a lecture.
Our friends at Velocity Partners in the UK know how to make slide decks that beg to be consumed and shared. “Crap. The Content Marketing Deluge” has gone viral so many times over, there’s no need to belabor the point. If you’d like to learn more about what inspired Doug Kessler to create this deck, see his excellent post on the Six Principles of Great Content Brands.
If you haven’t already done so: Devour this. And learn from it.
There you have it. Create great content. Leverage its lead-generating power. Make a lasting impression.
Stay tuned for more articles on how to better leverage LinkedIn and SlideShare, including tips and tricks. In the meantime, follow Kapost on SlideShare to stay up-to-date on content marketing topics and strategies. Also, we’d love to hear your experiences of using SlideShare, what works best for your marketing team, and what presentations you love. Let me know in the comments below.