One of the pillars of content marketing consists on publishing valuable content for an audience, through different platforms or channels and market your product/service through the content. Content Marketing not only provides traffic and leads, it also increases publishers authority.

There are several channels for content marketing, each reaching a different audience (Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Medium, etc.). In this post we are going to reference SlideShare. SlideShare is a sharing presentations platform, where anyone can publish its presentation deck and share it online. SlideShare is part of LinkedIn and has a numerous number of followers, with a mixed audience of business and academia.

In this post we are sharing 10 tips to create amazing slides decks, with the aim to publish them in SlideShare and be sure it will engage the audience. Even though the tips are not a recipe, we have analyzed several presentations on SlideShare  and matched patterns that make them popular.

SlideShare Presentation Tips

1. Write for an online audience

You are not creating a presentation to empower your oral speech; you are writing content for online readers. Make sure your content is readable, and don’t be cheap in the words or slides. Having a SlideShare of 100+ slides “is usual”. Adding text is not a sin for SlideShare decks. Writing a SlideShare is more like writing a blog post than rather writing a presentation.

You can apply some principles to write great presentations, but in the end, you will need to transmit your message through images, words and paragraphs. The concept can be related to Nancy Duarte’s Slidedocs.

2. Use a Cool Design Layout

Apply graphic design layouts. Do not improvise in the Look & Feel. If you do not have the skills, appeal to PowerPoint Templates created using standardized design practices and professional graphic design technics. This will help you structure your deck with proven layout techniques that apply best practices of design.

3. Be creative in your palette

Colors are Cool. Impress your audience with a modern palette. Do not fall only in the corporate blueish palette. Think like an artist. Make color your ally. But be careful, use a color wheel to know how to combine your colors in a coherent and cohesive way, or apply already known working palettes (like Pantone).

4. Use Contrast

Related to the previous point, using contrast highlights your message and makes it easier to read. Do not use complementary colors within fonts and background. Make sure colors contrast.

5. Use Fonts and write BIG

Avoid traditional fonts. Now you can use several open source fonts (as the google fonts collection) and give your deck the publishing quality it deserves. Use a combination of fonts that look good together, and mix your creativity. Also, you can use font effects to make it more remarkable as 3D fonts, perspective and even combine different font types in the same sentence.

6. Use Images

An image is worth a thousand words. With the amount of stock photo already online nobody can be excused on not using the appropriate image. Shapes, Vectors and photos can represent a metaphor or an idea in a much more impactful way than just words. Online readers process much faster as image visualisation than a paragraph of text. You can use images smartly, combining them with text, and making them not only an eye catcher but also part of the message.

7. Use Shapes

Linked to the previous point, if an image is not clear enough, use images that match exactly the metaphor you want to use. Avoid traditional clipart, and use professional shapes,with modern flat designs and color effects.

8. Have an amazing Cover

Depending on your creativity, you will be able to have a better or worst cover. Slideshare is all about a catchy cover. But be careful, do not create link bait slideshares, as misleading a reader might generate discomfort.

9. One Idea per Slide

As we mentioned before, it does not matter to fill the SlideShare with many slides. Make sure you use one slide per idea (or sub idea) in this way the reader can take advantage of the full content of the slide to map it into one concept, and remember it later.

10. Write a Story

The secret about a successful Slideshare resides on the fact that you need to engage the reader, one slide at a time; make the reader want more to make him continue moving through the navigator. This effect is only achieved through storytelling. Try to structure your slide deck as a story, showing the reader that the best of your message is one slide away.

Conclusion

This article aims to provide some proven tips on best practices for an engaging SlideShare presentation deck; but remember that content is king. If you do not provide valuable insights or information, probably your slideshare will be forgotten and not shared.

Also, do not get frustrated if you do not achieve a front page slideshare; sometimes it requires not only good content, but good content in the right time. Be aware of the trends around the community and social networks in order to be able to link your content with special events or situations that might spark the sharing.