Variety.
A famous expression states, “Variety is the spice of life.” It’s true.
Are you familiar with enough blog post format variations to prevent your readers from getting bored and moving on to other blogs?
After all, the post I wrote at the end of 2015 How to Create Blog Content Your Readers Will Love– Guaranteed, explained if you are to keep your readers engaged in your content this year, you need a variety of blog formats.
This post will explain how you can do just that using a free popular tool called SlideShare.
In Your Blog: 7 Tips to Stand Out in the Crowd my guest author advised mixing up your content or you will “leave the majority of your readers out in the cold”.
Consider this response to her advice:
I’d love to try a video or slideshow but, well, a little hesitant about it from…. fear Any suggestions on how to learn how to do one? From Cathy Chester
Jam and Jazz, also known as The Fuzzies, are here to explain how you can use SlideShare as an alternative format to a traditional blog post.
SlideShare is a free tool used to present slides in a visually appealing manner. After making the slides, you embed the presentation in your blog post. Since most readers understand the content better by looking at pictures, this tool clearly can help bloggers empower their readers more effectively.
According to recent statistics, 400,000 new SlideShare Presentations are created each month. Why so much interest?
Jam and Jazz, take it away:
Every now and then I’ve been checking up on the updates made by WordPress. I love learning about some of its current and new features and figuring out how I can make use of it for improving our blog’s content. One of my recent discoveries was the use of SlideShare!
SlideShare, according to WordPress, “offers users the ability to upload and share publicly or privately PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, and Adobe PDF Portfolios.”
Its purpose has been stated, but how does it exactly benefit me as a blogger? A lot, I must say!
For example, ever wanted to blog about all of your adventures accompanied by the photos you’ve taken but can’t pick a favorite shot?
Perhaps you want to share your thoughts through meaningful presentations but don’t want to lengthen your post with too many images? How about showing process shots of your works in progress?
The possibilities are endless! So how can we incorporate SlideShare in our posts?
Well…
There are two ways we can go about it:
1. Through WordPress
Some of you might not know, but WordPress offers bloggers the opportunity to present their gallery as a slideshow. It’s actually pretty simple. Just follow this tutorial:
Step 1: Choose multiple photos you want to post in the Media Library to create a gallery and click Continue.
Step 2: The layout would automatically suggest Tiled Mosaic but you can easily change that by clicking the drop down menu and choose Slideshow at the bottom-most selection.
Your presentation should look like this afterward. If you want to display your photos randomly, simply check the box for Random Order. Lastly, click Insert and voila´!
You have created a SlideShare presentation!
2. Embedding existing SlideShare presentations.
Now, what if you don’t have your blog on WordPress? Or what if you already have an existing presentation and want to share it with your other social networks? Well, you can achieve this by adding slideshow presentations through your own Slideshare:
Step 1: You may sign up to SlideShare through your LinkedIn account or by signing up using Facebook (I would suggest to signup using LinkedIn personally since I prefer separating my personal social media account with my professional one. But if you prefer Facebook since it is more convenient, then, by all means, sign up with it. There’s no right or wrong way of doing it anyway.). In our case, we decided to register as an organization.
Step 2: After signing up, you might want to personalize your account settings by clicking the top rightmost icon and choosing Account Settings.
Here you can customize your profile and connect your other social media profiles if any.
Step 3: Upload your content! At the top of the menu that is beside your Account Icon, there is an orange button that says, UPLOAD! Upon clicking it you get to the page where you can manually upload your content or simply drag it from your files folder and drop it on the screen to start uploading. It can be Powerpoint Presentations, PDF files or Microsoft Word and Open Office Documents with a maximum file size limit of 300MB.
Step 4: Share your work! Now that you have your content online all you have to do is share it with the world! Start by going to the video you want to share then Click the Share Button.
Upon clicking it, you will be given the option to share it through your other social media accounts or by embedding (copying and then pasting) the links given to your web blog!
And that’s it! You’re on your way to sharing what you’ve learned to the world or simply telling a story you are passionate about. The possibilities are endless and with SlideShare; everything just got a little more interesting!
Thanks again, and we hoped it inspired you to try it out for yourselves.
- Your bounce rate will improve. Since people are looking at your slides, they will stay longer on your blog post.
- Your site might take longer to load if visitors to your blog have to wait for all the photos to load. If you embed a SlideShare presentation, that problem is alleviated.
- Most people on earth are visual learners who can only absorb information by looking at a picture. Slide presentations are made up of pictures.
- Looking at pictures take less time than reading text, so your blog will be more appealing to readers in a rush.
Testimonials and Strategy
Slideshare is considered a valuable resource for bloggers. Flora Runyenje recommends SlideShare as one of the top six free tools bloggers should use.
Lorraine Reguly is a strong advocate of using SlideShare.
SlideShare is a great platform that has thousands of viewers. By adding SlideShare presentations to your blog posts, you will tap into a brand new audience for your content. Just make sure that you provide clear links within your SlideShare for viewers to click on so they then can be brought to your blog! (To do this, create a PowerPoint presentation first, then upload it to SlideShare. Remember to also add the HTML embed code to your blog post for extra effectiveness and SEO!)
Conclusion
In conclusion, we greatly appreciate Jam and Jazz for explaining how to use SlideShare so we can have variety in how we present our content to readers.
Please share on your blogs and social media, so other bloggers can learn about this tool.
What is your experience with SlideShare? Are you already using it? Is there another visual presentation tool you would recommend? I look forward to your views in the comments section.
Then, go show Jazz and Jam some blog love and visit their blog, Start The Fuzzies.
Would like more free blogging tools?
Click here to get your own downloadable PDF of my free blogging tools list.
Related Posts:
89 of the Best Free Blogging Tools That Will Save You Time Blogging
How to Easily Use a Free, Popular Photo Editing Site: PicMonkey
This is How You Spruce Up Your Visuals with 3 Free Tools
6 Ways You Can Save Time Blogging, Technology You Should Know
