Tag: content creation

Why Design Matters In Making a PowerPoint Deck

content creation

design tips

Graphic Design

making a powerpoint

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

uniformity

Nov 15, 2016

Design can be intimidating to incorporate in a deck. What if you have to prioritize content over it? Does aesthetics even matter in a presentation?

Actually, yes, design matters. And content. But it’s not a choice of one over the other. It’s best to have both. It’s great to meld the two concepts into one seamless idea. Having a design that compliments a presentation’s intended purpose complements your content and, ultimately, your message.

Purpose

What do you want your deck to be about? What is it for? These are the questions of purpose and meaning you need to have an answer for. Proper planning and thorough research are the backbone of any presentation. Once you’ve laid your foundations, it’s time to organize the information.

In comes design. Combine creativity and strategy to make data visualization engaging. As Scott Dadich, editor-in-chief of Wired, said: “Design and technology just aren’t that far apart.”

Make the data on your deck more appealing through visual representations. These includes charts, infographics, and powerful and appropriate images. It’s not limited to those either. Interpret information so that it makes sense and relates to your main objective. If you want to sell your idea, it needs to be clear and easy to understand.

Appeal

We can make sense of the technology around us using design. PowerPoint itself was designed so that anyone can make their own presentations. In effect, you now have the freedom to design your slides and the ability to control every aspect of it. Make it stand out by presenting your data beautifully and meaningfully.

Design matters because it makes your slides appealing. Make your ideas accessible and enticing on top of being immediately understandable. The effort to make sure your deck looks fantastic won’t go unnoticed. Not to mention that design can also help emphasize points.

Identity

Consistency and theme unify your deck. You can be consistent if you know your content by heart. It’s your task to tell the audience what your idea is. A sense of uniformity is key to making your slides memorable. Additionally, a theme gives your audience a general idea of your content.

Establish an unforgettable look in your audience’s minds. It’s easier to remember slides that have personality and character. When you make it stand out, your viewers can identify with your vision.

Make your ideas recognizable early on. You’re closer to perfecting your pitch once you’ve made a good impression on your audience. Having a design in mind lets you visualize your final product from the beginning of your preparation.

Excellence in Design

There’s a sense of aesthetics everywhere. Letting your visuals work together with your content benefits your presentation. Research and develop your deck’s content carefully.

Preparation is important to achieve absolute clarity in your deck. A clear purpose helps visualize your intention. Integrate your ideas in a design to make it more communicable and solve the problem of making your subject engaging. With fine-tuned content and unified design, your deck will be more unique and have the attention it deserves.

References:

Dadich, Scott. “Letter From the Editor: Why Design Matters More Now Than Ever Before.” Wired.com. September 30, 2014. www.wired.com/2014/09/editors-note-design-issue

Joseph, Therese. “VISUAL BEST PRACTICES FOR PRESENTATIONS.” Shift Collaborative. June 8, 2014. www.shiftcollaborative.com/visual-best-practices-for-presentations

Marie, Irev. “5 Reasons Why Good Design Matters To Your Business.” Simplio Web Studio. August 19, 2015. www.simpliowebstudio.com/5-reasons-why-good-design-matters-to-your-business

Noar, Adam. “5 Tips and Tools for Designing a Stand-Out Presentation.” Design Shack. February 20, 2013. www.designshack.net/articles/graphics/5-tips-and-tools-for-designing-a-stand-out-presentation

Stribley, Mary. “30 Advertisement Design Tips That Turn Heads: Brilliant Case Studies.” Canva. July 1, 2015. designschool.canva.com/blog/advertisement-design-tips

 

Featured Image: “wings” by Asparukh Akanayev on flickr.com

3 Tips on How to Improve SEO Writing for Your Business

branding tips

content creation

content marketing

digital marketing

Rick Enrico

search engine optimization

SEO

SEO writing

SlideGenius

Aug 01, 2016

With our increasingly digitized lifestyles, technology plays an even bigger role in society.

For businesses, the playing field has moved online. The Internet’s influence on people can greatly improve or ruin a company’s reputation. Beyond traditional marketing tactics like network expansions, the Internet now serves as the main arena where entrepreneurs vie for customers’ attention.

One way to improve your digital marketing strategy is through SEO writing for your company’s website or blog. Sometimes, SEO writing can be tricky, especially if you have lots of competition online. Fortunately, we’ve compiled three tips to improve SEO for your business:

Strategic Keywords

You want to be the first thing people see in a search engine when they look up something related to your brand offer.

More website views mean more people are becoming interested in you.

If you follow up on this interest with frequent correspondence and an effective sales pitch, you can best convert leads into sales.

But how do you come out on top when there are other sites competing for the slot?

Dave Davies, Beanstalk SEO Services CEO, suggests in his article on Search Engine Watch a strategic use of keywords in your entries.

These keywords are the things your potential leads will be typing in the search bar.

They act as the middle ground between your company’s specific services and the customer’s more general concerns.

Be exact with a keyword that will lead a prospect to you, but don’t overdo it.

Instead of individual words, use phrases to qualify your keywords without making it look like blatant marketing.

There’s no fixed formula to coining the right keywords.

Give yourself options before settling into what feels most natural and effective.

Relevant Content

The most important thing in your blog post or website is the content.

You may have all the right keywords, but without solid content to back you up, your post will fall flat.

Keep your writing original and fresh.

Be mindful not to duplicate content. Jayson DeMers, founder of Seattle-based social media marketing firm, Audience Bloom, provides useful tools that help you gauge your article’s originality.

These sites include Copyscape and Copysentry, which analyze your content for you.

If you want to keep yourself on a Google search’s first page, update often and avoid re-posting existing entries.

Besides, frequently updated material that keeps up with people’s changing interests attracts more attention.

You may be able to draw people in at first click, but the trick is to keep them reading. Consider your page’s bounce rate compared to how many online viewers actually interact with your site.

Limit the number of bounces you get by publishing material that’s worth reading to the end.

Consistent Branding

To make your site link-worthy, its content should bear your brand.

Once a viewer goes through your site, they’ll want to know who you are.

Establishing a personal connection with the client is as important outside a pitch as it is during your presentation.

People are more willing to invest in something familiar to them.

Use your posts as a springboard to bring your services to the viewer’s attention.

Introduce your business and foster a link between you and your virtual audience to gain their trust.

However, this doesn’t mean you’re stuck with a limited set of topics that revolve around your services.

Expand to related areas that will broaden your scope while keeping your identity.

It also helps to include links to your references within the text.

This associates you with authority sources, or other credible sites.

Conclusion

Writing with SEO can improve your overall digital marketing strategy.

Choosing strategic keywords and creating unique content showcases your brand and improves your online marketability.

Simply being on top of a search list doesn’t guarantee lead conversion.

But bringing in enough interested people to your page raises your chances.

After the initial contact with your prospect, don’t forget to follow up.

If you play all the right cards, they might even invite you to deliver your sales pitch in person.

References

“Bounce Rate.” Google Analytics. Accessed November 2, 2015. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1009409?hl=en

Davies, Dave. “How to Find Profitable Keywords For Your Website.” Search Engine Watch. March 29, 2012. Accessed November 2, 2015. http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2164520/profitable-keywords-website

Demers, Jayson. “7 Advanced Ways to Improve Your Site’s SEO.” Entrepreneur. September 30, 2014. Accessed November 2, 2015. www.entrepreneur.com/article/237819

Demers, Jayson. “How to Make Sure You’re Not Publishing Duplicate Content.” Audience Bloom. August 14, 2013. Accessed November 2, 2015. www.audiencebloom.com/2013/08/how-to-make-sure-youre-not-publishing-duplicate-content/

Featured Image: “SEO” by NOGRAN s.r.o. on Flickr.com

Content Creation / Curation: Find the Sweet Spot [Guest Infographic]

content creation

content curation

content marketing

infographics

online marketing

SlideGenius

Dec 03, 2015

Have you ever met someone who only ever talks about their own interests, qualities and successes without showing any concern whatsoever for your input?

It’s not always the most engaging conversation for both parties, and by the end of it you’ll likely think of them as a self-centered and arrogant individual whom you would do anything in your power to avoid.

The same idea applies to businesses that use overly self-promotional advertisements, or create content that points all fingers back in their direction.

You don’t want to be stuck with absolutely no chance of being seen either.

The trick is to find a balance between how much of your content should be curated, and how much should actually be original content.

First, let’s get a better understanding of the difference between content creation and content curation.

Content Creation

According to Curata, content creation refers to “… the original creator of the content, either the author, illustrator, researcher or whomever is the original source.”

Content creation is necessary for influencers and marketers to position themselves as thought leaders within a particular area of marketing.

However, content creation can be extremely time-consuming, and crafting content that stands out requires a lot of research.

Content Curation

Content curation is similar to content aggregation (i.e. collecting a bunch of articles or references on a particular subject), except that this content is handpicked by the author.

This is a great way to take existing ideas and either provide an opinion on them or simply provide your audience with a selection of refined resources that you recommend.

So how do you find the sweet spot of content curation and creation?

Convince and Convert did some great research on how well an article performs based on where your outbound links lead to, and how frequently you should lead to your own work.

The following infographic by Venngage visually summarizes just how you can find the content curation and creation sweet spot.

content curation infographic

This infographic was made with the Infographic maker Venngage.

3 Ways Writing What You Know Makes Better Presentation Ideas

content creation

crafting content

improving your presentation

pitch improvement

presentation tips

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

Aug 12, 2015

The proverb “write what you know” goes beyond simply citing your own experiences. It requires you to take what you learned, find useful insights from them, then come up with interesting presentation ideas to use, both for visuals in your presentation designs or content for your script.

Doing this gives you an advantage, especially for sales and business presentations. In fact, citing quarters when your business scored high sales, or satisfied customer testimonies are a great way to lend credibility to your pitch.

There are three crucial reasons why writing from experience can give better presentation ideas for your professional PowerPoint deck.

1. It Builds Credibility

According to creativity mentor, Luke Sullivan, the most obvious benefit is that you quickly build your credibility as a professional presenter. This is a common tactic used by advertising agencies: Use incontestable facts. Citing facts like a proven 30% increase in sales, or a documented average cost reduction of 15% go a long way in helping your business presentation cut across the competition.

As long as you have the facts to back up your claims, you have a higher chance of offering something your competition cannot.
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2. It’s Relatable and Relevant

An appeal to common beliefs and shared experiences is a great way for presenters to connect with their audiences, both on an emotional and rational level. Giving a presentation that’s relevant to their current problems and expectations is an effective way to show them that you’re serious about helping clients as a professional business partner.

This audience-focused approach shows that you’re someone who understands what they’re going through, and are willing to help them. This can be done with both a well-practiced speech and a visually supportive PowerPoint deck. As Jim Aitchison suggests in Cutting Edge Advertising, when connecting with your audience, make sure that your presentation ideas use insights into human behavior.

The key to getting the most out of writing what you know is to use relevant experiences that you remember as a source of content for your speeches. The twist is that you need to take these insights and present them in an unfamiliar way through effective visuals and content.

3. Everyone Likes a Good Story

Brand communications expert, Carmine Gallo explains that in the same way recruiters ask for references, your audiences will always look for success stories.

This is why TED speakers are often successful whenever they give their talks. Writing their speeches from the experiences they know, including visuals to illustrate those times and sharing the lessons they learned are critical elements to making a convincing presentation.

The same process applies to a business presentation. Clients will need to know that you have proven your success, or at least, can show that you can, to invest in your proposal. If you can supply that proof, you’re one step closer to winning that pitch.

Ideas are Everything

Experiences always lead to interesting ideas. Making them compelling enough to invest in is the reason why professional presentation design specialists exist.

Once you have a great idea from your business’ experiences, try taking time to get in touch with us, all for free!

 
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References

“Ad Agency Tricks: Outsell Competitors in Sales Presentations.” SlideGenius, Inc. 2015. Accessed August 12, 2015.
Aitchison, Jim. Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World’s Best Print for Brands in the 21st Century (2nd Ed.). Singapore; New York: Prentice Hall. [2004].
“Communication Skills: Persuasion, Audience Analysis.” The Total Communicator. Accessed August 12, 2015.
Gallo, C. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience. New York: McGraw-Hill. [2010].
Sullivan, L. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads (3rd Ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. [2008].