How to Create Top SlideShare Presentations With PowerPoint

How would you like to get your professional business presentation in front of thousands, or even millions, of readers?

With a SlideShare presentation, you've got the potential to reach a large audience. SlideShare's own recent statistics show that the site has over 70 million visitors. Getting your message out to just a portion of those visitors could make a huge impact on your business.

Since SlideShare presentations can be shared publicly through social media, your information also has the potential to go viral—making the audience for your company's SlideShare presentation even larger.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a SlideShare presentation. We'll give you a brief overview on SlideShare. Then, we'll take you through the basics of how to make a presentation using PowerPoint. Next, we'll explain how to upload your professional presentation to SlideShare. Finally, we'll discuss how you can promote your SlideShare presentation to help it go viral.

Guide to Making Great Presentations (Free eBook Download)

Before you read on, be sure to grab our Free eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. It will help you master the presentation process, from: initial idea, through to writing, design, and delivering with impact.

Now, let's take a deeper look at SlideShare before learning how to create online presentations with PowerPoint that are sharable.

1. SlideShare Overview

SlideShare is an online sharing service that allows you to upload and share your PowerPoint slideshows, other types of presentations, infographics, or videos. The SlideShare platform is owned by LinkedIn.

SlideShare has millions of professional users, and the site has even more monthly visitors. A presentation or document shared on SlideShare could be seen by a large number of  viewers. This makes it an ideal tool for sharing your business message and generating traffic to your website.

2. Choose a Presentation Topic

Before you even start to create your PowerPoint SlideShare presentation, carefully consider the topic your presentation will cover.

The best SlideShare presentation topics are:

• Concise. If you share too much information your prospective client probably won't make it through the entire presentation. It's better to be brief and to the point.
• Targeted. Keep your audience and the goal for your SlideShare presentation in mind. Ask: what does this audience need to know about our business? Then ask: how do I want this audience to respond?

Research is another important component of a successful PowerPoint SlideShare presentation. The most informative and useful presentations are the ones those that provide helpful and accurate information. Those are the presentations that tend to get shared. So, do your homework well.

• 

  18+ Best PowerPoint SlideShare Presentation Examples (For 2022)

  

  Laura Spencer

  13 Jun 2022

After you've selected your presentation topic, decide how the information will be organized. Here are just a few examples of how you could organize your presentation:

• As a list
• As a tutorial-type guide
• As an informative presentation

Once you've chosen a topic and thought about organization, it's time to pick the presentation design that works best for your goal and your information.

3. Pick a Presentation Design

First impressions are important, especially when it comes to SlideShare presentations. Remember that your presentation may be the first time that some viewers learn about your company. How your SlideShare presentation looks makes a difference. Your presentation design could make or break your presentation.

If you're a professional designer (or have one on staff), you can probably create an eye-catching PowerPoint design template if you have time. But most companies either don't have access to a designer or don't have the time to make their own template.

A professional PowerPoint template design can help. Using a pre-designed professional template can save you hours of work. For a lot of businesses, using a template is the right choice.

Envato's GraphicRiver has a wide selection professional PowerPoint templates available. You can preview a selection of some of our most popular templates in this article:  

• 

  30 PPT Templates: To Make Simple Modern PowerPoint Presentations in 2023

  

  Sean Hodge

  06 May 2023

As you can see, these PowerPoint templates feature an eye-catching appearance with numerous unique slide designs included. Plus, you can customize them by using your own color scheme and adding graphic elements specific to your business such as your logo.

However, if you still want to design your own PowerPoint template, the tips to follow are in this helpful tutorial:

• 

  How to Make Good PowerPoint Slide Designs Even Better in 2023

  

  Sven Lenaerts

  20 Jun 2023

4. Write Your Presentation

Once you've selected a topic, it's time to write the presentation.

This section discusses how to go about writing an effective presentation. Here are four of the important elements of a SlideShare presentation that are often overlooked as it written:

1. Title. The title slide is the first thing a viewer sees. Your title needs to be compelling enough to make your reader want to see more of your presentation.
2. Keywords. You may think that keywords aren't important in a SlideShare presentation, but a SlideShare is considered online content. It can be found by search engines.
3. Clickable Links. Because your PowerPoint SlideShare presentation will be published online, include clickable links in your presentation. It will help bring visitors right to your website.
4. Call to Action. Your call to action tells the viewer what you want them to do next. Often, it includes a clickable link to your website or other online page.

Keep these elements in mind as you write your presentation. For more detailed instruction on writing a presentation, study these tutorials:

• 

  How to Write a Professional PowerPoint Presentation (Discover the Writing Process)

  

  Brad Smith

  19 Jun 2023
• 

  60 Effective PowerPoint Presentation Tips & Tricks (Giant List)

  

  Brad Smith

  28 Jul 2023

You can also refer to the "Plan and Write a Powerful Presentation" section in our Presentations eBook, The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations, for even more guidance on writing a powerful presentation.

5. Create Your Presentation in PowerPoint

Your next task is to create your online presentation using PowerPoint.

To create your presentation, look at the basic steps below. Or, for more detailed instructions on using PowerPoint, study:

• 

  PowerPoint 101: Everything You Need to Make a Basic Presentation

  

  Sarah Joy

  20 Feb 2022

Here are the seven basic steps to creating your presentation:

Step 1. Open a Blank PowerPoint Presentation

To get started with creating a PowerPoint presentation, open a blank PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint opens with some recent presentations and template suggestions displayed:

We're going to use a premium PowerPoint template design, so click on the Open Other Presentations link in the lower left corner.

Step 2. Apply a Pro PowerPoint Template

The next step is to open a Premium PPT template to use with this presentation. For a more complete discussion of how to download and apply a template, refer to:

• 

  How to Quickly Change PowerPoint Templates (Download & Import) 2023

  

  Andrew Childress

  16 Jun 2023

To get to where your template is stored on your computer, use the Browse icon (it looks like a folder):

Double-click on the folder icon where your presentation template is stored. Click the .pptx template file you want to use and click the Open button.

The best slideshow size for a SlideShare presentation is the 4.3 ratio. So, we'll select the folder that contains the 4x3 templates.

Learn more about PowerPoint slide dimensions in this tutorial:

• 

  What Are the Right Dimensions (Size) for Your PowerPoint PPT Slides? (+ Video)

  

  Andrew Childress

  21 Sep 2023

Here's what our presentation looks like so far:

For this example, we'll be using the Simplicity presentation template from Envato's GraphicRiver. Discover new PowerPoint templates available on GraphicRiver.

As you can see in the illustration above, the various slide designs available in this template display as thumbnails on the left of screen. The current slide appears to the right.

Before we go any further, rename the template to the file name you want to use to your presentation.

Step 3. Add Your Presentation Text

Now that you've got your template open, it's time to add your presentation text. Let's start with the text for the title slide.

Remember that the title slide is the first part of your presentation a viewer will see. So, take some extra time crafting the best title for your audience.

Here's the title slide for this PowerPoint SlideShare presentation:

Because you used a presentation template, you don't really need to do hefty design work here (other than resizing the title).

For a complete tutorial on how to add text to a PowerPoint presentation, study:

• 

  How to Add Text to PowerPoint & Make Amazing Text Effects (+Video)

  

  Andrew Childress

  26 Dec 2022

Step 4. Add New Slides

Once you've created the title, you're ready to create the additional slides of your presentation. Start by browsing through the pre-designed slides to see which ones you can use that matches your material best. Use the scroll bar to right of the template thumbnails to move through them.

Select any thumbnails you don't need by clicking on them. Press the Delete key on your keyboard to remove them from the presentation.

Once you've decided which slide designs you want to use, you may need to rearrange the order of your slides. To move a slide, click on it and drag it to the position where you'd like it to be.

Type over the text information on each template slide with your own information. Be careful about adding too much to any one slide though. Keep each slide focused.

Step 5. Place Your Images

One way to make your presentation stand out is by adding images. For our example SlideShare presentation, I added this image:

Note: We've used a royalty-free image from Envato's PhotoDune as an example here.

For a complete guide on working with images in PowerPoint, refer to:

• 

  How to Work With Images in PowerPoint (Complete PPT Picture Guide)

  

  Andrew Childress

  31 Oct 2022

Step 6. Add a Conclusion and Call to Action

Once you've added all the slides you need to your presentation, it's time to create the last slide. The last slide should include a call to action. This is a good place to add a prominant link.

Here's the call to action on my sample presentation:

Step 7. Save Your Online SlideShare Presentation

When your presentation is complete, save it for upload to SlideShare

One of the easiest formats to upload to SlideShare is a .pdf file. To export your SlideShare presentation to PDF format, go to the File screen. Click Export and then click the Create PDF/XPS icon:

Select the folder where you want to save your PDF file. Check that the file is named properly. Then, click the Publish button.

6. Publishing Your SlideShare Online

Now that you've created a presentation for sharing online, you're ready to upload it to SlideShare.

Step 1. Access SlideShare

To access SlideShare, type www.slideshare.net into your web browser's Address field. If you're not logged into your SlideShare account, do so now. Or, log in using LinkedIn or Facebook. The main SlideShare screen displays:

As you look at the screen, notice that there's a Search field on the top left. Use search to find SlideShare slideshows on topics of interest to you.

In the bottom center, under Today's Top SlideShares, which are the SlideShares with the most views today. Use the scroll bar on the right to browse through these presentations.

Step 2. Upload Your Presentation to SlideShare

To upload your presentation, click the Upload button on the upper right. The Upload a File screen appears:

Click the Select files to upload button. Navigate to the folder where your presentation is stored. Select your presentation file, and click Open. The maximum size for an uploaded file is 300 MB. If your presentation file is larger than that, edit it down so it meets the requirement.

Note: You can also upload a file from Dropbox or drag and drop a file from your desktop.

The SlideShare system shows the Upload screen:

Notice the preview of your SlideShare presentation at the top of the screen.

Step 3. Fill Out the Upload Screen

Use the scroll bars on the right of the screen to view the fields below your uploaded presentation:

Here are the fields on this screen and some tips for filling out each field:

• Title. Type the title of your presentation. Be sure to include a keyword.
• Description. The presentation description is one of the most important fields that'll allow others to find your SlideShare presentation. Make it relevant and engaging. Don't stuff this field with keywords, but do include a few.
• Categories. Click the arrow to the right of the field to select one of SlideShare's pre-defined categories. Choose the category most relevant to your presentation.
• Privacy. Click the arrow to the right to choose from between one of three privacy settings: Public, Limited, Private.
• Tags. Enter up to 20 tags in this field. Your tags can include keywords for search engine optimization.
• Discoverability Score. The system automatically calculates a value based on how discoverable your content will be. You score increases as you fill out the fields on the Upload screen.

Note: Select Public in the Privacy field to allow others to discover your presentation. The Limited option means only those with a link to the SlideShare can view it. If you choose Private, only you can see the presentation.

When you're finished, click the Publish button on lower right corner.

Step 4. Edit Your SlideShare Presentation Settings

Just because you've published your PowerPoint SlideShare presentation doesn't mean you can't change the settings.

To change the SlideShare settings for your presentation, click on the icon with your image in the upper right corner of the main SlideShare screen. Select My Uploads from the drop-down menu. The My Uploads tab displays:

All of your currently published presentations are shown on this screen. Use the scroll bar on the right to find the presentation you want to edit. Click in the check box to the left of the SlideShare presentation once you find it to select it.

Click the Edit button to open the Edit Details tab:

Note: Although the word Edit is used here and on the previous screen, you can't actually change the contents of your presentation unless you re-upload it. Edit here refers to changing the settings of a published SlideShare.

Use the Edit Details tab to change information you entered in the Title field, the Description field, or the Tags field. You can also select a new category for your presentation.

At the bottom of the screen, you'll see some additional settings:

• Language. Choose a wide variety of language options from the drop-down menu, ranging from Afrikaans to Vietnamese.
• Player Background Color. The default is Black, but you can choose White.
• Choose a license. The default is All Rights Reserved. Other drop-down menu selections include various types of Creative Commons licenses.

Click the Update button on the bottom left when you've finished making changes.

To change the privacy setting for your PowerPoint SlideShare, click the Privacy Settings tab. The Privacy Settings tab also allows you to schedule a date to make your slideshow public. And you can allow users to download your presentation and/or embed it on their website. When you've changing your privacy settings, click the Update button.

7. Promoting Your SlideShare Presentation

After you've created and published your SlideShare presentation, increase the number of people who see your presentation by promoting it. The more people who see your slideshow, the more potential customers you'll get.

Promoting your SlideShare slideshow is very much like how you would promote other items of web content online. Here are three promotion tips:

1. Share your presentation on social media. Add posts linking to your presentation on Twitter. Pin it to Pinterest. Post it on Facebook. And of course, don't forget to share it on LinkedIn.
2. Embed the presentation on your website. If someone visits your website and wants to learn more about your product or services, a link to your SlideShare presentation just might provide the information they need.
3. Email your presentation link in your newsletter. If your SlideShare contains new or updated information, you can make sure your current clients and prospects know about it by sharing a link through to your email subscribers.

For a more detailed look at how to use social media, read through this tutorial:

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  How to Use Social Media for Small Business (Beginner's Guide)

  

  Brenda Barron

  25 Feb 2022

Download Our New eBook on Making Great Presentations (Free PDF)

We have the perfect compliment to this tutorial, which will walk you through the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully. 

Download our new eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. It's available for FREE with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. 

Conclusion

As we've discussed, SlideShare is a great opportunity for your business to reach a larger audience with your sharable online presentation.

You've just learned what you need to know to create top SlideShare presentations for your business. Now you know how to create an online presentation using PowerPoint. Plus, you know the basics of uploading your presentation to SlideShare. You also know how to promote your professional SlideShare presentation to attract a larger audience.

So, what's stopping you? Create your own professional SlideShare presentation today and get your business message in front of more people.