Going viral on LinkedIn with SlideShare

In May of last year LinkedIn acquired document sharing platform SlideShare for $119Mn, made up of cash and shares. The acquisition made a lot of sense, given that the integration between the two channels became increasingly deeper. SlideShare makes uploading documents for sharing very simple, and at $19 a month for the basic pro account, it’s inexpensive. (The free version is also functional if you want to try it out.)

I’ve been using SlideShare to upload documents and white papers to embed on my LinkedIn profile and other social places. Uploading a white paper takes about 2 minutes and looks brilliant. It’s easy to read on-line without the need to download, (although there is a download button), easy to share on any of the social channels, and easy to embed through a copied embed code. SlideShare also transcribe the content below the paper which is great for SEO. Users can follow accounts of content they like, receiving notifications every time new content gets added. Without any real effort I have gained over 800 followers. Anyone viewing content sees thumbnails of similar content on the right hand side of the screen which adds additional views, new followers and downloads.  This is an example of my most recent upload, a white paper for RolePoint on Social Referrals.

SlideShare has great analytics, tracking views, sharers,search terms, traffic sources and results , and the pro version enables you to add lead capture, contact buttons, HD video uploads, tracking of opens by prospects, on-line meetings and discussions, branding, branding, blocking of competitor content and larger uploads like e-books.

The real benefit comes from sharing SlideShare content as updates and discussions in targeted groups. The last 2 papers i have distributed in this way have trended and been promoted on the home page of both LinkedIn and SlideShare. The two channels compliment each other perfectly, and is proving the best way to share  papers, documents (like job specs), video and e-books to a targeted audience, combining the great visual look of SlideShare with the ease of reaching a very relevant audience through LinkedIn targeting. The RolePoint white paper featured in this post has been viewed 1,404 times, and is proving to have a much longer shelf like than other social channels,has been embedded in 136 other places and been downloaded 22 times. When you are generating targeted content, this is the best way to share it making it an essential part of your employer branding and content planning.

Bill