Little Trendyz IMC Plan

Little Trendyz is a business that specializes in the creation and production of Zippyz, a one-of-a-kind footed pajama for babies. The company was formed in 2010 by new mom Lisa Feder Youngelson. Like many new moms, Youngelson was constantly waking up in the middle of the night to change her newborn son Ryan’s diaper. She was so exhausted that matching up the snaps on Ryan’s pajamas was a constant struggle. Youngelson decided to try a zippered pajama to ease the routine nightly changes, but when she went to change Ryan, he began to cry from the shock of the cold air hitting his exposed chest.

Youngelson searched for a pajama that was both comfortable for her son and hassle free for her, but she couldn’t find any such product on the market. That is when she came up with the idea of Zippyz; a footed baby pajama with three snaps on the chest and a zipper from foot to belly. 

Zippyz are made from a combination of bamboo and organic cotton, making the pajama both soft for babies and eco-friendly. The design of Zippyz cuts changing time in half. See how Zippyz works (right). Little Trendyz comfortable and convenient design targets new and expecting parents.

Little Trendyz's biggest strength is the product. As stated above, there is no similar product to Zippyz on the market, so Little Trendyz has the opportunity to capitalize on Zippyz's unique design. Little Trendyz's weakness is a lack of brand recognition. Because Little Trendyz is a relatively new company, the brand hasn't become a household name yet. In November 2013, Little Trendyz will receive its first major production order (8,000 Zippyz). Little Trendyz's biggest opportunity is to use the brand's recognizable celebrity endorsements to sell out of the major production order in the first quarter of 2014. The biggest threat standing in the way of Little Trendyz's goals is the fact that the brand is essentially a one-man production, and it's difficult for Youngelson to keep up with the brand's marketing, public relations and social media needs.

An integrated marketing strategy that utilizes various multimedia communication channels would be beneficial for the Little Trendyz brand. In today’s world, consumers are harder to reach through all of the white noise of advertising. An Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) strategy puts out the same message on multiple communication channels, so the brand’s message can cut through the white noise and make an impact on consumers. In order to be successful at IMC, Little Trendyz should produce consistent content that is engaging and relevant to their target audience. By producing this type of content and engaging with consumers, Little Trendyz will form real relationships with consumers, and consumers will be converted into brand enthusiasts. Once consumers are loyal to the brand, they will start to share the brand's message with all of their connections, and this will help Little Trendyz to establish brand recognition.

When developing an IMC plan for Little Trendyz, I would focus on the content being produced on the brand's website, blog and social media channels. Simple tasks like posting regularly on all social channels, and including industry-related keywords into content, would help Little Trendyz increase SEO and reach company goals. I would also try to increase brand engagement by cross-promoting social media platforms, and holding contests to get social media followers more engaged with the brand. 

I would suggest Little Trendyz invest in a tool like HootSuite, so the brand could post on multiple social media networks throughout the day, without having to constantly log in and out of each individual network. HootSuite would also allow the brand to automate social media posts, which would help the brand stay ahead.

Little Trendyz has developed a quality product in Zippyz, and with a couple minor changes, the brand could have a quality integrated marketing strategy that would help them reach all of their first quarter goals.

Measuring the Success of Your Integrated Marketing Campaign

An integral part of any successful integrated marketing campaign is tracking analytics and measuring results to see what content worked, and what content didn't. Figuring out your analytics will allow you to make real-time changes to your ongoing campaigns, and it will help guide you to make future campaigns a success. Below are examples of analytics from a company's Facebook page and email campaign, and a review of what the statistics mean and how the company could improve in the future.

Facebook

The graph above shows an overview of the company's Facebook posts for the month of May (purple), with the number of people mentioning the post (green), and the total number of people who have seen each post (blue). The numbers above the graph show that brand has increased total likes, friends of fans and weekly total reach, but fewer people are talking about the brand's content. To make more sense of the graph above, it's helpful to look at the chart below. The chart below shows which type of posts correspond with the days above, so the company can have a better idea of what specific content is engaging their Facebook fans.

Based on the second chart, the company's best post was a call to action on May 29. This post was seen by 509 people and 30 people were talking about the post. The more people are talking about your content, and sharing and commenting on it, the larger reach your content will have. Similarly, in the post on May 28, the company was calling followers into action with the word "Join." Once again, followers responded well to the call to action. The post was seen by 428 people, and 18 of those users were engaged in the content. You have to engage your followers in order to reach more people. 

From this chart the company can also learn that links don't perform nearly as well. The links the company shared on May 29 and June 2 had a significantly smaller reach, and few followers were engaged in the content or talked about it. In the future, the company should share less links.

The company's Facebook analytics are broken down even further into what specific demographics are seeing the brand's content (reach) and talking about the brand (above). From the charts the brand can learn that their content is most engaging to 25-34 year old women. If this demographic is the brand's target audience, they're clearly doing a good job with the content they're posting. If the brand was hoping to target another demographic, they should try posting different types of content, and see how that specific demographic responds.

The graph to the right shows where the brand is receiving traffic from. From the graph, the company can see that most of their traffic is coming from their viral content. As the company's social media manager, I would look at increasing the brand's total reach by focusing on the organic reach. It doesn't look like the company wants to invest in paid advertisement, so organic search is the best area for improvement. A company can increase organic reach by producing consistent, quality content that includes keywords and links to reputable sources. Once a company is producing that type of content, they will appear higher in search engines, and more traffic will be driven to their page.

Another way the company could increase traffic and the reach of their content, would be to include links back to the Facebook page on other social media channels. Maybe one of the brand's followers is really engaged on Twitter, but they're unaware the brand is active on Facebook. By linking between all of your social media pages, as well as your webpage, you will have a truely integrated marketing campaign that will be more successful.

In the future, this company should really focus on content that will keep engaging the 25-34 age range. This group already seems to be more captive, so capitalize on that. I would also post more call to actions on Facebook, because the brand's followers respond and share that content with their followers, and the brand has the potential to reach more people. Finally, I would look to improve how the brand is being found on Facebook by having a more integrated approach to the brand's marketing communications.

Email

Below you can see an overview of an email the company sent on May 21, 2013. The graph tells the company how many emails were sent (2,624), and how many emails actually made it to an inbox (2,606). These numbers show that the company has done a pretty good job of keeping their email lists updated, and they're not wasting time and resources sending to email accounts that are no longer in service.

The chart then proceeds to show how many of the delivered emails were actually opened (661), how many people clicked on the links within the opened emails (72), and how many of those people who clicked on the links made a purchase (0). 

Besides the delivery rate, I think the company has a lot of work to do in future email campaigns. Only a quarter of the people they're sending the email to are even opening the email. As a consumer, I get sent a lot of email from brands every day. I don't have the time to open up and go through every single one, but I will click on the emails with intriguing headlines about sales or promotions. If I were this brand's marketing manager, I would include more industry-related keywords and information about sales within the subject line. The subject line determines whether or not someone opens an email, so you have to make sure you're subject line makes people want to open your email.

The other drastic drop offs are the number of people opening the email, to the number of people clicking on links within the email, and then number of people who are making a purchase. This 10.9 percent click rate and 0 percent conversion rate may mean that the brand's email and website aren't user-friendly. In future campaigns, the brand may want to consider restructuring emails and the website so they're seeing a larger return on investment.

Another way the company could increase the success of email campaigns in the future, is by incorporating links to the brand's website and social media networks in the email. Social media buttons allow recipients to easily share the 

Reputation Management

This week we have been challenged with the task of responding to positive and negative hotel reviews. The following examples are two sample posts, and how I would respond to each as the social media manager.

The Peabody Orlando/Hyatt Regency Orlando



Dear Travelwith3kiddos,

Thank you for returning to The Peabody Orlando and sharing your positive experience with us. As the social media manager of the newly acquired Hyatt Regency Orlando, we love hearing about our guests experiences, especially when it pertains to our great staff. We assure you that the same great staff that the Peabody was known for, have made the transition to the new hotel.

We apologize that you didn't have a room overlooking one of our three pools, but we're glad you were satisfied with the luxurious decor and furnishings that can be found in all of our rooms.

It's unfortunate that it rained during your stay, but as you know, Florida weather can sometimes be unpredictable. With rain and wind, debris sometimes gets blown into the pool, but we're happy to hear our staff got the pool clean after the storm and your kids could enjoy the slides and cascading waterfalls.

The 24-hour B-Line Diner is frequently featured on the Food Network and it is a great stop for a late night bite. We apologize that you had to wait at The Cappricio (now Fiorenzo Italian Steakhouse), and we hope you didn't have to wait long. The restaurant is a popular choice among our guests, so even with a reservation, sometimes guests are forced to wait until a table opens up. We hope you got to enjoy a glass of wine from our extensive, award-winning wine cellar while you waited.

The Peabody/Hyatt Regency is conveniently located in the heart of Orlando, just minutes away from Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Disney World and the Orange County Convention Center, making it an ideal choice for business and pleasure. We're sorry to hear that you were unhappy with the price of parking, but we're glad you took advantage of our shuttle service, which can transport guests to and from local attractions for $1.50.

Whether for business or pleasure, we hope you'll return to the Hyatt Regency Orlando soon.

Sincerely,

Lauren Roberts
Social Media Manager, Hyatt Regency Orlando


The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina



Dear LUV2TRAVELWITHHUBBY,

We are very sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your stay at The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. The issues you dealt with do not represent the experience we strive to provide to our guests.

I'm having my staff take a look at your room in order to fix the pocket-style door and thoroughly clean the shower head. We are also taking a look at adding a shield to the parking lot gate box, so future guests don't experience the same problem you had on your visit.

I apologize that you weren't able to enjoy our heated outdoor swimming pool. When guests leave their newspapers by our poolside lounges, sometimes gusts of wind can blow them into the pool. I can assure you that our cleaning staff will be informed about your experience and the pool will be cleaned. However, we hope you were able to enjoy the beautiful Fort Lauderdale beaches located within minutes of the hotel.

We welcome your feedback and the opportunity to discuss these concerns with The Hilton staff so we may immediately implement any training or maintenance needed to maintain our high standards.

I hope you'll visit The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina in the future and give us the opportunity to truly represent the quality standards that the Hilton brand is known for.

Sincerely,

Lauren Roberts
Social Media Manager, The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina

Event Marketing: ISPA Conference

The International Spa Assoication (ISPA) hosted its annual national conference Oct. 21-23 in Las Vegas. In order to generate hype and continue the conversation, ISPA utilized social media for pre-, during and post-event marketing. Here is a closer look at how ISPA used social media to advertise the conference.

A month prior to the conference, ISPA posted photos, videos and text on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn and the organization's blog to help build hype for the event. Some of the posts prior to the conference included photos of different vendors preparing for the show, including their booth number; discounts to different vendors at the show, registration and show details, images of prizes that would be auctioned off, and videos of speakers who were presenting at the conference. Above is an Instagram post that ISPA posted prior to the conference. The post said, "Everything is all packed up in the Conference truck and on its way to Vegas! Can't wait to see everyone in just one week! #ispa2013."


During the conference, ISPA posted photos, videos and text on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Some of their content included photos of different sessions and booths at the conference, information about when keynote speakers were speaking and when certain sessions were taking place, quotes from keynote speakers, and questions asking participants what they were learning. The posts during the event informed people at the conference of different things that were happening around them, and they informed those who weren't able to attend what they were missing out on. The question posts on Facebook and Twitter also encouraged those who were attending the event, to join in the conversation. By showing all the great events happening at this year's conference, ISPA created incentive for people to come to, or return to the conference next year. Below is one of ISPA's Facebook posts encouraging participants to attend the last general session with keynote speaker Bill Rancic.

After the conference, ISPA kept the conversation about the conference going through social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The content after the event included posts thanking sponsors and vendors for making the event a success, posts thanking attendees for attending, posts asking participants to share their photos from the event on Instagram, retweets from attendees saying what a great time they had at the event, and posts asking attendees what they learned at the conference.

The ISPA conference had large followings on all social media platforms, but the organization's Facebook page seemed to get the most engagement throughout the conference. The post that seemed to garner the most engagement was a Facebook post on Oct. 24, thanking attendees for coming to the event and wishing them safe travels, (right). This post received 35 likes and nine comments. This post was successful because by liking or commenting, attendees showed their connections or clients that they were at the event, which paints them as an industry authority.

ISPA included "#ISPA2013" and "#GrowYourWorld" in their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts. By creating hashtags for the event, they helped with event branding and allowed attendees to converse. In several of ISPA's posts, they used "#ispa2013," which I thought took away from the event's branding. The hashtag should have been consistent throughout, so participants weren't confused.

Excluding the varying hashtags, ISPA's message seemed to be consistent on all social media platforms. It appeared as though the organization used a marketing tool like HootSuite to post the same message on Facebook and Twitter. Although this helped give the brand a consistent message, sometimes not creating messages for each individual channel didn't pay off. On Oct. 8, ISPA posted, "Be sure to stop by the ISPA Resource Center on the Expo floor to pick up one of these fun ISPA sticky flag booklets! Perfect for leaving reminder notes in your Conference Guide or on the ISPA Expo Map. #ISPA2013." While this message with the complimentary photo worked well on Facebook, it wasn't as effective on Twitter since over half of the message was cut off (below).

Throughout the event, ISPA would retweet the content participants were posting about the event. By posting attendees content, the organization gave all attendees an incentive to write about their experiences at the conference. The retweets also showed what a great time people were having at the conference and how beneficial the conference is for attendees.

ISPA posted social media content thanking sponsors after the event had concluded, but I was unable to find other social media posts talking about the sponsors. ISPA should have talked more about individual sponsors on social media. By giving sponsors free publicity, ISPA could have given sponsors a reason to sponsor next year's event.


ISPA did a good job of integrating their marketing efforts across social media and their other marketing platforms. The organization has it's own magazine called Pulse, and the October edition featured an article about the 2013 conference. A link to the magazine and article were posted ISPA's Facebook page (right) and Twitter feed. A link with the photo of the magazine cover was also featured on the organization's website. Because the link was shared on multiple platforms, ISPA's message reached a larger number of people.

The event's marketers also did a thorough job of advertising ISPA's other social media channels. There were Twitter and Facebook posts encouraging follower's to get involved in conversations, share photos and share their experiences on Instagram and ISPA's blog, (below).

The social media post that stood out the most for me, was the Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter post about Bill Rancic speaking. Highlighting a celebrity speaker not only catches people's attention, it makes people want to attend the event in the future.

There were several area's of ISPA's event marketing that I thought they could improve. To have a better IMC strategy, ISPA could have posted more content about the conference on their LinkedIn page and blog. The only thing on the organization's LinkedIn page was a very brief bio stating the date and location of the conference, with a link where individuals could register to attend. After the event, the organization could have created a blog post talking about what happened at the conference, how successful it was and details for next year's conference.

Creating Content for Animal Kingdom

This week I've been challenged with the task of planning a month's worth of Facebook and Twitter posts for Disney's Animal Kingdom. My goal for the month of December is to inform people of the different animals and attractions within the Animal Kingdom, and encourage people to visit Animal Kingdom during the holiday season.

Sunday, Dec. 1:
Facebook: On the first day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, a two-toed sloth sleeping in a tree #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of a two-toed sloth sleeping in a tree.
Twitter: On the 1st day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, a two-toed sloth sleeping in a tree #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of a two-toed sloth sleeping in a tree.

Monday, Dec. 2:
Facebook: On the second day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, two Jambu Fruit Doves #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a photo of two Jambu Fruit Doves.
Twitter: On the 2nd day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 2 Jambu Fruit Doves #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a photo of two Jambu Fruit Doves.

Tuesday, Dec. 3:
Facebook: On the third day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, three Naked Mole Rats #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Naked Mole Rats.
Twitter: On the 3rd day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 3 Naked Mole Rats #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Naked Mole Rats.

Wednesday, Dec. 4:
Facebook: On the fourth day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, four Asian Tigers #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Asian Tigers.
Twitter: On the 4th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 4 Asian Tigers #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Asian Tigers.

Thursday, Dec. 5:
Facebook: On the fifth day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, five Golden Pheasants #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a photo of Golden Pheasants.
Twitter: On the 5th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 5 Golden Pheasants #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a photo of Golden Pheasants.

Friday, Dec. 6:
Facebook: On the sixth day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, six Egyptian Geese laying #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of an Egyptian Goose sitting on her nest.
Twitter: On the 6th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 6 Egyptian Geese laying #12DaysOfAnimals
Notes: Include a video of an Egyptian Goose sitting on her nest.

Saturday, Dec. 7: 
Facebook: On the seventh day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, seven Black Neck Swans swimming #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Black Neck Swans swimming.
Twitter: On the 7th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 7 Black Neck Swans swimming #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Black Neck Swans swimming.

Sunday, Dec. 8:
Facebook: On the eighth day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, eight Dexter Cows milking #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of a Dexter Cow being milked.
Twitter: On the 8th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 8 Dexter Cows milking #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of a Dexter Cow being milked.

Monday, Dec. 9:
Facebook: On the ninth day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, nine Gorillas dancing #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of various Gorillas moving to music so it appears like they're dancing.
Twitter: On the 9th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 9 Gorillas dancing #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of various Gorillas moving to music so it appears like they're dancing.

Tuesday, Dec. 10:
Facebook: On the tenth day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, ten Lemurs leaping #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Lemurs leaping.
Twitter: On the 10th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 10 Lemurs leaping #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Lemurs leaping.

Wednesday, Dec. 11:
Facebook: On the eleventh day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, eleven Pythons hissing #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Pythons hissing.
Twitter: On the 11th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 11 Pythons hissing #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Pythons hissing.

Thursday, Dec. 12:
Facebook: On the twelfth day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 12 Meerkats running #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Meerkats running.
Twitter: On the 12th day of Christmas Animal Kingdom gave to me, 12 Meerkats running #12DaysOfAnimals
Note: Include a video of Meerkats running.

Knot Your Average Bridal Network

The Knot is a bridal network that doesn't just target brides. When signing up for the network, you have the option of identifying yourself as the bride, groom, bridesmaid, groomsman, maid of honor, parent or wedding professional. After selecting your identity, you have the option of further identifying yourself. For example, if you select that you're the bride, you are presented with the following classifications:

• No engagement ring yet
• Ring on my finger, just started planning
• Midway through my planning
• Within weeks of my wedding
• Married!

The social network targets everyone who is interested or involved with the wedding industry.

Members of The Knot enjoy access to 50,000 wedding photos, a free personalized wedding planner, deals and discounts, wedding vendor reviews and a free wedding website, (right).

Once you have registered for The Knot, you have the option of selecting your wedding date and wedding colors. Once you select your wedding date, every time you log onto your account, you'll see a countdown of how many days until your big day. 

Knot users have the option of creating a website for their wedding, creating a personalized checklist to ensure everything gets done before the big day, tracking their budget, creating a guest list, viewing local vendors, and creating a gift registry. Just like Pinterest, users can also view thousands of pictures from real weddings, and save their favorites to their account, (bottom, left) .

There are several ways that users are able to interact with one another on The Knot. Users can upload photos from their wedding, and other users can "love," comment on, or share the images on other social media networks. Knot users also can rate and write reviews on different wedding venues and vendors, which is helpful for brides and grooms trying to determine where they should hold their special day.

The Knot also allows brides to comment on different wedding-related boards, ask a wedding expert questions, and play interactive games like, "registry showdown" and "my inner bride."

The Knot is an important network because it's "the internet's most-trafficked one-stop wedding planning solution." Little girls dream of planning their wedding, but many don't dream of the stress that comes along with planning a budget and selecting who makes the guest list. The Knot helps to alleviate some of the wedding day stress, and keeps planning from turning into a nightmare. 

I signed up for The Knot before my fiance even proposed. My favorite feature of the network is the checklist because it allows me to check off everything I've done, and it gives me a visual of what I still need to do, and when I need to do it by. The network stands out from other channels because of all of its features, and its the go-to network for everything bridal. Brides don't have to wade through a lot of photos or vendors that aren't relevant to them, they can customize their experience to fit their tastes and needs, and that unique experience is what will keep them coming back to The Knot.

Social media plays a big role in the success of The Knot's Integrated Marketing Communications. The network has social buttons at the top of its page, as well as share buttons underneath photographs, linking users to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus. This allows users to not only find the network's social media pages that they may have been unaware of, but to share what they've found on the site with all of their friends, which could encourage their friends to join the network.

The Knot localizes its content by allowing users to search and comment on local venues and vendors. If marketers in the wedding industry were looking to include proximity marketing into their communications strategy, they could include themselves in map features, and offer those that check-in a percentage off of their product or service. This would entice more customers to visit the vendor, and if they're surrounded by a product, they're more likely to make a purchase. 

SlideShare: "The Quiet Giant of Content Marketing"

Click here to see the
infographic up close!

SlideShare is the world’s largest content community for sharing presentations. The network was founded in 2006 by Rashmi Sinha, and in 2012, the network was acquired by LinkedIn for $119 million. Since SlideShare's launch and integration with LinkedIn, the mobile-friendly network has exponentially grown. According to the SlideShare website, 60 million people visit the site monthly. With 130 million page views per month, SlideShare is among the top 200 most visited sites in the world. 

SlideShare targets users from professional and educational communities, who regularly leave comments, add favorites and download content from the network. Besides hosting presentations, SlideShare also supports documents, PDFs, videos and webinars. Businesses can upload documents to SlideShare to share ideas, conduct research, connect with others and generate leads.

SlideShare has many capabilities including:

• Upload presentations publicly or privately
• Download presentations on any topic
• Embed presentations on blogs or websites
• Share presentations on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn
• Embed YouTube videos into your presentations
• Sync MP3 audio with slides to create a webinar
• Free, one click web meetings
• Generates business leads

How to use SlideShare

Allison Friedman created eight tips to help businesses use SlideShare more effectively.

1. Use existing content, but trim fat as necessary

      You can upload all of your old business presentations, but
      be sure you’re formatting them to be successful on
      SlideShare. Add images to slides where they're
      appropriate, and cut out any wordiness. According to
      Gregory Clotti, the most effective SlideShare 
      presentations get right to the point because web users
      prefer quick, and information-packed sentences, images and graphics.

2. Keep your content simple, but visually interesting

Where possible, try to tell your business’ story through images or videos, as opposed to text. In a world with so much online content available, images help your content get noticed, and they help drive engagement. Put the most design work into your title slide because it serves as an advertisement for your content.

3. Enable embedding

If you allow anyone to download your presentations, you exponentially expand the reach of your presentation. If you embed your SlideShare presentations onto your company website, you preserve your company’s bandwidth, and you make it easier for your visitors because they won’t have to open another application to view your content.

4. Optimize your presentations for search

SlideShare content ranks well in external search engines, so it’s important to include keywords in titles, descriptions and tags so traffic is driven to your content.

5. Add hyperlinks to your presentations

Include links to your company’s website on the first and last slides of your presentation, so people who enjoyed your presentation can learn more about your company.

6. Integrate your SlideShare, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts

Adding the SlideShare app on Facebook and LinkedIn allows you to automatically display your most recent presentation on each of the social networks. The app sends a notification to your entire network, so they’re aware that there is new content to view.

7. Take advantage of SlideShare analytics

By reviewing how many people view, comment on and share your presentations, you will know what your target audience responds to.

8. Invest in SlideShare Pro if you want leads

If you upgrade your SlideShare account to SlideShare Pro, you can get insight on who’s viewing your presentations. This knowledge can lead to new partners and customers.

Why your company should be using SlideShare

Hundreds of companies aren't taking advantage of the network that has been nicknamed "The Quiet Giant of Content Marketing." Most companies are already creating great content, and SlideShare allows your content to be seen visually, and by a larger audience. Christina Milanowski elaborated on six reasons your company should be using SlideShare.

     1. Increase SEO

     From the link on your website, to the links embedded within you presentations, SlideShare
     generates a lot of referral traffic. Creating a presentation in SlideShare and adding keywords
     gives your company a robust result in searches.

     2. Appear as an industry expert
  
     To leverage content from speeches and make your employees appear as go-to-experts, post    
     presentations with appropriate keywords on SlideShare. You'll increase traffic to your homepage
     and you can easily share the speeches with SlideShare.

     3. Promote your content marketing strategy
  
     Infuse SlideShare into your content marketing strategy to help publish and promote the content
     that you're already sharing via articles, white papers, blog posts and downloadable content. It will
     direct new traffic and leads to your company.

     4. Maximize your LinkedIn potential
  
     LinkedIn allows your to display your SlideShare content in full color, which will draw more
     connections to your company's page and website.

     5. Use it as a search tool

     SlideShare is one of the best
     resources in terms of pure content.
     Search the network on a
     particular topic and you'll receive a
     list of content from great minds
     across the world.

     6. It's highly measurable

     SlideShare allows you to gauge the
     influence of your content by tracking
     how your presentations are
     performing on Facebook, Twitter,
     LinkedIn, Google Plus and
     Pinterest. You can also gauge
     how much traffic your website is
     receiving from SlideShare.

Want more information about how SlideShare can benefit your business? Check out this presentation!