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14 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Make More Creative Slideshows [+ Templates]

Presentations
September 11, 2020/by
14 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Make More Creative Slideshows  I like to think of Microsoft PowerPoint as a test of basic marketing skills. To create a passing presentation, I need to demonstrate design skills, technical literacy, and a sense of personal style. If the presentation has a problem (like an unintended font, a broken link, or unreadable text), then I’ve probably failed the test. Even if my spoken presentation is well rehearsed, a bad visual experience can ruin it for the audience. Expertise means nothing without a good presentation to back it up. For starters, grab your collection of free PowerPoint templates below, and use the tips that follow to perfect your next presentation. No matter your topic, successful PowerPoints depend on three main factors: your command of PowerPoint's design tools, your attention to presentation processes, and your devotion to consistent style. Here are some simple tips to help you start mastering each of those factors, and don't forget to check out the additional resources at the bottom of this post. How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation A presentation is made up of multiple slides, and now that you know how to make one, you can delve deeper into PowerPoint's capabilities. 1. Open a blank presentation again or start from one you've already created. If you've already created a presentation, double click the icon to open the existing file. Otherwise, open Microsoft PowerPoint, click "File" in the top left corner, and...
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11 Tips for Virtually Pitching Marketing Campaigns

Remote Working
September 11, 2020/by
11 Tips for Virtually Pitching Marketing Campaigns It's no secret that agencies are accustomed to wooing clients during in-person pitches. In fact, the term "pitch theater" is regularly used in the agency world to describe over-the-top presentations that go to great lengths to win accounts. But, with the recent shift to remote work, agencies can no longer rely on a firm handshake, in-person meetings, and casual small talk to help land them a client. If you're one of the many marketers or agency members who thrive during in-person pitches, you might still be learning how to create a presentation that brings your memorable charm and flair to a small computer screen. Luckily, as you pivot some aspects of your presentation style to a new video-friendly format, you can leverage your inner creativity, meeting software, and other digital tools to give you a leg up against other agencies vying for the same clients. With a creative mindset, it actually isn't too hard to give a concise virtual presentation that answers most of a prospect's burning questions. In this post, I'll highlight 11 tips for planning, practicing, and presenting virtual pitches. 11 Tips for Giving Virtually Pitching Marketing Campaigns Preparing Your Pitch 1. Map out a plan for a smooth virtual presentation. With the growth of video call technology, most or all elements of a pitch can be virtual. For example, you can simply share your screen to show your peers a presentation, or send a video pitch to your...
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How to Learn Excel Online: 19 Free and Paid Resources for Excel Training

Excel
September 10, 2020/by
How to Learn Excel Online: 19 Free and Paid Resources for Excel Training Like many marketers, I have a bit of experience with Microsoft Excel. I've used it to organize events, plan meals, and sort data -- but I don't have nearly the advanced knowledge I wish I did. And thanks to those limited skills, I'm constantly subjecting myself to the tedium of updating my spreadsheets manually. Like me, you're missing out on a world of Excel training courses that could teach me how to automate my reports and save hours of time. When I asked even my most Excel-savvy colleagues where they picked up their knowledge, they told me things like, "I mostly learned from colleagues and friends," or, "When I have a specific question, I ask someone or search on Google." Fair enough. But as a beginner, I probably have a few too many Excel questions to rely on colleagues -- or Google -- to answer every one. I can't be the only one out there who wants to master the world's most popular data analysis and visualization solution -- or at least learn how to create charts and graphs that'll impress my manager. So in the spirit of becoming a more productive, data-driven marketer, I scoured the internet for the best online resources for learning Excel. Half of them are free, and the ones that aren't might be worth the investment. In these trainings, you'll learn the following: Learning Excel Create PivotTables to find...
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The 5 Kinds of Digital Marketing Collateral You Should Be Creating

Marketing Resources
September 9, 2020/by
The 5 Kinds of Digital Marketing Collateral You Should Be Creating It goes without saying, but your marketing materials shouldn't be limited to conventional outbound advertisements — particularly if your business is B2B. Sure, capturing attention is part of the battle, but what happens when a prospect visits your website and sees nothing but some product descriptions and a pricing page? There has to be more there. You need to have some material to show that you can walk the walk. One kind of content that helps get you there is known as marketing collateral, and it can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here, we'll get a more in-depth understanding of the concept and go over the five most important marketing collateral formats you can use to help establish legitimacy and supplement your sales efforts. At its core, marketing collateral is a way to let prospects know that you know what you're talking about. It's not supposed to be as flashy as conventional advertisements. In creating marketing collateral, your first priority generally isn't to capture attention — it's to retain and enhance it. In most cases, the prospects who are looking at your marketing collateral are curious about your company, but they might not be intimately familiar with you or your offering. Well-crafted marketing collateral can put them at ease. It can help build the kind of trust necessary to start and sustain a customer relationship. Marketing collateral tends to be educational in some capacity....
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12 Tried-and-True Ways to Promote Your Blog Posts

Content Distribution
September 9, 2020/by
12 Tried-and-True Ways to Promote Your Blog Posts The initial phase of starting your blog is one of the most fun and exciting parts of your journey. After pouring all that time and effort into the ideation process, researching your target market, and narrowing in on your niche — this is the part where your efforts begin to pay off. However, in order for your blog to be successful from the get-go, there are certain steps you have to take to lay the groundwork. That's right: There's research involved in this stage, too. If you don't have a good plan of action for the launch of your blog, things can fall apart during execution. Here, we'll walk you through a simple but thorough blog promotion checklist. Read on to learn about all the things you should have in place when you first go live with your blog, plus, what you can do to ensure your blog is successful for the long-run. Benefits to a Blog Promotion Checklist You might be thinking, "Haven't I already done enough planning and research? Let's get the ball rolling!" Yes, you have put a lot of hours into the blog already. But without a proper promotion plan, all that hard work will go to waste. Nobody wants to have a grand opening to crickets. By having a checklist to work with, you gain the following benefits: Less procrastination: It's easy to slip up once all the planning and research is done and go a...
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How 6 Brands Use Instagram Live in Their Marketing Strategy

Instagram Marketing
September 8, 2020/by
How 6 Brands Use Instagram Live in Their Marketing Strategy 83% of Instagram users say they find new products or services by browsing the platform. So, how can you ensure your brand attracts new audiences on Instagram? One way is with Instagram Live. The live feature is part of Instagram Stories and allows you to stream video and engage with followers in real-time. When a user goes live, Instagram notifies their followers and highlights their profile picture in the Stories section, making it appear first in line on their followers’ feeds. Live video can be an effective tool to highlight your business offerings and host engaging events for users to join. In fact, 82% of people prefer live video over social posts from a brand according to a survey hosted by Vimeo Livestream and New York Magazine! But enough from me — now, I’ll let you take inspiration from those already using Instagram Live to grow their brand. How 6 Brands Use Instagram Live 1. Global Citizen Global Citizen is a non-profit organization with a mission to end extreme poverty by 2030. Earlier this year, the brand used Instagram Live to promote their #TogetherAtHome campaign — an effort to encourage social distancing in order to slow the spread of coronavirus. To attract viewers, Global Citizen partnered with numerous celebrities to host an at-home concert series. Below is their Instagram Live collaboration with H.E.R., a musical artist. In this livestream,...
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Everything Our Paid Team Learned From Attempting a Reddit Advertising Strategy

PPC
September 4, 2020/by
Everything Our Paid Team Learned From Attempting a Reddit Advertising Strategy With a ranking as one of the top ten most popular sites on the internet, Reddit is undoubtedly an intriguing channel for advertising purposes. However, the site can often seem intimidating, and perhaps even too random to create a cohesive advertising strategy. Plus, since its primary purpose is to expose viewers to the top-trending content of the moment, Reddit users are notoriously anti-marketing. Regardless of its challenges, its potential advantages proved too good an opportunity to pass up. At HubSpot, we decided to implement a strategy to see for ourselves whether Reddit can serve as a promising channel for the future. Here, learn what our team figured out about advertising on Reddit, and whether it's worth the attempt for your own company. Plus, we've provided a step-by-step tutorial on how you can advertise on Reddit if you determine it's a valuable option for your own company.  The Strategy Behind Reddit Advertising 1. Identify subreddit topics which are well-aligned with your target audience. To investigate the benefits of advertising on Reddit, I first spoke with Josh Chang, a Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot. He told me HubSpot's initial strategy on Reddit involved highly targeted campaigns on specific subreddits, including r/entrepreneur and r/sales. "The goal of the campaign," Chang explained, "was to drive awareness and conversion for our products. In terms of results, we saw cost-per-acquisition similar to what we've achieved on Facebook in North America, although we did notice...
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