Having the ability to speak confidently in public can greatly advance your career, particularly in the realm of social media marketing. As per the 2023 Sprout Social Index™, a majority (61%) of marketers concur that the best method to communicate social metrics to top management is by conducting face-to-face presentations or meetings. Regardless of whether you’re using Zoom or physically present in a conference room, being able to verbally present your data is crucial for career progression.
If the thought of that causes you to perspire excessively on your hands, remain calm. Abilities can be acquired through dedication and repetition over time.
If you’re prepared to enhance your social media presentations, you’ve come to the right place. This article provides a rundown of the key components of a social media marketing presentation, tips from professionals on how to effectively deliver your speech, and templates to help you quickly put together your presentation deck.
Can you define a social media presentation?
A social media presentation is a speech, lecture or pitch in which elements of a social media strategy are shared and explained to an audience—senior leaders, internal stakeholders, clients, etc.
Like a snowflake, no two presentations are the same. Every social media marketing presentation is tailored to the needs of a specific situation or goal. Broadly, these presentations can be categorized into the following:
- Presentations for pitching: In this scenario, the presenter’s goal is to convince the audience to support a strategic plan. This may include presenting services to a prospective customer in an agency environment or internal teams proposing a new tool or method.
- Update presentations: These presentations keep stakeholders informed about the progress of a strategy—wins, opportunities, lessons learned, etc.
- Knowledge-sharing presentations: The speaker aims to educate stakeholders on insights gained through social media data collection.
All of these presentations have the ability to add new significance to your social media endeavors. They make the return on investment (ROI) of your social media strategy more concrete by establishing clearer links between your efforts and their outcomes.
The 4 elements of a persuasive social media presentation
It can be difficult to tell when a presentation is ready to share. After spending hours developing a talk track and creating a deck, the lines between critical information and fluff can blur. The following list will help you plan and audit presentations to ensure they’re well-received every time.
1. A cohesive narrative
What is the purpose of presenting your social media content?
Behind every exceptional presentation lies a central thesis—a significant idea or perspective that you intend to convey to your audience. Even routine performance updates should have a driving purpose.
Starting from this point will align all of the information you incorporate—from your opening hook to your concluding thoughts—to create a cohesive, compelling story.
2. Succinct slides
Each slide you present should be simple, focused and void of unnecessary distractions. According to Paul Jurczynski, a TED Talk coach and cofounder of Improve Presentation, “The golden rule is to have one claim or idea per slide. If you have more to say, put it on the next slide.”
3. Compelling data visualizations
Presentations on social media marketing frequently revolve around demonstrating return on investment to stakeholders. Utilizing data visualization tools such as graphs and charts can be an effective method to support your argument.
In data journalist David McCandless’s TED talk, he explains that the beauty of data visualization is “that we can see the patterns and connections that matter and design that information so it makes more sense, it tells a story or allows us to focus only on the information that’s important.”
Don’t get bogged down in mapping out every single data point you uncover during your research. The best graphs are simple graphs with takeaways that are quick to spot.
4. Room for conversation
Connecting with your audience is more than just delivering excellent material. It involves building a relationship with them. Merely inquiring if there are any questions after your presentation is not sufficient. You must provide an opportunity for all attendees to process and engage with the information they have just learned.
Create space throughout your presentation to seek feedback on crucial concepts or areas of concern. Tailored questions create engaged audiences.
Expert advice for delivering your next social media presentation
If you’re looking for presentation advice, who better to turn to than a salesperson? That’s why we went to John Barrows, CEO of JB Sales for his guidance on presenting. Barrows provides professional sales training to companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn and Amazon, plus he has over 25 years worth of presentation experience.
We requested his professional insight on delivering outstanding presentations. Here’s his response.
Know the ins and outs of your business priorities
An effective presentation is focused on providing worth to the audience. It is crucial to clearly differentiate between the material and its relevance to the business. If not, there is a high chance of losing the engagement of your listeners from the beginning.
“We have seconds to get people’s attention these days,” says Barrows. “A person’s most valuable asset is their time.”
You can give more engaging presentations simply by staying up to date on company goals and priorities. Get to know what’s top of mind for senior leaders and other stakeholders so you can tailor your presentation content accordingly.
During sales meetings, Barrows makes it a point to inquire about each participant’s expectations for the meeting. You can replicate this technique by scheduling consistent one-on-one meetings with your team members to keep informed about their goals and objectives.
Practice, practice, practice
According to Barrows, practice can and will make perfect. “Public speaking is one of the biggest fears that most people have, but a lot of it comes down to confidence and preparation. The more prepared you are, the more confident you’ll be in your presentation.”
Barrows refers to confidence and preparation as the art and science of giving a good presentation. The art can be seen in skilled delivery and a snazzy deck, but it’s preparation that keeps everything on track. “If you come in unprepared to a meeting and you get one curveball of a question, you tend to fall apart. Preparation gives you the confidence you need to adjust on the fly.”
Review your recorded video.
It may make you cringe, but the best way to improve your presentation skills is to record yourself and watch it back.
Barrows figured this out after taking a presentation skills course, but not through instructor feedback. It was watching himself back on video that showed him everything he wanted to fix. Common public speaking issues—like overusing filler words and standing with closed body language—are easy to spot on tape.
The good news is, in increasingly distributed workforces, you don’t have to set up a camera during your Monday morning stand up to get footage of yourself speaking in front of an audience. You can just watch the Zoom recording.
Keep in mind that you are a human communicating with other humans.
This is especially important to keep in mind when talking to business leadership. You may look around and see a group of senior executives but at the end of the day, it’s really just another person.
“When I was first starting out in sales, I would get nervous presenting in front of CEOs and people who I perceived to be smarter or more important than I was,” says Barrows. “Presenting can cause imposter syndrome. But, if you take a minute to connect with your audience, you’ll see they’re not that intimidating.”
It is widely accepted that imagining your audience in the nude is not helpful advice. Rather, envision your audience as a friend’s father or a neighbor. Considering individuals as they are in their everyday lives can be an effective method to combat anxiety.
3 social media presentation templates to build off of
It happens all the time: You set aside 30 minutes for deck creation and an hour later, you’re still trying to figure out the layout of your third slide. A good presentation deck takes time, but that’s time you could be using to practice.
Rather than worrying about your design skills, consider using one of these ready-made social media marketing presentation templates. Customize them to fit your brand’s style, add your content and you’ll be ready to give your presentation.
Social strategy workshop template
Download the 2023 Sprout Social Index™ Report for a customizable deck template that will help you align stakeholders around key opportunities for your social strategy. Use it to lead conversations around how your business can maximize the utility of:
- New and developing technologies, such as artificial intelligence and automation.
- Changing consumer engagement preferences and patterns
- Team structures and collaboration norms
- Revenue impact from social
Template for presenting a plan for social media marketing strategies.
This leadership presentation deck will help you pitch a compelling vision for your next campaign, initiative or annual strategy. Update it with historical performance insights to bridge the gap between raw data and direct business value.
Social insights analysis template
If the information gathered from social media analysis is only kept within the marketing department, it won’t benefit your company. This template for a social insights analysis presentation will assist you in organizing and presenting the data collected from social media monitoring, providing important stakeholders with valuable insights that can be applied throughout the organization.
Your next social media presentation will be your best one yet
It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous before speaking in front of a group; most people do. Some of the world’s best public speakers get the same increased heart rate and sweaty palms as the rest of us. Thankfully, now you have everything you need to give great presentations despite those nerves.
Prepare for your upcoming presentation and incorporate valuable information from the 2023 Sprout Social Index™ Report to enhance your work. This report provides you with a ready-to-use insights deck that can be customized to showcase your expertise.
The post How to give better social media presentations (free templates included) appeared first on Sprout Social.
Creating engaging social media presentations can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to the world of social media. But with the right tools and resources, you can create stunning presentations that will help you reach your target audience and increase engagement. One of the best ways to do this is by using free templates.
Free templates are a great way to get started with creating a social media presentation. They provide a basic structure for your presentation, allowing you to customize it to fit your needs. Plus, they’re easy to use and can be downloaded quickly.
When looking for a free template, make sure to find one that is designed specifically for social media presentations. This will ensure that your presentation looks professional and is optimized for the platform you’re using. Additionally, make sure to look for templates that include features such as drag-and-drop elements, customizable backgrounds, and animation. These features will help make your presentation more engaging and visually appealing.
Once you’ve found the perfect template, it’s time to start customizing it. Start by adding your own images, videos, and text to the template. This will help make your presentation unique and give it a personal touch. Additionally, make sure to include relevant hashtags and links to your website or other social media accounts. This will help increase engagement and drive more traffic to your page.
Finally, don’t forget to proofread your presentation before you share it. Make sure all of the text is accurate and free of typos or grammatical errors. Additionally, double-check all of the links and make sure they are working properly.
Creating engaging social media presentations doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. With the right tools and resources, you can create stunning presentations that will help you reach your target audience and increase engagement. Free templates are a great way to get started, so take advantage of them today!
Source: sproutsocial.com
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