How to Grow Your Business with Online Presentations

Note (September 2026): The original version said social media sharing raises search rankings; Google has said social signals are not a direct ranking factor, so the text has been corrected and the guide expanded to cover webinars, accessibility and measurement.

Online presentations grow a business by showing expertise to a targeted audience at low cost. The main formats are live webinars, recorded video presentations and shared slide decks. To make them work, solve one clear audience problem, keep slides simple and accessible, promote registration, follow up with attendees, and measure leads and sales, not just views.

Key Takeaways

• An online presentation is any talk, demo or slide deck delivered over the internet, live or on demand.
• Webinars and shared decks work best for businesses that sell expertise, complex products or services with a long decision process.
• Social shares are not a direct Google ranking factor; the value comes from reach, referral traffic, leads and trust.
• Accessibility is part of quality: captions, readable contrast and alt text widen the audience.
• Track registrations, attendance, engagement and resulting leads or sales, and compare each event with your own previous ones.

Social media has become an invaluable resource for people who want to grow their businesses. As helpful as these sites are, however, they sometimes fail to reach a business’ targeted audience. When you want to share your message better, you may be convinced to use software that can be linked to your social media accounts. One example comes from professional services: Shahram Shirkhani, a founding partner of the Tehran-based International Law Firm of Shirkhani & Alavi, published a series of slide decks on SlideShare about commercial arbitration and international business disputes. A business of any size can follow that lead and create an easy-to-follow slide presentation that will engage your audience and clearly convey the message you want to spread to your clients.

How to Grow Business with Online Presentations

The slide presentation software that is available to social media users allows you to use targeted keywords and phrases better so that you can achieve a higher social media ranking. Social media is not a direct Google ranking factor: Google’s John Mueller has said repeatedly since 2015 that likes and shares do not directly improve organic rankings, but social distribution can still bring visitors, links and brand searches. When you want to use the keywords and keyword phrases that are pertinent to your message, you can do so by including them in your slide presentation. Once you build the presentation, it can be linked or shared on your social media account and made accessible to your followers.

Another advantage that comes with a resource like SlideShare involves being able to put your own perspective on your particular industry. When you rely on your website and social media accounts alone, you must have faith that these online resources are strong enough to stand by themselves against your competitors. Even the strongest of websites and social media accounts can sometimes be overshadowed by newcomers to the industry or companies that have longstanding histories and well-established audiences. When you want to gain an advantage over these competitors and also express your message in your own voice, you can do so by utilizing slide presentation software.

Part of building your slide presentation calls for you to give a brief description of it and also categorize it on the social media page. You can select categories like technology or education under which to list and share it. You can also provide updates to the slideshow as necessary.

Once your presentation is created, you can add it as a post or status update to your social media account. It stays available for followers to view for as long as the business and the hosting platform keep it online, and it serves as a reminder of the company’s services or products. It can also be shared by your followers to their own social media accounts. As the presentation is shared, it can build recognition and send referral traffic that helps a business compete, although shares alone do not raise search rankings. People will recognize your slide presentation as a customer-friendly approach to asking for their business.

If you are hesitant to use this technology, however, you may take heart in knowing that it is easy-to-use and rather self-explanatory. If you can create a PowerPoint presentation, you can likewise use this software to build a slideshow using this software. The instructions can be found on the program’s website. The arbitration decks from the Shirkhani & Alavi partner mentioned above are one example of a professional-services firm sharing expertise this way; any well-organized deck in your own industry can serve as a model for yours. You can also change it as needed if your message changes or you want to engage a new audience. Slideshow presentations that can be added to your social media page can help you grow your business and gain an advantage over your biggest competitors.

What Counts as an Online Presentation?

An online presentation is a talk, product demonstration or slide deck that an audience watches over the internet instead of in a room. Online presentations can be live, recorded, or simply shared as a document that people click through at their own pace.

For business growth, the format matters less than the purpose: every online presentation should teach the audience something useful and give them one clear next step, such as booking a call, starting a trial or downloading a guide.

How Do Online Presentations Help a Business Grow?

Online presentations help a business grow by turning expertise into leads and trust at a lower cost than in-person events. A single session can reach people in many locations, and the recording keeps working after the live date.

• Lead generation: a webinar registration form collects names and email addresses from people who have shown interest in a specific problem.
• Trust and authority: teaching a topic well shows competence more convincingly than advertising claims.
• Sales support: live demos let prospects see a product and ask questions before they buy.
• Customer onboarding and retention: training sessions help existing customers get more value, which supports renewals and referrals.
• Content repurposing: one presentation can become a blog post, short video clips, a slide deck and social posts.

Justwebworld’s overview of ways online webinars drive sales and growth covers the sales side of this in more detail.

Which Tools Can You Use for Online Presentations?

Online presentation tools fall into four groups: slide-building software, webinar platforms, collaboration suites with webinar features, and social or sharing platforms. Features, attendee limits and prices change often, so check each vendor’s current plans before choosing.

For B2B audiences, LinkedIn is often the natural place to promote sessions; see these LinkedIn marketing strategies for ways to build the audience first.

How to Plan and Deliver an Online Presentation: Step by Step

1. Set one business goal. Decide whether the session exists to generate leads, close sales, train customers or build awareness, because the goal decides the call to action and the metrics.
2. Define the audience and one problem. A narrow topic such as “how small clinics can cut appointment no-shows” attracts more qualified attendees than a broad one.
3. Choose the format and tool. Live webinars suit interaction; recorded sessions suit evergreen training; a shared deck suits quick reference material.
4. Outline before designing slides. Write the key points first, then build one idea per slide with short headlines and supporting visuals.
5. Rehearse and run a technical check. Test audio, camera, screen sharing, links and polls on the same platform and connection you will use live.
6. Promote the session. Use a clear registration page, email invitations, social posts and reminders before the start time; eye-catching graphics help, as explained in this guide to using a poster maker for your webinar.
7. Engage during the session. Use polls, questions and short demos, and leave dedicated time for Q&A.
8. End with one call to action. Ask attendees to take a single, specific next step.
9. Record and follow up. Send the recording, slides and the offer to everyone who registered, including those who could not attend.

Best Practices for Slides and Delivery

• Keep text short. Slides should support the speaker, not repeat a script; put detail in the notes or a handout.
• Use large, readable fonts and strong contrast. Many people watch on laptops and phones.
• Show, do not just tell. Screenshots, live demos, before-and-after examples and simple charts hold attention better than bullet lists.
• Look at the camera and speak plainly. A good microphone and steady lighting matter more than an elaborate background.
• Plan for interruptions. Have a co-host who can manage chat, admit attendees and take over if the presenter’s connection drops.
• Respect the time. Start on time, say how long the session will last, and finish when promised.

For more on structure and delivery, read this complete guide to making presentations more effective, and for the mechanics of building a deck, see how to create a slideshow in simple steps.

How to Make Online Presentations Accessible

An accessible online presentation is one that people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities can follow. The main reference is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG); according to the W3C, WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023.

• Captions: WCAG 2.2 requires captions for prerecorded video at Level A and for live video at Level AA. Many webinar tools offer automatic captions; review recordings before publishing because automatic captions make mistakes.
• Contrast: WCAG 2.2 sets a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
• Alt text and structure: give images descriptive alternative text and use real slide titles so screen readers can navigate. Microsoft PowerPoint includes an Accessibility Checker (Review, then Check Accessibility) and can show live subtitles while presenting.
• Describe visuals aloud: say what a chart shows instead of “as you can see here”.
• Share materials: send slides in advance or with the recording, and publish a transcript.

Legal duties depend on the country and the type of service. In the European Union, for example, the European Accessibility Act has applied since June 28, 2025 to certain products and digital services such as e-commerce, with microenterprises exempt from its service obligations; businesses unsure whether it covers them should get specific advice. The broader case for accessible design is explained in why the web must be accessible to people of all abilities.

How to Get Online Presentations Found

Online presentations get found through a mix of platform search, search engines and direct promotion. A few practical steps help:

• Write descriptive titles and descriptions that use the words your audience searches for, without keyword stuffing.
• Add chapters to recordings. According to YouTube Help, chapters appear when the description lists at least three timestamps in ascending order, the first starts at 00:00, and each chapter is at least 10 seconds long. Google’s Search Central documentation says YouTube timestamps can be used for key moments in Google Search, and embedded videos can use Clip or SeekToAction structured data.
• Give each recording its own page on your website with a summary and a transcript, so search engines and readers can understand the content.
• Repurpose the content into a written article, short clips and a downloadable deck.
• Share it where the audience already is, but treat social sharing as distribution, not a ranking shortcut.

Which Metrics Should You Track?

The right metrics connect each online presentation to a business result. Industry benchmarks for webinar attendance and conversion vary widely by sector and source, so the most reliable comparison is against your own previous events.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Turning the whole session into a sales pitch instead of teaching something useful first.
• Choosing a topic so broad that no one feels it is meant for them.
• Crowding slides with paragraphs of text.
• Skipping the technical rehearsal.
• Ending without a clear call to action.
• Never following up with registrants who missed the live session.
• Judging success by views alone instead of leads and sales.

Following Up Without Breaking Email Rules

Follow-up emails turn attendees into customers, but they must follow marketing law. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission’s CAN-SPAM compliance guide says commercial emails must include a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out, and that opt-out requests must be honored within 10 business days. Other regions, including the EU and UK, have their own consent and data-protection rules, so check the rules that apply to your audience before adding registrants to a marketing list. It is also good practice to tell attendees at registration that the session will be recorded.

Who Should Use Online Presentations?

Online presentations suit businesses whose customers need information before they buy: consultants, law and accounting firms, software companies, educators, healthcare and wellness providers, and B2B suppliers. They are less useful for low-cost impulse purchases, where a short video or product page usually does the job faster.

The next step is simple: pick one question your customers ask often, turn the answer into a 20-slide deck or a short webinar, and measure what happens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are webinars still an effective way to grow a business?

Webinars remain effective for businesses that sell expertise, services or complex products, because they collect interested leads and let prospects ask questions. Results depend on the topic, the audience and the follow-up, so start with one focused session and measure leads and sales rather than attendance alone.

How long should a business webinar be?

There is no fixed rule for webinar length. Keep the session as short as the topic allows, tell attendees the length in advance, leave time for questions, and use your platform’s viewing data to see where people drop off.

Is SlideShare still available?

Yes. SlideShare is an active presentation-sharing platform owned by Scribd, which acquired it from LinkedIn in 2020. Users can upload PowerPoint, Word or PDF files publicly or privately and embed them on other websites.

Do social media shares improve Google rankings?

No, not directly. Google has said that social signals such as likes and shares are not a ranking factor. Sharing a presentation can still help indirectly by sending visitors, earning links from people who discover it, and increasing searches for the brand.

Do online presentations need captions?

Captions are strongly recommended and are part of the WCAG 2.2 accessibility standard, which asks for captions on prerecorded video at Level A and on live video at Level AA. Whether captions are a legal requirement depends on the country and the type of business.

Can a recorded webinar be reused?

Yes. A recorded webinar can be published on demand, split into short clips, turned into a blog post, and shared as a slide deck. Update or retire any recording once its facts, prices or product details go out of date.

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