Content marketing creation is about more than just letting the creativity run wild. It is about conveying a brand’s image, standards and message in each piece created. According to the Content Marketing Institute, it can be defined as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Moreover, delivering relevant and interesting content is a key part of any successful Sales Enablement strategy.
To achieve this mission, many platforms are available for marketers to choose from. However, two main platforms often collide Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Creative Suite InDesign. On which team are you?
Well, we can all agree that each has its upsides and downsides and that marketers are often either used to working on one or the other. So, before picking your team, we will give you insights into both.
This article will shortly describe both software and follow with a shortlist of the advantages and disadvantages of each.
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InDesign
What is InDesign?
InDesign is a desktop publishing software developed by Adobe Systems and has been part of Adobe’s Creative Suite since the first release. InDesign makes it possible for users to layout and publish a range of documents such as flyers, brochures, magazines, and newspapers. It integrates with other Adobe applications such as Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, or Illustrator for example.
InDesign is mostly used by designers and creative professionals. As mentioned it can be used to create printed documents. However, it is also used to design electronic material such as email templates, online newsletters, or ads. This can come in handy for designers who wish to add multimedia elements such as animations, sound to their otherwise static content pieces.
Upsides
InDesign is a purpose-built software that brings flexibility in terms of design and has several advantages:
- InDesign offers professional, high-quality output destined for printing
- InDesign makes it easy to manage high-quality graphics image and other brand elements
- InDesign ensures a printed or digital outcome without compromises in terms of design
- InDesign material can be relatively easy to update (images and/or text) once the initial design is created
InDesign also presents a few disadvantages when it comes to content creation and management:
- InDesign is an unfamiliar software for non-designers.
- Changes to existing content require either an outsourced skilled designer or an employee with a certain level of expertise with InDesign
- If used internally, there is a cost of subscription
- As a specific skill is required to make modifications, last minutes changes can be especially tricky.
When to use InDesign?
InDesign is perfect for any designer looking to create any type of professional document that requires complex brand information and elements
PowerPoint
What is PowerPoint?
PowerPoint is a presentation software developed by Microsoft and a part of the Office suite. It was originally developed to provide visuals for presentations in business organizations but has become used widely for different purposes including communication and marketing actions in business. Presentations can include text, images, audio, and other media as well as animations.
PowerPoint capabilities are also fit for design purposes if used wisely, and it is why this tool is used for sales collateral beyond sales presentations.
Upsides
PowerPoint is a well-known software for presentations, that is also used as a design tool since it has several upsides:
- Most organizations use PowerPoint and have a certain level of proficiency with this software.
- Since it can be used by everyone in the organization, the material is easy to modify and adjust even when it is done last minute
- Templates can be created and styles can be defined so employees follow brand guidelines when creating documents
- Styles can easily be changed in a few clicks, for all material concerned by said changes
- Great for sales presentations and online viewing of documents
PowerPoint also has a few downsides when it comes to content creation:
- It is not the greatest fit for material that must be printed
- If a special font is used, it needs to be installed in computers that will access the document in pptx (or incorporated in the document itself)
- There are certain limitations in design capabilities
- Including very high-def media (video, image, sound) can result in a heavy document if they are not compressed
When to use PowerPoint?
PowerPoint is a great fit for sales collateral creation as it combines design capabilities with the accessibility of the Office Suite.