Windows 10 Can Wait – But, Sway and Docs.com is Ready Now
With the recent release of Windows 10, Microsoft has announced a new collaborative app known as Sway. I’ve been checking it out and it’s a very intuitive and easy to use publishing tool for images, videos, reports, even documents. Best of all, it’s free! I just used an old Microsoft account and headed over to Sway.com and began creating my very first “Sway”. It’s much like a micro-blogging platform and has it’s share of initial challenges such as simply embedding a YouTube video. But, all in all, for a new Microsoft platform it’s actually quite robust.
Check out the Sway marketing video:
Additionally, there are the Off-page SEO factors that can help us all out. It’s touted as being open to search engine crawling and you can easily embed backlinks. Here’s a snapshot inside Sway as I setup my first one:
https://sway.com/7wkB_YzVH2Eo5ThJ
Notice the social media share options on both sides. This is a fantastic resource for off-page SEO and the buzz is because it’s Microsoft’s platform, this is going to grow massively in rank and authority. Sway.com already has a Moz score of 48 and you can publish directly to Docs.com which has an even better Moz score of 60. And, again, this is deemed to simply get better and better.
Here is my new Sway after publishing to Docs.com:
https://docs.com/pj-germain
As you can see Sway.com and Docs.com have a very bright future and think of the marketing possibilities for small business, social media marketing and video marketing. Heck, online marketing in general. With the social aspects and fluid design, combined with feature-rich text and such an intuitive interface, this will certainly rival the Google-sphere. I for one am excited about the possibilities. After the last Google algorithm changes (panda and penguin) many online marketing venues were so devalued, leaving us with little places for off-page SEO. It’s a great breath of fresh air to have a new opportunity to showcase talent and rich media.
Business Aspects and Microsoft Office
While there is room for much improvement within Sway and the ability to publish directly to Docs.com, there are of course, some glaring deficiencies. There is no Pinterest share or Instagram. But, perhaps it’s saving grace is that it incorporates fluidly with all Microsoft Office Suite products enhancing the collaborative environment for any business. Again, the marketing aspects are boundless, but also there is the training arena to consider. While Youtube is without fail a great place to load up videos, the presentation leaves a lot to be desired. With Sway and Docs.com, you can create a platform of a variety of mixed, feature-rich media such as Powerpoint presentations, slide-shows, followed by videos and articles or spreadsheets, all in one place.
The goal Microsoft had in mind was to create a story-line atmosphere that was hassle-free and easy to use. I feel they hit the mark with these two apps. The drag-and-drop interface makes it quite easy for anyone to generate professional presentations in a snap. Combined with all these features I just mentioned, taking an iPad or other tablet to a client can yield a compelling marketing portfolio with ease and little time. I can see many sales people and marketing managers putting things together on their way in transit to the client and BAM, closing the deal.
You have the ability to publish ANY document from an office product with ease – however, the granular details of editing the documents are lacking in Sway and seem to beg for the full-blown versions of the specific Office products. Lastly, while it’s fantastic on an iPad or other tablet, there exists issues with smartphones and responsive viewing. I’m sure Microsoft has this on their project agenda though.
My Final Verdict on Sway and Docs.com
I can see the potential of this in a teaching environment. Since Microsoft has value pricing for educational organizations on their Office Suite and Sway is unlimited and FREE, this will be a huge tool for schools and technical training arenas. From a business marketing standpoint, if you haven’t checked it out, it’s definitely worth a look. It’s indeed a breath of fresh air for online marketing!
