How To Tell A Story With Data
Analytics are amazing but having an algorithm read aloud isn’t exciting. Numbers can highlight some awesome facts yet reading a list of statistics isn’t invigorating. Data has never been more relevant for direct marketers but how do you make the data come alive and work for you?
Below are a couple of common sense tips that will help you make your data tell a story:
Simple and Straightforward
Keep your content simple. Don’t use confusing charts with too many trend lines. Be straightforward about what is happening. When you finish displaying your information, your audience should know what you did, what happened, why it happened, and what you plan on doing next.
Inspire
Once you’ve made sure you won’t lose anyone with your terminology or extra-fancy charts, it’s time to make sure you’re not putting them to sleep, either. Keep your audience’s attention by including attention-grabbing topics like expected revenue growth of a certain initiative, or how your recommendation could make someone else in the room more effective or their daily life easier. Make sure you’re focusing on the potential outcomes of future efforts, not just reading a table of results.
(via ClickZ)