Paint by Numbers. Harness the Power of Data Visualization
The spreadsheet is an object of obsession for data analysts and quantitative thinkers. But for business leaders, sorting through countless rows and columns of raw data isn’t ideal because their time is precious.
Data is crucial to your business’s success since it can drive some of your most important decisions. But to get anything out of it, the data has to tell a story. And that’s where data visualization comes in. The easiest way to tell a data story may be with visuals (an infographic, a chart or a graph) and this can be very effective.
When data storytelling is done well, it engages the intended audience and allows for quick, clear communication. It can guide your business in the right direction and help many parties make informed decisions.
Why Graphic Content and Data Visualization Are Good for Business
In the content-hungry world of online media, there’s more potential than ever for evergreen graphic and data visualization content.
Various marketing channels crowded with competing messaging means marketers are constantly under pressure to create compelling content. Online platforms used to highlight messaging and promote branded content require a steady infusion of fresh content to keep audiences engaged. Developing a continuous stream of fresh content that generates audience interest can be challenging for any brand. However, it can also be an opportunity in terms of visual content marketing.
In the content-hungry world of online media, there’s more potential for evergreen content that can be used to create engagement over time. The need to constantly create compelling content is driven by people who are scouring the Internet for information that can help them understand market trends, compare competing value propositions, or aid decision-making. In many cases, brands are sitting on a lot of data that could position them as thought leaders, provide the insights audiences are seeking, and attract people to their business. While many brands use static infographics to share market intelligence, brands can also use existing standards for graphics processing and open-source technologies to turn the same data into engaging, interactive visualizations.
2015 Will Be the Year of Turning Big Data into Actionable Insights
We are living in the era of Big Data. The amount of data being collected has been growing exponentially, with no sign of slowing down anytime soon. It is predicted that in 2015, worldwide spending on Big Data-related software, hardware, and services will grow to $125 billion (IDC). Big Data provides a treasure trove of possibilities for marketers, but we have spent so much time fine-tuning our data collection that we have not moved beyond basic forms of analysis. This will be the year that companies small and large will take their data analytics to the next level. Turning data into truly actionable insights will supercharge your marketing and make your data more precious than ever.
Gone is the time when Business Intelligence (BI) meant an expensive, clunky tool from a software company like Oracle or SAP. BI tools have become more user-friendly and have put more emphasis on data visualization. Having a data scientist who can run extremely complex data models is great, but spreadsheets can be hard to present to your board of directors. That is why it is crucial for analysts to offer great communication and storytelling. Analysts need to present data in a way that makes sense to almost anybody. New BI and data visualization tools are making this much more attainable, as well as becoming easier to access through the cloud. According to Gartner, “by 2016, 25% of net-new BI and analytics platform deployments will be in the form of subscriptions to cloud services.” BI and data visualization are becoming easier to use and more readily available. This will open up the opportunity for companies of all sizes to gain incredible insights from their data.
