Why Your Content is Falling Flat – And How Data Visualization Can Fix That

Among the multiple valuable skills to possess in the modern-day world, one of the most sought-after options is the ability to visualize data. Data from everywhere surrounds us – from business statistics to consumer behavior analysis and global healthcare to financial numbers.

However, raw data, all by itself, offers agony rather than information. Here is where data storytelling comes into play: turning complicated information into a story that inspires people to act.

The desire to combine and complement numbers, visuals or pictures, and scripts in a manner that reaches the audience and influences them in some way is the foundation upon which data storytelling is built. Marketers, analysts, and business owners can emphasize the importance of data storytelling as it assists in turning ideas into firm decisions and enhancing the effectiveness of the data.

One of the best tools to aid you in the success of data storytelling is Google Data Studio, a free, user-friendly, and powerful data visualization tool. Here is a demonstration of how data storytelling can be visualized with the help of Google Data Studio.

Source: Loves Data

In this article, we’ll explore how you can utilize Google Data Studio to analyze data and tell different stories coupled with meaningful insights.

What is Data Storytelling?

The term ‘data storytelling’ denotes the usage of data to depict a narrative. Practicing data storytelling requires the blended use of the following three elements:

• Data: The information and numbers that you would like to present.
• Visuals: The representation of the data through graphs, charts, and diagrams.
• Narrative: The story that provides context and reason about the significance of the data presented.

While business storytellers are in an overwhelming majority, most businesses for the longest time only resort to presenting data components rather than telling data stories. It’s about forming a plot around the data so that it is not just a collection of figures in tables but helps people see the bigger picture, track developments and forecasts, and reach conclusions.

Examples of Data Storytelling:

• Marketing: A marketing team may adopt a data story approach to justify website visits, lead generation, and sales conversions from campaign activities.
• Finance: A finance professional would depict data stories focusing on various market and economic factors in determining an organization’s growth.
• Healthcare: Healthcare workers may present data that demonstrates the impact of various public health measures on health outcomes within a population.

For instance, in a National Geographic published data story, they went on to draw relevance to the number of COVID-19 deaths in the US (roughly 500,000) with a relatable data stat.

Source: Viseven

Well-prepared data stories do a lot more. The explanation coupled with the analysis will help to make vital decisions that could not be made based on numbers alone. 

Why Choose Google Data Studio?

Data storytelling is increasingly becoming essential in the modern-day world; this is the reason why one will find several tools that assist in creating such storytelling. In this case, we explore Google Data Studio – one of the most popular tools for a number of reasons.

Google Data Studio is one of the most popular tools in this regard and its wide adoption can be attributed to several factors:

• Easy and Free: As is the case with many paid data visualization programs, Google Data Studio does not charge for its use. If you have a Google account, there is nothing else that needs to be done to begin using it.
• Intuitive: It is easy to use due to its simple drag-and-drop feature allowing even novices to be able to use it. There is no need for programming and in-and-out technical knowledge to be able to make high-level reports and dashboards.

Take a look at this Google Analytics acquisition report, for instance, created using Google Data Studio.

Source: Hevo

• Many Sources of Data Available for Sharing: Google Data Studio can work perfectly together with other products of Google, like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, and BigQuery as well as databases, such as MySQL, YouTube Analytics, and other social media platforms.
• Interactive Graphic Design: The tool is not just limited to the above features and involves many graphic design elements such as charts, tables, and reports which can be appropriately modified. There are additional functions such as filters, sliders, and drill-downs that take reporting to another level of interaction.

Comparison with Other Tools:

• Tableau: The software provides data visualization and statistics analysis capabilities like never before. However, this program will require a significant time investment and premium pricing on the majority of features.

Here is a representation of worldwide oil usage, represented using Tableau.

Source: Tableau

It is a lot more expensive than costs associated with Google Data Studio although more complicated features can be installed on Tableau. Google Data Studio, on the other hand, sounds a bit simplistic, offering excellent potential for most data visualization requirements without the premium.

• Power BI: Power BI created by Microsoft is a powerful tool amongst competitors, especially for organizations. On the other hand, Google Data Studio may be less powerful but its free and seamless integration with Google products makes it useful among marketers, small companies, and even non-technical people.

Getting Started with Google Data Studio

Now, let’s take the first steps of setting up Google Data Studio and arranging the data you will use to tell and sell your story.

1. Set Up a Google Data Studio Account

• Go to Google Data Studio and sign in using your Google account.
• In the main dashboard is a list of reports created, plus options for creating new ones, exploring templates, and connecting to data sources.

2. Connecting Data Sources

• A lot of data connectors are present in the suite of tools in Google Data Studio. Moreover, you can integrate data from Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, and other external data platforms like MySQL and YouTube Analytics.
• Choose the data source you would like to connect and allow access. For instance, when you are importing data from Google Analytics, you will be required to choose the account, property, and view you wish to work on.

Here is a simple representation of how you can get started with Google Data Studio.

3. Choosing the Right Data Sources for Your Story

• In preparing the data stories, before looking at the visualizations, reflect on the purpose of that narrative. Are you trying to show how a website performs, to establish the return on investment (ROI) of a campaign, or to look at the sales patterns over a period? This will guide you in determining which data sources are appropriate.

Make sure that the data you retrieve is appropriate, organized, and focused on the insights to be derived.

Building Your First Data Story

It is not enough to just create visuals out of data sets when it comes to developing a data story. A data story usually consists of the following elements:

1. Introduction

To begin, make a description of the subject or the problem being addressed.

If for instance you are preparing a report and analyzing an eCommerce website performance, one of the key aspects to be considered in the introduction would be: “How do you think the recent marketing campaign impacted the sales?”.

2. Setup

Provide background context and information. Include pertinent data which is historical relevance or comparative industry data. This will allow the readers to draw in and locate the baseline of sorts in the data story that follows.

3. Conflict

Get to the core of what the data suggests or what obstacles must be addressed. For example, even when user traffic is higher than average, you might observe that very few leads are actually being converted into paying customers.

This clash generates a source of conflict that will be tackled in the course of the narrative.

4. Resolution

Suggest possible solutions, proposals, or decisions. Offer how particular actions or processes might resolve the issues raised in the conflict. That resolution should be evidenced in the data visualization that you provide, wherein the audience is simply left with clear takeaways.

Visualizing Data Effectively in Google Data Studio

One of the challenges of effective data storytelling is knowing what kind of visualization is to be presented and how it should be presented. The choice of graph or chart affects the outcome of data interpretation.

1. Selecting the Right Chart

Line Charts are more suitable to display the movement of one or more factors over time, thus it would best show changes in website traffic, for instance, on a monthly interval.

Bar Charts are useful in determining the proportions of various categories within a single valuation, for instance, sales turnover by a number of regions.

Pie Charts are used to bring out proportions and distributions, for example, the percentages of revenue growth from some classes of products manufactured by the production center.

This is how one looks on Google Data Studio.

Source: Google Cloud

2. Avoiding Clutter

While nearing the conclusion concerning the use of visual aids, it is important to remember a simple and obvious rule: simplification, however ridiculous may this sound. Most websites have two objectives to convey and at the same time implement as much useful data as possible in the timeline.

3. Advanced Features

Google Data Studio allows the use of advanced visual tools including:

• Heatmaps for showing the degree or extent of some variable (e.g. which part of the website users are operating on the most).
• Time Series Comparisons to show how the data changes over a longer time period rather than just a snapshot of one hour.
• Filters and Segments to look at the users or specific types of user behavior, for example, mobile traffic versus desktop traffic.

Tips for Polishing and Presenting Your Data Story

Several methods can be employed to structure your data story effectively, clarifying and reinforcing your argument along the way.

1. Clarity and Consistency

Organically structure your rationale so that it flows from one reason to one opposing reason, then move on to reason two, and then back to their counter-argument. Maintain the same layout, color patterns, and data nomenclature throughout your report.

For instance, this report depicts clearly how consistency in representation can seamlessly keep users engaged.

Source: Fast Company

You should exercise care and attention to this part of the data story. Your audience should not be flooded with too much information or data for no good reason. Concentrate on important conclusions.

2. Adding Context with Text and Annotations

Add text boxes and images that explain aspects of your visuals. A few words or sentences act like a thumbscrew, for instance, the importance of why the data is worth the viewer’s attention may be outlined.

Use callouts or other features to call out key points and analyze specific data (spike in traffic activity).

3. Presenting to Stakeholders

Know your audience and prepare your presentation accordingly. In the case of top management, stress the main insights and the key decisions. In the case of operational teams present more descriptive information and what they should do with that information.

Don’t forget to dazzle your willingness to tell a story with the data such that the way you present the story makes it easy for the people to grasp each verbal strand.

Bottomline – Show, Don’t Just Tell

In an era where decisions are primarily driven by data, being able to tell stories with data can place you at a significant advantage. With the ability to visualize information and especially transform data into insightful information, Google Data Studio can help you make your storytelling much more impactful.

Through data visualization, you can elevate your content while steering clear of the potential of putting off your audience with dry numbers. Whether it is luxury brand marketing or impact storytelling for non-profits – the key to engaging content is to harness the power of data to show, not just tell.

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Written By: ISHAN BARMAN