Sharing the results of an ad campaign, organic content performance, marketing research or any other business initiative is crucial for building trust and credibility with leadership teams. This in turn sets us up for improvement and optimization of the aforementioned efforts. The experience for newcomers can be a bit nerve-racking. The Odd is that you won’t be presenting your results to a room full of math experts or statisticians who will understand every single number and nuance. The audience you will be sharing insights with only wants to know the results that matter to them. How do we package our results in such a way that are easy to understand and digest? This is where data points and insights come into play.
Data Points vs. Insights
Even though we might feel excited at the breadth of data we might have gathered, the truth is leadership might not share your enthusiasm. This is especially true for social media efforts that don’t lead directly to purchases or conversions. Instead of using many data points such as demographics, product perception, engagement rate, drop rate, click-through rate, and such, use the points as the foundation to the larger story where smart data insights that are relevant to the audience drive the conversation.
Use data points purposely. Two scenarios in which to use data points are when the expected results are significantly different from the ones gathered. This will raise questions that the data points will then help you answer. Another scenario is when an established pattern suddenly changes. The data point will tell how big that change was and the insight should explain why that is.
Use data points wisely. Remember, just because you gathered all the data, it does not mean you need to overdo it and use every data point. Focus on the stories that matter the most. Support said insights with rich visuals.
Below I am sharing a social media listening analysis that I worked on during the summer of 2019 during a political crisis in Puerto Rico. The presentation is bilingual and it uses visuals to illustrate the data points gathered throughout the research.
Tell the True Story
We want our work to always shine and look our best, but be careful not to paint an overly positive picture that omits data. If some content, campaign, or finding paints a negative story or impacts the results negatively, make sure you are transparent about that. Oftentimes we are asked to post content, and ask questions that we know will not perform well. Make sure you inform and layout what have been the consequences of those requests while carefully avoiding an I told you so scenario. Focus on how you can flip the script and turn the negatives into learnings.
Knowing when to use data points and how to build insights will help your work be understandable and actionable. When presenting to leadership try to anchor your insights to the larger objective and how this is impacted by the new information.
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