In an era of information overload, the average individual is bombarded with close to 500,000 words each day. Given that amount of information overload, it’s not surprising that a study by the Nielsen Norman Group shows that we read only 20% to 28% of the content on a website during a visit.
That’s hard to believe, but we have some good news — if the same content is presented in a visual form, we process all of the information in a tenth of a second.
What is data visualization? And why is it important?
Henry D. Hubbard, the creator of the periodic Table of Elements once said,
“There is magic in graphs. The profile of a curve reveals in a flash a whole situation – the history of an epidemic, a panic, or an era of prosperity. The curve informs the mind, awakens the imagination, convinces.”
Data, although an important part of a company’s content, is pretty boring by itself. Unless, of course, it’s presented in a manner that attracts. Data visualization is the art (and science) of presenting data in a visual manner for it to be easily consumed and understood.
Visual content has increased 9,900 percent in less than a decade since 2007. Since we’re tired of reading plain text, we crave visual information. When almost half of your brain is engaged in processing visual information, it makes sense to appeal to this half.
The best data visualization is really about storytelling.
Rudyard Kipling said,
“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”
What he was referring to was our inherent interest in stories that cut through barriers of race and time. We love stories and we remember stories. A study by scientists Stephens, Silbert and Hasson found out that during storytelling, the brains of the storyteller and the listener are in sync, as shown by neural activity imaging.
When we are listening to a story, our neurons act as if we were literally performing the actions described in the story. And stories have a basic plot that shows a hero/protagonist fight odds and succeed in the end. This human connection makes the story enjoyable and relatable.
Thus, for the new age marketer, the best way to get the message past all the clutter is to merge these two powerful ways of communication – data visualization and storytelling.
Creating stories around data is the perfect marriage.
Presenting data in a visual form and then telling a story through it is not new. Many historically important figures have used it. Take the case of Florence Nightingale, for example. She created charts from data of deaths of soldiers and their causes during the Crimean War to explain the state of the problem to the politicians of the time.
Charles Minard created the famous map of Napoleon’s march on Moscow that tells the story of the plight of the soldiers more than as an analytic tool of strategic importance.
Static visualizations have long been part of storytelling wherein the text “tells” the story and the visuals are merely supporting this story. However, in a changing trend, journalists and marketers are using increasingly complex and dynamic visuals in the narrative to create what Gershon and Page refer to as “data stories.”
Stories activate the emotional centers of the brain while data excites the logical centers. If done correctly, activating both these centers can induce a powerful response. Basically, consumers are really of two types – one whom you can convince and convert purely through emotional stimulus, while the others want hard proof and data to corroborate your claims. The content that combines both a story and data is a powerful marketing tool.
Steps to marry data visualization with storytelling.
The first step is to understand, sort and prepare your data to be part of a story. Analyze your data from a 30,000-feet level to help identify a common thread and find out how the data is related. These commonalities will then help you prepare an outline for your story.
The second step is to identify the story and create a narrative for it. Once you have the data required for the story, it will be easier for you to form a story based around it. Create a structure and flow to give you an order for arranging the information.
The final step is to use some aspects of the story to form visualizations of the data. This could be an infographic or a flow of events.
The crux of creating data stories is to let the reader interpret the story, rather than pushing him or her to read the message you intend them to read. Present the facts as they are without bias and let the narrative make them form their own opinions and ideas.
This personalized experience is stronger and beats all other kinds of marketing content. Craft a reader-driven narrative, rather than an author-driven one.
Simplicity is another key element of data stories. As a marketer, you have to avoid using all the data just because you feel that it is important. Try to think from the consumers’ point of view and use data that is the most important and relevant for them.
Two amazing examples of data visualization.
Without a doubt, the New York Times is the internet’s reigning champion in data storytelling. Take a look at the story they created during the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi.
In an attempt to explain the finer aspects of snow sports – giant slalom, half pipe, slopestyle, luge, short track and ski jumping – they created an amazing narrative that explained each step of the event along with great narrative, superb videos and explanation of technical points.
As you scroll down, you can see how the athlete prepares for the jump and how they execute it. During the videos that slow down drastically to explain the technical aspects of the jump, you can actually appreciate how the athlete uses the basic laws of physics to achieve the coveted gold.
So what is the USP of this story? Apart from the fact that it is an excellent use of visual data to tell a step-by-step, interactive story, it appeals to the “human” side of the reader. The reader feels one with the athlete as she tries to put in years of hard work and preparation to achieve paramount success that is the recognition at the Olympic Games.
It’s a truly overwhelming experience; one that transports us into the very midst of the action and inspires us. And oh, did you notice those “share” icons at the top? After seeing this, nobody can resist sharing it with friends.
Another stunning example of a data story is from Bloomberg Business, called “What’s Really Warming the World.”
In this story, Bloomberg collected massive amount of data from NASA and distilled its essence into a graph that tells us the story of how human intervention has led to global warming. It endeavors to put an end to the debate of whether the global warming is because of a variety of natural factors or due to human activities.
As readers scroll down, the graph shows the effects on global temperature by a variety of factors – natural and artificial. Finally, it shows that the actual cause of global warming is more a result of human activities than natural factors.
The story is created as a process of discovery. The reader can guide herself through the series of interactive charts. This is clearly a controversial topic and instead of displaying a bias, Bloomberg lets the reader decides.
The bottom line on how to use data visualization for your business.
As E. Blundell said in his book “The Art and Craft of Feature Writing,”
“We’re supposed to be tellers of tales as well as purveyors of facts. When we don’t live up to that responsibility, we don’t get read.”
Data stories are a way marketers are rethinking content strategies. This is a new and exciting way to use visual data and create meaningful stories that resonate with an average individual. This influences the reader both at an emotional and logical level.
About Author: Dipti Parmar is the Publication Strategist & Account Manager at Preceptist. She’s been journeying through The world of digital marketing for more than six years and is a blogger and networker.