The Numbers Don’t Lie…Usually

Data can be a double-edged sword.

On one hand, access to information can provide insights that assist in making decisions that help move your organization forward.

On the other hand, access to information can cause the onset of organizational paralysis, where mountains of data serve as roadblocks to actually getting anything done.

So where do we draw the line? How do we determine what data is useful? And how do we make sure we’re drawing the right conclusions from the data we have?

Jeff Mascott, Managing Director of Adfero Group – a D.C.-based public relations firm – helps to answer these and other questions in this episode of Engage:

How can you make data work for your organization?

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1. Find Data in Everyday Sources

You don’t always need to spend valuable resources conducting a proprietary research study in order to learn about your audience or members. Sometimes, the data is under your nose – or in your email inbox. Taking a look at the information sources you already have access to (like incoming emails or internal search terms on your website) can provide useful insight into the needs of your audience.

Look for patterns and trends and identify potential pain points your audience is indirectly reporting.

For instance, if you take a look at keywords being used to search for content on your organization’s website and realize many people are searching for “upcoming local events,” you should probably think about linking to an events calendar in a high-visibility spot on your site.

2. Be Careful About Jumping to Conclusions

Not every pattern you see in your data should be acted on. Special interest groups and vocal minorities can often “stuff” the proverbial ballot box to advance their agenda. Scrutinize the patterns you see in your data and be wary of deception that may be taking place.

If something seems awry, there’s a good chance that it is. Before you spring into action, investigate what may be causing a pattern.

3. Focus Attention Around Key Insights with Images

Chances are, your colleagues may not share the same enthusiasm for sifting through data that you do (or, they are counting on you to do the dirty work). Cleaning up your data and putting it into a visual format can help focus attention on key insights and you can avoid the paralysis that sometimes sets in after you dump data on someone’s desk.

4. Use Data Visualizations to Tell a Story

Now that you’ve got their attention (with the pretty graphs from above), use your visualized data to tell a story. Summarize each major takeaway into a graphical illustration of the point and walk your colleagues through your findings.

People are naturally drawn to images, so you have a better chance of keeping their attention if you can focus it around visualizations of your key points.

5. Use Data to Market Your Organization

Don’t let your findings die in an internal Power Point presentation. Instead, use your data to help market your organization. Any piece of information that describes or qualifies your member-base or audience can probably be used to help market your organization.

Looking for advertising sponsors? Use demographic data you’ve uncovered to market your member base or audience. Looking to make news headlines? Write a press release describing a trend among your organization’s members that the general public may find interesting.

Bloggers, reporters, and advertisers latch on to numbers. Serve yours in an easy to digest way and they’ll be happy to consume them.

What tips or advice can you share about clever ways to find data – or clever things to do with it once you’ve got it in your hands?

Tagged as: analyzing data, data, data analysis, Engage the Video, information overload, jeff mascott, TMG on Video