Why Social Media Data Visualization is Important for Your Online Business

Data is life — and it’s everywhere. As a digital marketer who manages an online business, you would need data before making important business decisions. The good news is, you can get data anywhere. Yes, we are living in an era where data can be gotten by pressing a couple of buttons on any smart device. On the flip side, digesting this large volume of data could be tedious. To help you curb the stress that goes into digesting a large volume of data, you’ve got to opt for visualization for your online business. Regardless of your level of expertise, here’s how to improve business using visualization in social media marketing strategy.

Before diving into why data visualization is good for your online business, you’ve got to know what data visualization is.

What is data visualization?

When you represent data using tools like maps, charts, graphs, and other forms of visual elements, then you’re visualizing the data — and the concept is known as data visualization. With data visualization, almost anyone can interpret the data.

Simply put, data visualization is a type of visual art that draws people’s attention; keeps their eyes on your messages, and pretty much helps translate raw data into digestible information.

Whether you’re a data analyst or a business owner, data visualization is a sure way of discovering new patterns and understanding tricky concepts. If you’re still skeptical of what data visualization is, here are some forms of visualization you may have come across.

• Pie charts
• Bar charts
• Line charts
• Area charts
• Scatter diagrams
• Histograms
• Sankey Diagram
• Heat maps.

As a general rule of thumb, you should have a good grasp of the various types of charts and graphs. This way, you get to identify the right type of chart (or graph) for your work.

“Data visualization is a type of visual art that draws people’s attention; keeps their eyes on your messages, and pretty much helps translate raw data into digestible information.”

Now you understand the basics, here is why data visualization is important for your online business.

Why social media data visualization is important for your online business

Visuals are everything. In the social media world, people are more likely to respond and react to visuals than text. After all, the human mind is flawed — and that’s a good thing. If you publish visuals, you would likely get more engagement on your post. Therefore, visual content translates to more brand awareness, increased return on investment (ROI), and better marketing reach.

On the flip side, more data may translate to indecision — yes, marketers may get confused in their quest in making better marketing decisions. With data visualization, the confusion may be lessened and you would gain more clarity before making any business decision.

In other words, data visualization paves the way as you navigate the complexities that come with making informed business decisions. This way, you get to present digestible information to your executives, clients, or managers in an easy-to-understand format.

Moving on, here are tips to help you visualize social media data.

1. Understand your audience

Who is your target audience? Are you preparing a presentation to your coworkers, stakeholders, or company executives? A good understanding of your audience will help you present a robust presentation that will appeal to them.

If you’re preparing a social media visualization that is aimed at showcasing key performance indicators to your director, you’re better off displaying your metrics with a comparison table.

As a general rule of thumb, you should avoid showcasing overwhelming information that adds no value to your overall presentation.

2. Pick a graph

Each graph type is different, and it’s ideal for the presentation of a specific type of data. If you’re looking to showcase correlation between data points, a scatter plot is your best fit. Trends and patterns are best displayed using a line graph, while bar charts are ideal for showing comparisons.

3. Use the right color(s)

Ideally, black and white should be your starting colors. If needed, you can add more colors to the mix. Don’t get it twisted — using various colors could be exciting, but it could also be counterproductive in the long run.

Too many colors will probably confuse and distract your audience from digesting the information. The primary purpose of social media data visualization is to deliver digestible information. Anything else is an add-on.

4. Less is more

User experience is everything in social media data visualization. One way of ascertaining the quality of your user experience is by eliminating complexities. Make it simple — and put less attention on the aesthetics.

Data should be displayed in an ascending or descending fashion. It would also help to sort data in a logical order. Finally, reduce your usage of imagery and logos — more logos and imagery breeds confusion, and that’s not good for your presentation.

5. Choose the right tools

There are a plethora of social media data visualization tools out there on the market, and choosing the right tool is a vital piece of the puzzle. The right tool pretty much helps you make sense of your data. It also helps to break down data into a digestible format.

Wrapping Up

Social media is one of the best ways of broadcasting your brand to the world. It’s not just a broadcasting channel; you can gather reliable data from your various social media platforms. The problem lies in the interpretation of such data.

Nowadays, brands across the globe use social media platforms to carry out surveys and other forms of customer (or product) analysis – and that’s real data. Aside from surveys, you can gather reliable information about your target audience.

Social media visualization helps in the breakdown of complex data into a simple digestible format. All you need is the right visualization tool. With visualization, you can easily share easy-to-understand data to stakeholders, clients, or regular people who are interested in what you have to offer.

The best part…

Using visualization tools requires zero technical skills. You need zero coding skills before creating compelling visuals. Now you understand how to improve business using visualizations in social media marketing strategy, what kind of data will you represent using compelling visuals?