Presenting marketing & communications data with impact
Personal confession: I chose the marketing and communications profession because the required college courses did not include math or data (back in the mid-2000s). Fifteen years later, I have learned to leverage — and even appreciate — what data can help me accomplish, and that part of the benefit of collecting data is presenting it in a way that helps achieve your goals. I can now say I enjoy analyzing data and using it to educate others who don't speak our language on a daily basis.
As you read this post, you will notice the importance of strategic planning and development. I have learned that communicators, in our creativity, can sometimes be underestimated in our ability to think strategically. Yes, a large, visible part of our job is responding to crises and making decisions on-the-fly, but demonstrating our ability to present a well thought-out plan, informed by real analytics, will help us achieve our goals — whatever they may be.
In the dynamic world of marketing and communications, data is your best ally.
However, the real magic lies in how effectively you present this data.
Whether you are speaking to stakeholders, boards, clients, or your team, a clear and impactful data presentation can drive decisions, illustrate successes, and highlight areas for improvement. Here are some key tips to effectively present your marketing and communications data without putting your audience to sleep:
1. Know Your Audience
Understanding who you are presenting to is crucial. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations. For instance:
Executives and boards might prefer high-level insights and strategic implications with a hyper-focus on financial impact.
Marketing teams may want to dive deeper into campaign performance and tactics.
Clients often seek a balance between strategic insights and specific campaign results.
2. Start with a Clear Objective
Define the purpose of your presentation. Depending on your audience, are you aiming to:
Showcase campaign success?
Justify a budget increase?
Highlight areas needing improvement?
Present new strategies?
Having a clear objective helps structure your presentation and keeps you focused.
3. Tell a Story
Data alone can be dry and overwhelming. Craft a compelling narrative around your data to make it more engaging and relatable. For example:
Begin with the challenge or objective.
Explain the approach and strategies implemented.
Present the results and insights.
Conclude with recommendations or next steps.
4. Use Visuals Wisely
Visual aids can transform complex data into easily digestible insights. Consider the following tips:
Charts and Graphs: Use bar charts, pie charts, and line graphs to highlight key trends and comparisons.
Infographics: Combine text and visuals to convey information concisely and attractively.
Dashboards: Interactive dashboards can provide a real-time overview and allow stakeholders to explore the data themselves.
5. Keep It Simple and Focused
Avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information. Focus on the most relevant and impactful data points. Use these tips to keep your presentation concise:
Highlight key metrics and KPIs that align with your objectives.
Summarize detailed data in appendices or supplementary materials for those who want to dive deeper.
6. Use Clear and Consistent Formatting
Consistency in formatting makes your presentation more professional and easier to follow. Ensure:
Fonts and colors are consistent throughout.
Data is clearly labeled.
Animated transitions are kept to a minimum, or not used at all.
Legends and axis labels are easy to read and understand.
7. Provide Context
Data without context can be misleading. Always provide background information to help your audience understand the significance of the data:
Compare current performance to historical data or benchmarks.
Explain any external factors that may have influenced the results.
8. Practice and Prepare
Rehearse your presentation to ensure smooth delivery, consulting with a professional trainer who can help if necessary. Anticipate questions and be prepared with answers. This will help you present confidently and handle any challenges that arise during the presentation.
9. Engage Your Audience
Encourage interaction and feedback from your audience:
Ask questions to involve them in the discussion.
Be open to questions and provide clear, concise answers.
Use interactive elements, such as live polls or Q&A sessions, to keep your audience engaged.
10. Follow Up
After the presentation, follow up with a summary of key points and any additional information requested. This reinforces the main messages and ensures ongoing engagement.
DATA-PRESENTING Tips in Action
It’s easy to see how, in theory, creating a presentation guided by these tips would win over your audience. But, what does it look like in practice? Here are three real-world examples of how I have used data to educate, tell a story or justify a cause — keep in mind my background is communications and marketing in the utility industry.
Social Media Engagement
Several peers who are interested in taking the lead in presenting data have asked me, “Where do I start?” I always tell them to start with social media. Facebook and Instagram are two no-cost platforms that collect powerful data on their users, interactions, engagements and more. You can learn so much about your audience by analyzing social media data. These two platforms also simplify the export process, allowing you to transform the data into compelling charts and graphics.
I recommend starting with impressions or reach, and engagement, then diving deeper into demographics and geographical data.
Below is a simple bar graph created in Microsoft Word (pulling from data in Microsoft Excel).
In reference to the below graph, while I might need to briefly explain the importance of each metric, I’m more interested in telling the story of an investment made between March and April that directly contributed to the spike in social media impressions, or a strategic targeted effort that led to the steady increase in engagements.
Email Engagement
While we are inundated with email marketing (that’s a whole other topic of discussion), it does provide valuable insights into our audience. Certain platforms, like Mailchimp (read about my five top Mailchimp features here), fully understand and support the need for data. Below is a graphic I am able to create simply by digging into open and click data within an email marketing platform. These numbers can help guide a communications team as they plan future content. For example, this company’s most-clicked newsletter article talked about electric vehicle (EV) charging. Knowing their consumers are interested in this topic, this marketing team can allow for strategic ways to incorporate the topic of EVs into their communications plan going forward.
Financial Impact
Leveraging data for financial impact is one of my favorite ways to put numbers to work, especially if I plan on pursuing a budget increase in the future. The charts below represent dollar amounts allotted for specific communities — details have been removed for obvious reasons but, in the presentation itself, these charts include the dollar amounts and city/town names. The allotted funding is determined by the number of consumers in each community. The graph on the left is the benchmark, while the graph on the right is our current standing. Ideally, the two should match, but the bigger goal is to demonstrate the careful, strategic effort we’ve put into ensuring our financial impact is equitable.
Effective data presentation in marketing and communications is an art that combines clarity, storytelling, and strategic insight. By knowing your audience, telling a compelling story, using visuals wisely, and practicing your delivery, you can present data in a way that drives understanding, engagement and action.
Remember, the goal is not just to share data but to illuminate the path forward with clear, impactful insights.
Creative Cues was launched in 2021 with a goal to help others become more efficient in their work so they can spend less time grinding and more time enjoying life. Read more about my why here. Primarily a blog and podcast, Creative Cues allows me space to put into words the ideas and resources that have helped me become a better designer, writer and communicator over the years. I invite you to explore my library of blog posts, podcast episodes, creative solutions and shop items to help you create time for what matters most.
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