Iretomiwa Akintunde-Johnson (Nigeria)
Lead Adviser, ID Africa
The world is driven by information. It’s that simple. However, due to the over-saturation and increase in misinformation, the value of the right piece of information continues to increase.
As communicators and PR practitioners, we understand this and have used our written and verbal communication skills to pass the right (or, sadly, sometimes wrong) messaging and steer perception in favour of our clients for decades. It’s one of the biggest pillars of Public Relations and communications.
Why is data important?
In 2022, when the world is leaning more toward visuals because of the demands and algorithms of social media, ‘boring old text’ just does not do it anymore. While great storytelling in whatever format will always be king, the average person in Nairobi, Lagos, or Cairo wants to understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’.
Thankfully, data — facts and statistics — can help solve some of these problems. The seeming battle is that many communications professionals were not initially trained with data. In fact, anything that seemed ‘maths-like’ in school tended to make us turn the other way. We can write a thought-provoking ten-page essay or 20-page pitch deck without batting an eyelid but throw in numbers and some of us begin to twitch. This is understandable but is no longer acceptable, unfortunately. Data is now king, and we need to adapt.
For instance, both these stories and headlines referencing one of Africa’s top ICT firms are telling the same narrative. But at a first glance, the first story provides more context and gives the reader the right data to fuel their interest.
Data exists all around us, whether from desk research or for our clients and the work they do, and we need to know how to take that ‘lifeless data’ and breathe life into it by using it to weave the desired narrative – data storytelling.
Getting the right data
Most times, there is access to widespread data that can help practitioners weave the narrative, whether from old or new research. So, on the surface, there may be a mumbo jumbo of data saying a million things and at this point, it is important to mine for the right information.
- What is the objective of the data? What are you seeking to achieve?
- What’s the action the reader is to take?
- Who is the target audience and what piques their interest?
Answering these questions will help to hone in on the right data set to use and the information worth analysing. These answers will also guide in presenting the data in the long run.
Data visualisation is what you need now
When all is said and done, another vital aspect of data storytelling is visualisation. A PR consultant can have all the right information and still turn off the target audience, or lose them completely. Some say the average human has an eight-second attention span, and there are indications that this span will reduce by 88% per year. We read through that line and saw the figures in bold text, yet there is a higher tendency that most will notice and grasp faster and better the same data presented below. Because it cuts away from all the text and is more aesthetically appealing,
Data visualisation is the practice of translating or representing information into a visual format such as charts, graphs, plots, infographics, animations, etc. These formats enable simplification and easy comprehension of complex data. And thankfully, it is not the reserve of data analysts. Every PR professional needs to have a good grasp of visualising data correctly.
Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, author and CEO of Storytelling with data, stresses that one of the key responsibilities of a data communicator is to reduce the “cognitive load” on the recipient. “Every single element you add to that page or screen takes up cognitive load on the part of your audience — in other words, it takes them brain power to process. We should take a discerning look at the visual elements that we allow into our communications. In general, identify anything that isn’t adding informative value—or isn’t adding enough informative value to make up for its presence—and remove those things.”
With the attention span continuously plummeting, most people do not have as much time or patience to consume the content that practitioners have spent so long fine-tuning. And there is a high volume of facts and numbers, it can be all so confusing that they won’t bother to go ahead with the seemingly cumbersome act of reading.
So, what tools are there? These are the most common:
1. Tables: These are rows and columns that can help with the comparison of variables. Beyond just storing information on Excel sheets, they can also be a great tool to show differences in simple data sets. One can easily tell that Team B is a better performer than A in every aspect.
There is a snag though. Tables are not ideal for a wide array of data, or when one needs to show trends or repetitive patterns.
2. Pie charts and stacked bars: They are sections that depict contributions to the whole, and are good for comparing sizes and showing the share of voice or market. But these will also be completely useless in showing patterns, trends, or any other detail. 
3. Line and area charts: These are perfect for reflecting changes and trends over a period of time, and if used well can also be good for predictive analysis. Line graphs, like the word denotes, use lines to demonstrate changes, while area charts show graphically quantitative data.
4. Scatter plots: These are graphs that show the relationship between two variables in a data set. It represents data points on a two-dimensional plane or on a Cartesian system. The independent variable or attribute is plotted on the X-axis, while the dependent variable is plotted on the Y-axis.
Sample scatter pot | Tibco
There are many more such as population pyramids, tree maps, etc. After selecting the best tool to express the data, consider the following:
1. Context: Data does not exist in limbo. And this is when the mastery of storytelling comes in handy. Why is this piece of information important to the reader? Why should they invest the next two minutes on your work, report or document instead of another? One needs to provide general background knowledge that situates the data within the mind of the reader.
For instance, at ID Africa, fortnightly we delve into an issue that affects Africa’s young population for our ‘Africa Facts’ newsletter. In August we focused on gender inclusion in the continent’s multibillion-dollar music industry.
As it turns out, streaming music in Africa alone is set to generate close to $500M by 2025, yet women are not as represented as they should be. See how we were able to give that context at a glance in the infographic below.
2. Understanding your audience: While an understanding of the reader is intrinsic in data mining, it’s an even more important aspect of visualisation. Why? Of course, they are the end-user you want to take action! What are their needs in respect of the content being created? What questions do they care about answering? How is that piece of data going to help with that? These factors will help select the details to be called out.
One may need the data to motivate people and drive the CTA. Also, try testing out the visualisation with a small sample of the audience to see if it resonates with them. There is no justification for releasing unwanted data.
And always remember, just like communications itself, because the consultant perceives that the material is presented well does not mean the audience feels that way as well. Be as objective as possible.
3. Choose the right visuals: Don’t use a pie chart to attempt to show trends or relationships between three products. Make sure that the visual is finalised, actually tells the agreed story, and that the reader can take away the intended action or message.
4. The simpler the better; less is more is a cliché for a reason! In order to convey the message in the best way possible, one must consider two important factors that have already been pondered upon — the audience and data.
Hold off on colour and sizes as well as other elements. Think of it like soup ingredients—too much of anything can ruin it all. So, moderation is key as well.
Comms professionals may be tempted to present as much of the data they have spent weeks gathering. While that is understandable, it could be the factor that deters the reader. To prevent this, use the four-point rule that helps me. What are the four most important pieces of information I want to relay at any given time? Everything after that is an addition and it must be justified. Then have a neutral party review and give brutally honest feedback.
A perfect sample of less is more…. | Nigeria PR Report, 2016
5. Make sure the content is visually engaging: This is the icing on the cake that can either make or mar the final result. Whether it is as simple as a table or as complex as any graph could be, one needs to be able to titillate the audience. And good data visualisation can do that!
Some tools that can help
Every tool has its pros and cons—that is for another article. But these may help in presenting all that data, and PR professionals can do some study into what works for their needs and the ones that may be too complex to be useful.
Canva, SlidesGo, IBM Cognos Analytics; Qlik Sense and QlikView; Microsoft Power BI; Oracle Visual Analyzer; SAP Lumira; SAS Visual Analytics; Tibco Spotfire; JGoogle Charts, are some tools to explore.
We are not designers, yes, but….
As PR professionals, our biggest strong points may not be design and art direction. But as the PR and communications industry is rapidly evolving and morphing with other disciplines, it might be a good time to take one or two design courses. Even if we do not design, we can train our eyes to spot minute issues when it comes to the visualisation of data — charts, graphs, tables or even text.
Data storytelling and visualisation are aspects of communications that can allow for major wins for Public Relations practitioners (whether within or outside Africa) who are focused on investing in upskilling. We may not be graphic designers, but we are creative communicators, content crafters, story suppliers and message moulders, and that is probably the best way to look at this — another way to tell powerful stories.