The Importance of Data Visualization and Tableau
When it comes to data, we all know that when presented in the form of numbers, it can appear scarier than it actually is. Data visualizations take those scary data numbers and transform them into a visual context, which is easier for the brain to understand. These visuals can be presented in the form of a map or graph and can contain big or small amounts of data. When data is transformed into visualizations, it is easier for us to notice outliers, patterns, and trends within a set of data and allow us to make sense of this data more efficiently. But, how do you create data visualizations?
Tableau
One way to make clear and understandable data visualizations is by using the software program, Tableau. Tableau is an interactive data visualization software. Tableau makes processing data and creating data visualizations an easy process for all. While the program seems scary at first, with a few training videos and practice, the program is easy to master and super functional. Within the Tableau software program, marketers can create interactive visual analytics presentations as well as dashboards and charts.
Tableau takes your data spreadsheets from many sources, including Microsoft Excel, PDF files, Statistical files, and servers such as Google Ads, and allows you to create pictorial and graphical representations of that data. Within the Tableau system, the user can drag and drop relevant data into rows and columns for Tableau to generate charts and visuals that it thinks will best represent the information, but it also allows you to dictate what and how the information is visualized.
I recently used Tableau to create a data visualization from data I collected from an A/B test I conducted with Google Ads on two videos. The below chart is a representation of the visual I created utilizing Tableau. From this chart, a viewer, who has not previously seen the raw data from the A/B test, is able to analyze the results and establish that the two video ads performed similarly when it came to the number of video views they received. Because this data is laid out in a clear visual manner, even a non-statistical individual can clearly see the pattern and results from this test and determine that the ads performed similarly when it came to views. But, thanks to the visualization that can also see that on February 19th, the video that contained music (blue) received 82 more views that the video with the voiceover (orange) did.
The above example is just one of the many reasons that data visualizations are essential and the use of Tableau to create these visualizations is the right move. Without the above chart, the raw data might look like the below chart. Please keep in mind that Google Ads creates charts within their system, but most other data collection services do not.
Voiceover video
Music video
When presented in this format, the marketer is able to see the data results visually but for each video individually, not combined. Further, creating the Tableau chart provided viewers with a more organized and appealing representation of the data, which provided a more natural way to analyze and understand the data.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is essential to create accurate and easy to understand visuals of data to represent the data in the most transparent form. Tableau is a great program to utilize to create these visuals and provide marketers with the necessary information to make data-driven decisions and communicate the data behind the decision to higher-ups and stakeholders.
