Data visualization is an incredibly valuable tool for marketers. It helps you communicate important insights in a visual way, helping you deliver your message more impactfully. But not everyone does data design right—even if they say they do. A good data visualization agency knows data is about more than charts and graphs; it’s about bringing your data to life.  

How to Find a Data Visualization Agency

To make the hunt a little easier, here are 8 great questions to ask to help narrow down your search for the right data visualization agency.  

1) Do they demonstrate their data expertise?

Many agencies can churn out an infographic, but a great data visualization agency knows the fundamentals of data. They don’t just design; they can analyze and dig into the data to uncover interesting insights. They should also demonstrate that knowledge and share their knowledge and expertise freely. You want to know you’re working with true experts.

2) Do they turn data into stories?

Data analysis is only step one of creating a great data visualization. Turning those insights into a solid narrative and using data visualization to support that narrative is what will make your project truly successful. You don’t just want a data visualization agency to plug your data into a design program. You want them to help you create the most impactful narrative possible.  

3) Do they design data according to best practices?

Now here’s where a lot of agencies fall short. Yes, you can design a chart. Yes, you can add a pretty illustration. But this is not what true data visualization is.

The entire point of the art is to make data as comprehensible as possible, to present it in the most easy-to-digest format. There are subtle but very effective ways to do this. The way you label, order, or use color can help or hurt your data visualization. (You can find out more about best practices in our Data Visualization 101 e-book.) Ask them about their data design philosophy to get a sense of how they approach it.

4) Do they work in different mediums?

There are many ways to present data visualizations, including infographics, interactive experiences, video, and more. The format you choose is informed by your data story, which is why it’s so important to work with someone well-versed in data storytelling. They should be able to design whatever the data requires.

5) Have they created similar work before?

If you have a specific idea in mind, you want to work with a data visualization agency that has the skills and experience to execute it for you. (You also want someone who can tell you if your idea doesn’t serve the data well.) Take a look at their portfolio to see if they’ve created similar work or have experience with similar clients or industries.

6) Do they have a good response when you ask them what their favorite type of chart is?

You want to work with people who are passionate about their craft. Asking this question will give you a sense of their knowledge and enthusiasm for data visualization. Trust us, any self-respecting data nerd will have an answer. (And if you want to hear some very strong opinions, you might also ask them which side of the pie chart debate they’re on.)

7) What recent piece of work are they particularly proud of, and why?

You can comb through their portfolio to get a sense of what they do, but if you aren’t the most data-literate person, it’s likely you’ll miss the nuance and craftsmanship that goes into a strong data visualization. Having them explain their thought process behind a design or what they did to help enhance comprehension will give you a sense of their creative process and problem-solving skills.

6) Do they have thorough and thoughtful processes?

There are a lot of moving parts in a major data visualization project. Content needs approval, brand guidelines needs to be communicated, data need to be double-checked. If these responsibilities are unclear, if they fall through the cracks, or are ignored completely, it can affect the quality—and credibility—of your data visualization. Make sure you are clear on how they work, and how they expect to work together with you.

7) Are they transparent with you?

You want a creative partner you can rely on to produce good-quality work. If they seem less than confident, if their pricing is murky, or if you get a general bad vibe, it’s best to move on. Again, a lot of agencies claim that they can do any data visualization, but it is a very specific skillset that requires true expertise.

8) Do they approach projects as collaborative?

You don’t want an antagonistic partner, but you don’t want a total yes-man either. A great piece of data visualization happens when the best ideas make it to the front—regardless of ego. If you have a great design suggestion, they should be open to it. If you’re heading in the wrong direction, you want them to tell you so. The goal is the best project possible. Work with a data visualization agency that puts that value above all else.

Ask these questions while you’re on the hunt and you should be able to find the right partner fairly painlessly. But remember: Finding your partner is only the beginning.

How to Work with Your Data Visualization Agency

If you want your brand to get the best work from your agency, it’s important to establish a good rapport from the jump. Here are a few tips to make the process a little smoother.

1. Communicate a clear goal. Your data visualization agency is made up of expert designers and data storytellers who are adept at creating visualizations to communicate a specific purpose. They need to know not only what the goal is for this particular project but how it plays into your larger communication goals. Is it meant to engage people on social? Will it be used at a tradeshow? This info will influence their decisions at every stage, from the language they use to the format they use to present the data. Start off on the right foot with a detailed creative brief to clue them in. Here’s how to write one if you haven’t done it before.
2. Educate yourself about data storytelling. It always helps to share a basic understanding of what data storytelling really is. To understand the value of data visualization, find out why data-driven storytelling helps brands, and learn about why our brains love data visualization.
3. Don’t just dump your data on them. It’s exciting to have a partner who can dive into your data, but that doesn’t mean they’re your personal assistant. Far too often a client will get so excited they’ll send over every single piece of data they have, giving us a veritable ocean of data to wade through. This wastes precious time for the data visualization agency and, ultimately, your organization—the longer they take, the longer you wait. When you deliver data, it should be organized, complete, and a decent amount of data. (Sometimes people come to us with three stats and ask us to turn it into a data story. Other times, it’s an insane database of randomness.
4.  Let them extract the most meaningful insights. You may already have a story in mind—and you may have the data to support it—but there may be a more interesting angle in that data. (Sidenote: We hate to see people try to retrofit data just because they have a “great” idea. Not only does this result in a weaker story but you risk misrepresenting data, which can hurt your credibility.) You should have filled your data visualization agency in on the project’s goal, so let them help extract the most valuable insights to achieve that goal.
5. Collaborate on the story. Once the most interesting insights are uncovered, it’s vital to shape a narrative that will communicate them with the most impact. This is a highly collaborative process. You know who you’re trying to reach—how they think, what problems they face, the language they use—so you should help guide your data visualization agency. We believe the best story wins, no matter who it came from. 

Follow these tips and you should be able to form a productive and creative partnership together. Of course, we’d be happy to build that partnership with you. If you’re looking for someone to turn your spreadsheets into a compelling data story, reach out.

Data visualization design is both an art and a science, which is why it can be challenging for noobs to master. But if you want to master data storytelling—and make a strong impact through content—it’s a crucial skill.

The Power of Data Visualization

Your brain is prewired to process visual content much quicker than text, which is why data design is so effective. By “seeing” the data, it is easier for your brain to intake, synthesize, and retain the information presented.

To see the power of data visualization at work, watch this quick video. 

https://vimeo.com/29684853

Unfortunately, a lot of people think that slapping a few charts together means you’re doing data visualization design well. Not only are you not doing it well; you might actually be hurting your brand. Subpar data design comes in many forms—a confusing visualization, mislabeled data, 3D charts that skew perception, etc. In these cases, your credibility may be on the line, and nobody wants that.

Even if you’re not misrepresenting data, if you aren’t presenting it in its most optimized form, you’re doing a disservice to your reader. Luckily, there are many simple things you can do to ensure your data stories make the impact they should.

So, if you’re ready kick your data visualization design game up a notch, we’ve compiled our team’s best tips to help you fix common data design mistakes and enhance your existing data visualizations, one chart at a time. We even arranged this list by category in case you need a quick reference. We hope they help.

25 Tips for Data Visualization Design

To start, let’s cover a few general things to keep in mind. Remember that every data visualization design choice you make should enhance your reader’s experience—not yours. (Sorry, but it’s not about showing off your sweet line-art skills.) Follow these tips to do your data justice.

1) Choose the chart that tells the story. There may be more than one way to visualize the data accurately. In this case, consider what you’re trying to achieve, the message you’re communicating, who you’re trying to reach, etc.

2) Remove anything that doesn’t support the story. No, that doesn’t mean you kill half your data points. But be mindful of things like chart junk, extra copy, unnecessary illustrations, drop shadows, ornamentations, etc. The great thing about data visualization is that design can help do the heavy lifting to enhance and communicate the story. Let it do its job. (But don’t use 3D charts. As previously mentioned, they can skew perception of the visualization.)

3) Design for comprehension. Once you have your visualization created, take a step back and consider what simple elements might be added, tweaked, or removed to make the data easier for the reader to understand. You might add a trend line to a line chart, or you might realize you have too many slices in your pie chart (use 6 max). These subtle tweaks make a huge difference.

Comparison

Data visualization makes comparison a lot easier, letting you actually “see” how two different data sets stack up to each other. But just putting two charts side by side doesn’t necessarily accomplish that. In fact, it can make it more confusing. (Ever tried to compare 32 different pie charts? Yeah, didn’t think so.)

4) Include a zero baseline if possible. Although a line chart does not have to start at a zero baseline, it should be included if it gives more context for comparison. If relatively small fluctuations in data are meaningful (e.g., in stock market data), you may truncate the scale to showcase these variances.

5) Always choose the most efficient visualization. You want visual consistency so that the reader can compare at a glance. This might mean you use stacked bar charts, a grouped bar chart, or a line chart. Whatever you choose, don’t overwhelm by making the reader work to compare too many things.

6) Watch your placement. You may have two nice stacked bar charts that are meant to let your reader compare points, but if they’re placed too far apart to “get” the comparison, you’ve already lost.

7) Tell the whole story. Maybe you had a 30% sales increase in Q4. Exciting! But what’s more exciting? Showing that you’ve actually had a 100% sales increase since Q1.

Copy

Data is about numbers, certainly, but it is generally used in conjunction with copy to help provide context for the point at hand. That said, in many data visualizations, infographics, and e-books, we see data visualization and copy working against each other instead of together.

8) Don’t over explain. If the copy already mentions a fact, the subhead, callout, and chart header don’t have to reiterate it.

9) Keep chart and graph headers simple and to the point. There’s no need to get clever, verbose, or pun-tastic. Keep any descriptive text above the chart brief and directly related to the chart underneath. Remember: Focus on the quickest path to comprehension.

10) Use callouts wisely. Callouts are not there to fill space. They should be used intentionally to highlight relevant information or provide additional context.

11) Don’t use distracting fonts or elements. Sometimes you do need to emphasize a point. If so, only use bold or italic text to emphasize a point—and don’t use them both at the same time.

Color 

Color is a great tool when used well. When used poorly, it can not just distract but misdirect the reader. Use it wisely in your data visualization design.

12) Use a single color to represent the same type of data. If you are depicting sales month by month on a bar chart, use a single color. But if you are comparing last year’s sales to this year’s sales in a grouped chart, you should use a different color for each year. You can also use an accent color to highlight a significant data point.

13) Watch out for positive and negative numbers. Don’t use red for positive numbers or green for negative numbers. Those color associations are so strong it will automatically flip the meaning in the viewer’s mind.

14) Make sure there is sufficient contrast between colors. If colors are too similar (light gray vs. light, light gray), it can be hard to tell the difference. Conversely, don’t use high-contrast color combinations such as red/green or blue/yellow.

15) Avoid patterns. Stripes and polka dots sound fun, but they can be incredibly distracting. If you are trying to differentiate, say, on a map, use different saturations of the same color. On that note, only use solid-colored lines (not dashes).

16) Select colors appropriately. Some colors stand out more than others, giving unnecessary weight to that data. Instead, use a single color with varying shade or a spectrum between two analogous colors to show intensity. Remember to intuitively code color intensity according to values as well.

17) Don’t use more than 6 colors in a single layout. Enough said.

Labeling

Labeling can be a minefield. Readers rely on labels to interpret data, but too many or too few can interfere.

18) Double check that everything is labeled. Make sure everything that needs a label has one—and that there are no doubles or typos.

19) Make sure labels are visible. All labels should be unobstructed and easily identified with the corresponding data point.

20) Label the lines directly. If possible, include data labels with your data points. This lets readers quickly identify lines and corresponding labels so they don’t have to go hunting for a legend or similar point.

21) Don’t over label. If the precise value of a data point is important to tell your story, then include data labels to enhance comprehension. If the precise values are not important to tell your story, leave the data labels out.

22) Don’t set your type at an angle. If your axis labels are too crowded, consider removing every other label on an axis to allow the text to fit comfortably.

Ordering

Data visualization is meant to help make sense. Random patterns that are difficult to interpret are frustrating and detrimental to what you’re trying to communicate.

23) Order data intuitively. There should be a logical hierarchy. Order categories alphabetically, sequentially, or by value.

24) Order consistently. The ordering of items in your legend should mimic the order of your chart.

25) Order evenly. Use natural increments on your axes (0, 5, 10, 15, 20) instead of awkward or uneven increments (0, 3, 5, 16, 50).

How to Master Data Visualization & Storytelling

Of course, if you really want to stay on top of your game, make sure you’re up-to-date on best practices for data storytelling at every stage of the process.

• Use the right sources. Great stories come from great data. While you can find a larger variety of external data, internal data is a particularly effective source of unique and interesting stories. To find external data, check out these 100+ sources of free and credible data. For internal data, here are 9 places to look. You can also follow our tips to source that data correctly in your content.
• Craft a strong story. The true power of data storytelling relies on your ability to extract and shape a cohesive narrative. Start with this step-by-step guide to find stories in your data and craft an effective data narrative. You can also download our free e-book, The Content Marketer’s Guide to Data Storytelling, for more tips on bringing your data to life.
• Choose the right format. To make sure your data has the strongest impact, you need to present it in the right package. Whether you’re creating an e-book, infographic, or motion graphic, pick the right format for your data visualization story.
• Apply design fundamentals. Good design matters. Remember, too, that differentiating yourself through design is crucial to stand out. Start with our guide to designing the most common charts and graphs, find out how to keep your content on brand, consider experimenting with different visual styles, and get inspired by more examples of technology infographics, B2B infographics, and interactive infographics.
• Make the most of your content. Get more mileage by repurposing your data visualizations, or turning your old content into infographics, e-books, animated infographics, reports, microcontent, etc.
• Promote the right way. Don’t let good data stories get buried. Find out how to promote your content like a content agency, and optimize your blog for SEO.

If you still need a little help with your data storytelling, don’t be afraid to seek outside help. Here are a few tips to find the right data visualization agency, as well as tips to work together once you do. We’re also happy to talk through any of your data design challenges—seriously, we’re data geeks.

Good data storytelling can do wonders. It helps you find interesting insights. It helps you tell unique stories that people want to hear. And with beautiful data visualization, you can deliver that story, no matter how complex, in an easy-to-digest package. This is why data visualization is such a useful tool—and why it’s become so popular. But like many things, the more people do it, the more mistakes get made. This is a disservice not only to the practice but to the very people these data visualizations are for.

At the very least, bad data visualization is a nuisance. At worst, it can seriously hurt your readers’ trust in you, and, ultimately, your relationship. We are on a mission to rid the world of BS visualization, so we’re breaking down 6 ways to avoid the bad data visualization epidemic. Keep these in mind for your next project.

1) Use Really Good Data

Good data storytelling starts with good data. But in an “alternative facts” world, not all data is good data—and because people want to jump on the data train, they’re churning out infographics right and left with subpar sources. That is some major BS. So how do you know what counts as “good” data?

• It comes from a solid source: Data can be tricky because it can be easily misrepresented or inaccurately collected by organizations with an agenda. Source your data from trusted, credible sources. Even better, use your own internal data. Here are a few more tips on how to properly source data, as well as some great places to find data if you’re stuck.
• It’s clean and complete: Missing or incomplete data can affect your interpretation and throw things off. Before you dive in, clean and sort data so you know you’re working with the right stuff.
• It has a story: Just because you inject a few stats into a blog post doesn’t mean you’re really doing data storytelling. A great story lies in the interesting insights you extract from a data set. Follow our primer to find out how to find a story in your data. (It also has tips on cleaning your data, too.)  

2) Tell the Full Story

It’s tempting to hone in on a single data point that supports a pre-conceived narrative, but if it doesn’t really fall in line with what the data is telling you, don’t present it as such. For example, let’s say your team saw a 50% increase in sales in Q1. Showing that increase alone makes it look like you’re killing it. But if you include the full set, including numbers from the previous quarter that show a 75% decrease in sales, it’s a very different story. Data helps you establish trust and build a relationship by showing readers information. Withholding or misrepresenting erodes that trust in a second.

Example: We used data from the Clarity‘s Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report to craft an interesting infographic about the ages that entrepreneurs are most likely to pursue their business. With that data, the reader was able to see the larger picture and identify where they land on the age spectrum.

 

3) Choose the Right Chart

We admire any designer who attempts data visualization—so long as they take the time to learn how to properly do it. (To start, check out our guide to designing the most common charts and graphs.) Choosing the right visualization is crucial not just to the aesthetic of your piece but also to your readers’ understanding. Did you know 3D charts can visually skew data? That patterns distract from the data? That negative numbers should never be represented with the color green? These may seem like pesky rules, but they do affect the way a chart is interpreted.

4) Don’t Make Your Reader Do More Work

Data visualization is all about making things easier to understand and interpret. But oftentimes little things can interrupt the experience, like when…

• A reader has to hunt for a chart legend
• The legend is so far away from the chart they have to keep looking back and forth to try to make sense of what they’re seeing
• Data that is meant to be compared is presented in two separate, difficult-to-compare charts (e.g., five pie charts side by side vs. two stacked bar charts together)

The beauty of data visualization is that you use the best of both worlds—design and text—to enhance. So let design do the heavy lifting where needed. After you design anything, give it a pass to see if anything may be added, removed, or condensed to improve comprehension. For more on this, see the 8 design mistakes you should avoid in your visual communication.

Example: We partnered with the NFL to produce print reports featuring data and analytics for each team’s web performance. Each report contained detailed information, presented in an appropriate visualization. 

5) Ditch BS Chart Junk

Design can do a lot to enhance your data visualization. But too many designers care more about the design than the data. This results in a lot of unnecessary chart junk. These cluttered charts, filled with icons, illustrated characters, or outrageous creative “treatments,” make us cringe—definitely not the reaction you want.

6) Double Check E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G

Obviously, you’re not willfully trying to sabotage your data visualization. But regular old carelessness is usually the cause of the biggest mistakes we see. (Remember the Fox News pie chart that totaled 193%?) Something always happens when data travels from spreadsheet to fully designed layout. That stray label, transposed number, or missing data point can throw everything out of whack. Things to keep an eye on:

• Labels: Are they all there, and do they match the data?  
• Numbers: Do they match the original text?
• Visualizations: Do the bar charts match the data? Are bubbles sized proportionately? Is each segment on your pie chart accurate?
• Copy: Are chart labels, legends, etc. typo-free? Is anything cutoff or misplaced?

Always give it a final pass before you send it into the world.

Above all, if you really want to keep the BS out of your data visualization, always challenge yourself to improve your skills. To get started, here are a few more resources to keep you on your toes:

• Find out how to craft an effective data narrative.
• Learn how to pick the right visualization for your data.
• Follow design best practices for data visualization.  

If you still need a little help with your data storytelling, we’d love to work together.

Although the infographic Renaissance has triggered its resurgence, data visualization is nothing new. For hundreds of years, data designers have brought numbers to life to give us better insight into the world around us—and their data storytelling lessons are as relevant as ever.

To take a little walk down memory lane, we’re showcasing historic data visualizations that demonstrate great data storytelling. From data labeling to proper comparison, here are 7 things you can apply to your own data visualizations.

1) Keep the Focus on the Data

Charles Minard’s 1858 “Les Émigrants du Globe” map was a simple depiction of immigration patterns. Simple is the keyword here. There are no over-illustrated continents that distract from the immigration routes. There is no unnecessary labeling (beyond the simple continent name), and the key is simply colored. Everything is easy to track and discern. It’s simplicity at its best.

2) Label for Comprehension

While it feels like there’s a lot going on in this 1865 chart depicting British coal production from 1850-1864, Minard helped make the data more accessible through useful labeling. We see the X and Y axis labeled in increments for context, along with grid lines and directly labeled sections, color-coded for distinction. (Note that he didn’t also include a colored key, which would have been redundant.) Well-labeled charts reduce interpretation time, helping increase comprehension.

3) Choose the Most Effective Data Visualization

There are many ways to display data, but the goal is always to tell the strongest story. That’s what Florence Nightingale was determined to do when she and William Farr analyzed death rates during the Crimean War and realized that most soldiers had not died in combat; it was actually “preventable diseases” that claimed the most lives.

To convince Queen Victoria and Parliament to invest in better sanitary conditions, she needed to present the data in its most impactful way—as she said, “to affect thro’ the Eyes what we fail to convey to the public through their word-proof ears.” In 1858, she created the “Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East,” which featured the entirely new polar area chart, a variation of the pie chart. The visualization shows death by month, color-coded by cause of death. The chart showed the story impactfully, and she successfully argued her case for better sanitary conditions.

4) Tell a Comprehensive Story

The beauty of data visualization is that you can communicate far more information in a more digestible package than you can with text alone. While that doesn’t mean you have to use every piece of data at your disposal, you can tell a rich story in a single visualization. Charles Minard’s 1869 map of Napoleon’s Russian campaign shows this well.

As data visualization expert Edward Tufte notes, “Minard’s graphic tells a rich, coherent story with its multivariate data, far more enlightening than just a single number bouncing along over time. Six variables are plotted: the size of the army, its location on a two-dimensional surface, direction of the army’s movement, and temperature on various dates during the retreat from Moscow. It may well be the best statistical graphic ever drawn.”

5) Order data for comprehension

True data visualization artists know that data visualization is about more than displaying data; it’s about displaying data so the reader understands that information quickly and completely. Simple details like ordering do a lot to enhance the experience of viewing a data visualization.

This is demonstrated with William Playfair’s “The Commercial and Political Atlas” from 1786, depicting Scottish exports and imports throughout the year. Playfair depicted the data in ascending order so the viewer could quickly identify the most active regions. To order effectively, arrange data numerically, alphabetically, or sequentially.

6) Compare for Context

One of the biggest benefits of data visualization is the ability to not just “see” but be able to compare data points. Playfair’s 1805 “Chart of Universal Commercial History” plots the ebb and flow of regions throughout history, allowing us to see the individual story compared to the larger view. These types of micro/macrocosm looks help provide context and color to a data story.  

7) Make it Beautiful

While data visualization best practices have changed, the art remains just that—an art. This specimen from the Rand McNally World Atlas was published in 1890. The subject is certainly less than thrilling (“National Debts of Foreign Countries and the U.S. in 1890”), but it is so damn pretty you’d want to hang it in your office today.  

Although we can always learn from history, data visualization is an ever-evolving practice. To make sure you stay on top of best practices, here are a few posts that can help:

• Learn more about why data storytelling is so powerful.
• Find out how to pick the right format for your data.
• Check out these 9 sources for great data.
• Try these 25 tips to enhance your data visualizations.
• Dive deeper into data storytelling with our book Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling.  

If you need a little help with your data storytelling, we’d love to work together.

Great data storytelling languishing in blogs, a beautiful chart hiding on a designer’s desktop, a great graph shared once in an infographic—these are some of our biggest pet peeves, because a great data visualization should never go to waste. It takes a lot of time and skill to produce beautiful data visualizations, and we think you should get the most mileage out of anything you put that much energy into.

10 Ways to Reuse a Data Visualization

That’s why we encourage you to republish, repurpose, remix, and reuse your data visualizations as much as possible. (We actually call this a divisible content strategy, which you can read more about here.) We know that it’s easy to wrap up a project and move on, but you should really look at all content you create through two lenses:

1. How you’ll use it in its first iteration
2. How to use it to extend the shelf-life of the content or support other collateral you’re creating

For data visualizations in particular, there are a lot of things you can do to extend their reach. Here are some of our favorites.

1) Infographics

Now, for many people, the whole reason you end up with a slick data visualization is because of an infographic. But if you’re starting with a visualization from, say, your annual report, you may be able to find a new home—and even a new story—in an infographic. Additionally, you may have a series of infographics on similar subjects. As long as it’s relevant, save your designers some work and repurpose the visualizations you have.

Example: We helped Highfive turn data from a company report into a visual, shareable infographic. 

If you want to make an effective infographic, check out our best tips from creating more than 4,000 of them.

2) E-books and White Papers

No matter what you make, visuals will always enhance it. (To see the power of visualization in action, check out this video.) And when you have a great data visualization, it’s because you have great data (well, we hope). For things like e-books and white papers, data is a great way to tell your story and break up the information with engaging visuals.

Example: We worked with HP to create their highly visual Enterprise 2020 e-book, featuring plenty of data visualizations. 

For more tips on how to make better content marketing, check out our e-book archive.

3) Reports

Whether it’s a client report, company report, or annual report, a great data visualization makes it a lot easier to “see” the significance of numbers. When you need to communicate or support your argument, data visualization is very useful. (Also, who wouldn’t prefer a well-designed piece in their inbox over a droll spreadsheet?)

Example: We partnered with the NFL to produce print reports featuring data and analytics for each team’s web performance. Each report contained detailed information, presented in a visually engaging way for easy reference. 

And check out how we turned the Krochet Kids intl. annual report into an interactive data visualization.

4) Presentations and Tradeshows

When you are publicly presenting information, you need it to be visually impactful. Whether you’re trying to engage an audience at a talk or grab the attention of someone passing by your booth at a tradeshow, a beautiful visual always helps. This is especially true for any environment where audio may be ineffective, like on a loud and busy tradeshow floor.

Example: We partnered with the Gates Foundation to design a highly visual presentation, using data visualizations to make the information easier to synthesize.

If you want to add a data visualization to your presentation, make sure to follow our 10 tips for presentation design.

5) Interactive Infographics

Interactive content is a great way to bring people into a story, to immerse and engage them. If you really want your data visualizations to come to life, interactives can do it. You may decide to incorporate a data visualization into an interactive slideshow or make the actual visualization interactive. There are plenty of options, depending on what you need.

Example: We worked with Microsoft to create their Anatomy of a Breach interactive website, which includes animated data visualizations that show how prevalent the crime is. (Go behind-the-scenes of the project here.) 

For more inspiration, check out 101 awesome examples of interactive infographics.

6) GIFS AND ANIMATED VISUALIZATIONS

Animated data visualizations differ from interactive infographics because they don’t actually require interaction; they can move on their own. Because they’re visually stimulating and stand out, they are an awesome way to catch someone’s eye in a social feed or spruce up an old blog post.  

Example: We partnered with Takepart to create a set of GIFS that highlights facts important statistics about veterans to address mental health support for veterans. Though simple, the animated data visualizations make a powerful statement. 

Learn more about why motion content is so effective.

7) Motion Graphics and Videos

If you haven’t noticed, we’re big proponents of motion in all its forms, both in animation and interactivity. Video is a natural extension of that. It may be an animated motion graphic or a live-action video, but both also provide opportunities to infuse your story with data.  

Example: We partnered with Foodbeast and Totino’s to help tell a data story about Americans’ binge-watching habits. Using the actual Totino’s product as a visual challenged us to come up with creative data visualization.

Video is only becoming more popular. Learn more about the differences between motion graphics and video.

8) Microcontent

Microcontent is a huge part of a divisible content strategy. What is it? It’s basically all the little visual stuff you use to promote things: the blog teasers, social content, one-off graphics. Data visualizations make perfect microcontent, especially on social. Say you have an infographic featuring 5 different charts. Extract each chart, post it as a visual tweet, and you have 5 different posts promoting a piece of content—each from a different angle. This is one of our favorite ways to both promote and extend the shelflife of pieces of content.  

Example: We collaborated with the Golden State Warriors Warriors to create a piece of data visualization microcontent to celebrate Stephen Curry’s MVP award.

For more about how to use microcontent effectively, check out our e-book.

9) Press Releases

Gone are the days of the old-school page-long press release. Journalists, publications, and the public want to know the core message as quickly as possible. This is especially true for journalists who are looking for interesting content to cover. A visual press release that features compelling data—along with a beautiful visualization—is much more likely to get you noticed (and published!).

Example: A single panel extracted from our modularly designed infographic for Jive Software is a great visual to entice a publisher to follow a story or envision the content on their site. 

Find out more about how to get publishers to fall in love with your content.

10) Misc. Collateral

Every organization has different communication needs that vary department by department. There are many types of collateral that can get a nice upgrade with data visualization. Think of the regular collateral you have (or stuff you’d love to have) that could benefit, including sales brochures, employee materials, etc.

Example: Google asked us to help bring their Trust/SMB Whitepaper to life. So we created a data-rich, print-ready brochure used to promote Google Apps.

No matter what you choose to create, make sure you avoid these 8 design mistakes in visual content.

Of course, remember that before you can create a great data visualization, you need a great data story. Here are 9 sources of data to check out, plus 5 ways to find a great story in whatever you find. Oh, and make sure you always follow data visualization best practices. Check out this guide to designing the most common charts and graphs, and try these 25 tips to upgrade your data visualizations.

Still need help? We’d be happy to talk it out.

We’ve created many data visualizations with many different partners, so we know first-hand what makes these projects succeed and what turns them into a total disaster. To make sure you get the best work from your data visualization agency, we’ve put together a few insider tips on how to communicate and collaborate the right way.

8 Tips to Do Great Work with a Data Visualization Agency

It’s not easy to find the right data visualization agency for your project. (If you’re still on the hunt, check out our tips for how to vet them.) And once you find the right partner, the work doesn’t end there. You don’t want a gun for hire; you want a collaborative partner who will help bring your data to life. But working together means you each have a responsibility to do your part. To get the best work from your data visualization agency—and the best project possible—here are a few tips to make the process a little smoother.

1) Communicate a Clear Goal

Your data visualization agency is made up of expert designers and data storytellers who are adept at creating visualizations to communicate a specific purpose. They need to know not only what the goal is for this particular project but how it plays into your larger communication goals. Is it meant to engage people on social? Will it be used at a tradeshow? This info will influence their decisions at every stage, from the language they use to the format they use to present the data. Start off on the right foot with a detailed creative brief to clue them in. Here’s how to write one if you haven’t done it before.

2) Don’t Just Dump Your Data on Them

It’s exciting to have a partner who can dive into your data, but that doesn’t mean they’re your personal assistant. Far too often a client will get so excited they’ll send over every single piece of data they have, giving us a veritable ocean of data to wade through. This wastes precious time for the data visualization agency and, ultimately, your organization—the longer they take, the longer you wait. When you deliver data, it should be:

• Decently organized: Make it easier for your data visualization agency to “see” what they’re looking at.
• Complete: We can’t tell you how inconvenient it is to go back and forth in search of a few missing numbers. Clean and sort your data to avoid this.
• A reasonable amount: Sometimes people come to us with three stats and ask us to turn it into a data story. Other times, as we mentioned, it’s an insane database of randomness. Provide a solid data set that gives your data visualization agency enough to work with.

3) Let Them Extract the Most Meaningful Insights

You may already have a story in mind—and you may have the data to support it—but there may be a more interesting angle in that data. (Sidenote: We hate to see people try to retrofit data just because they have a “great” idea. Not only does this result in a weaker story but you risk misrepresenting data, which can hurt your credibility.) You should have filled your data visualization agency in on the project’s goal, so let them help extract the most valuable insights to achieve that goal.  

4) Know Your Terms

There’s a reason you’re using a data visualization agency, and it’s likely because you are not a data scientist or designer yourself. That’s OK, and you’re doing the right thing. But when it comes to collaborating on a data project, it’s important to know the basic lingo. This helps clear up miscommunication and ensures you’ll all stay on the same page. If you need a little help:

• Check out our guide to the most common charts and graphs: It’ll help you learn the difference between a pie chart and a donut chart so you don’t have to call it “that circle thing.”
• Learn about different visualization formats: Here’s a great rundown of the differences between data visualization, infographics, animated infographics, interactive infographics, motion graphics, and video.

5) Collaborate on the Story

Once the most interesting insights are uncovered, it’s vital to shape a narrative that will communicate them with the most impact. This is a highly collaborative process. You know who you’re trying to reach—how they think, what problems they face, the language they use—so you should help guide your data visualization agency. We believe the best story wins, no matter who it came from.  

6) Share Brand Guidelines

We can’t tell you how frustrating it is for a data visualization agency to put their heart and soul into a beautiful visualization only to be told—after the fact—that it doesn’t align with brand style. Make sure you share this information from the start. Conversely, if your brand guidelines don’t include directions for data visualization, this is the perfect opportunity to create some rules.

7) Identify Your Editors

Careless mistakes are the quickest way to ruin your data visualization’s integrity. Sometimes it’s a transposed number. Sometimes an entire chart is missing. With so much back and forth, these things can fall through the cracks. Make sure you have designated “editors” on both teams that will be accountable for reviewing and ensuring accuracy. (Note: This doesn’t have to be a proper “editor.” It may be a project manager or producer.)

8) Be a Good Creative Partner

There are many moving parts in a data project, and issues can come up at every stage. To help keep everything running smoothly, follow general rules to be a good collaborater:

• Designate a point person: This should be the contact to interface with your data visualization agency whenever they have a question or problem to solve.
• Get sign-off at every stage: Make sure all stakeholders have reviewed and approved content at each stage, from copy to design.
• Be responsive: Be respectful of your partner’s time. Don’t leave them hanging on questions or delay sending over important documents.
• Offer constructive feedback: Consolidate your feedback from stakeholders, and frame it in terms of what works and what doesn’t, instead of what you did and didn’t like.

Follow these tips, and we guarantee your project will be a lot smoother. The only argument you’ll have is about where to get a beer together after your awesome project goes live.

To learn more about the value of data visualization, find out why data-driven storytelling helps brands, check out these 9 great sources of data that are right in front of you, and learn about why our brains love data visualization. Still need some help with your data? We can hook you up.

If you want to tell a powerful story, data is the way to go. Whether it’s proprietary data, industry research, or public data, there are compelling stories all around. But even the best data story can lose impact if it isn’t presented the right way. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right data visualization format for your data.

We find that there is a lot of misinformation or misunderstanding around this topic. Many people think that throwing a few charts and graphs into an article is all they need to tell a good data story. Or they think they can stuff a trillion data points into an infographic and call it a day. While the intention might be right, the execution is so wrong.

We want you to tell the best data stories you can, so we’re breaking down the different types of storytelling formats to help you choose the best for your data. (Note: This isn’t entirely prescriptive, but it should send you in the right direction.)

Data Visualization Formats/Tools

Before we dive in, let’s clear up a few terms to specify what we’re talking about. When it comes to data storytelling, people tend to use certain terms interchangeably (or misuse them entirely), but there are very different types of data mediums and data visualization formats. For the purposes of this post, here’s how we break it down.

Data visualization: In the strictest sense, this refers to the actual visual representation of data. This may mean basic charts and graphs or larger, more complicated visuals. But it is about the visual specifically.

Information design: Information design is the visual representation of information—with no data at all (think of an organizational flow chart). We won’t be talking about info design here, but we think it’s important to understand the distinction.

Infographic: An infographic is a graphic that includes data, copy, and visuals. These elements work symbiotically to tell the story. (That means your infographic may include data visualizations.)

Animated infographic: These are infographics that include motion or animation. These are not interactive (see below), because the viewer doesn’t control the motion or animation.

Interactive infographic: An interactive infographic is any web-based content that lets you interact with the data on the screen. You may scroll over, click, expand, or otherwise manipulate the on-screen data.

Motion graphic: These are animated graphics that tell a story. Motion stories can be told through kinetic text, animated visuals, or both.

Video: This is live-action film, which may also incorporate text, graphics, etc.

Luckily, you have more options than ever to tell your story. But this can also make it tricky to choose which is best.

Before You Choose a Data Visualization Format

There are many elements that influence how you might best present your story. Before you decide on a format, think of the bigger picture. Each of these may affect the route you take.

Goal: Before you create anything or even come up with an idea, you should always know what your goal is. This is just as important to data storytelling as anything else. Are you trying to increase brand awareness? Establish your expertise? Engage your social followers? Some formats can help you achieve these goals more than others.

Story: An effective data story isn’t just a smattering of stats. If you’ve done your job well and teased out the insights, you can craft a narrative to reveal that story. That said, the story you’re trying to tell will very much dictate the data visualization format you choose. Is there a clear message? Are people meant to uncover or assign their own meaning to the story? Are you creating a useful resource? Are you trying to guide them to a next action? Keep this in mind.

Volume of data: This is one of the biggest issues we see over and over. People can go data-crazy sometimes and extract a mountain of data to turn into a story. That’s nice, but you must consider how much data is really required to tell the story. Sometimes you have millions of data points, and that’s OK. Just don’t stuff those into the world’s longest infographic.

Audience: Who are you trying to reach with your data story? Who will be interested in it? What level of knowledge or understanding do they have? What data visualization formats are they accustomed to interacting with? If you are targeting older boomers, for example, a fancy interactive might not be the way to go.

Distribution: Where will your data story live? On your blog? On social? Published on an industry site? How will you drive traffic to the piece? Know this from the get-go. If you are trying to engage people on social, the format you choose sure as hell better be optimized for social. (We once designed a beautiful animated infographic only to find out the publisher’s platform didn’t support the format. Then we cried.)

Choosing Your Data Visualization Format

Each data story is unique, so there isn’t a single rule or formula for choosing the best presentation. However, some are better suited than others to help you achieve your goals.

Data visualization

A strong data visualization can be used alone or as part of a larger piece. The power of strict data visualization lies in, of course, the visualization. A stunning visual is not only aesthetically appealing but lets the viewer “see” the story. Sometimes, a simple data visualization can be even more powerful than a detailed story with additional copy or context.

Good for: Data visualizations are often used as one part of a larger story in an infographic, white paper, e-book, on social, etc. (Simple visualizations are especially useful for situations in which time or attention is limited and you need to tell the story “at first sight,” such as a visual at a tradeshow booth.) 

Example: This simple data visualization is a convenient guide to grilling meat. The data is depicted in chart form, making it easy for readers to get the info they need at a glance. 

To make sure your data visualizations are effective, design them according to best practices. Find out how to do that with our Data Visualization 101 guide.

Infographics

Infographics are particularly useful to communicate in a simple, clear, and easy-to-understand way. They are aesthetically engaging and easy to share, making them a great tool for brand awareness. Publishers have become increasingly interested in infographics, as they visually enhance stories. Additionally, panels or slices from infographics can be repurposed as microcontent, helping to further promote the piece of content and give you more bang for your buck.

Good for: Social, content marketing, visual aids, editorial publishing, etc.

Example: This Jobvite infographic on paid parental leave tackles a relevant subject for their target audience and presents data in an easy-to-understand manner. 

Learn more about how to craft an effective infographic narrative and get publishers to fall in love with your infographics.

Animated infographics

Animated infographics have all the same benefits of infographics, but the addition of motion makes them more attention-grabbing. They are a good option if you want to mix up your content and experiment with motion without creating a full-on interactive or motion graphic. Like infographics, motion elements can also be repurposed in other areas.

Good for: Social, advertorial, or editorial, specifically situations where you need to grab attention to attract people to the content.

Example: We helped Newscred visualize the results of their content marketing survey by creating an animated infographic. The modular design allowed panels to be used individually or together.

Learn more about the power of motion in visual content.

Interactive Infographics

Interactive infographics are ideal for instances in which you have an enormous amount of data that needs to be easily navigable. You may present that as an exploratory interactive, in which users can dive into the data to extract their own meaning, or as a narrative interactive, in which you guide them through the interactive. Interactives require the viewer to actively engage by physically inputting information or manipulating data. It also encourages the viewer to spend more time with the content.

Good for: Engagement, deep data exploration, and immersive storytelling.

Example: We turned 10 million cells of data from a Northwestern University Qatar survey into a clean, colorful, easy-to-navigate piece. The interactive allows for exploratory storytelling, where the user can decide what data they are most interested in.

Learn more about the benefits of interactive stories.

Motion Graphics

Motion graphics are particularly useful when you have an abstract concept or a story that needs more context to connect the dots. It is a contained storytelling format, which makes it easier to deliver a succinct story or direct message. It is also passive, allowing the viewer to sit back and absorb.

Good for: Telling a succinct story in a short amount of time.

Example: We collaborated with NBC Universal to create a motion graphic encouraging Americans to reduce food waste, using data from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Check out 6 awesome examples of storytelling through motion graphics.

Video

Video has become an increasingly popular medium, largely thanks to social platforms. Like motion, video can also incorporate text, graphics, and data visualization and offers an opportunity to demonstrate creativity. However, perhaps its strongest selling point is its ability to put a “human” spin on data stories by putting actors front and center.

Good for: Telling a succinct story in a short amount of time, especially when you are trying to create an emotional connection with the content.

Example: We partnered with Foodbeast and Totino’s to help tell a data story about Americans’ binge-watching habits. Using the actual Totino’s product as a visual challenged us to come up with creative data visualization.

https://vimeo.com/190951671

Learn more about why humans are so attracted to video.

Remember: Story First

No matter what data visualization format you choose, remember the basics that will make it succeed: Strong data and a strong story. If you need a little help in that area, here are some things that might help:

• Learn more about why data storytelling is so powerful.
• Find out how audience personas make sure your data stories will capture people’s interest.
• Check out these 9 sources for great data.
• Dive deeper into data storytelling with our book Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling.  

If you need a little help with your data storytelling, we’d love to work together.

The Value of Data Visualization was created for presentation at the Richmond Federal Reserve’s “Unleashing the Power of Local Data” conference.

A great data story starts with great data. That means it’s comprehensive, complete, and credible. But where do you find it? The best free data sources come from all sorts of places. You may have some in-house. You may come across some in an interesting study. Or you may need to start from scratch. Luckily, you can always turn to your dear friend, the Internet, to find fantastic, free data from a ton of solid sources.

We’ve used public data to create all sorts of content, from infographics to interactives, so we know what a goldmine it is. We also know that finding it can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve created this roundup—to make your search a lot easier. Here, you’ll find over 100 free data sources from reputable organizations around the world. And to make your search even easier, they’re organized by category so you can find the data you need as fast as possible. We hope it helps.

Free Data Sources: General/Academic

1. UNData: A statistical database of all United Nations data.

2. Amazon Public Data Sets: A repository of large datasets relating to biology, chemistry, economics, and physiology, including the Human Genome Project.

3. Pew Research: Public opinion polls, demographic research, content analysis, and other data-driven social science research.

4. Google Scholar: A wide array of information, including articles, theses, books, abstracts, white papers, and court opinions.

5. Datasets Subreddit: A dive into anything and everything, from English grain prices of the 14th Century to U.S. homelessness rates.

6. FiveThirtyEight: Statistical analysis that tells compelling stories about elections, politics, sports, science, economics, and more.

7. Qlik DataMarket: A place to check out data related to economics, healthcare, food, agriculture, and the automotive industry.

8. The Upshot by New York Times: News, analysis, and graphics about politics, policy, and everyday life.

9. Enigma Public: Broad collection of open data, curated for easy perusing.

10. Harvard Dataverse: A repository for research data.

Free Data Sources: Content Marketing

11. Buffer: Data insights on digital marketing.

12. Moz: Insights on SEO.

13. HubSpot: A large repository of marketing data.

14. Content Marketing Institute: The latest news, studies, and research on content marketing.

Free Data Sources: Crime

15. Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics: Statistics on violent crime, such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault; has decades of data at city, county, state, and national levels.

16. FBI Crime Data Explorer: Statistical crime reports and publications detailing specific offenses and outlining trends to understand crime threats at both local and national levels.

17. National Archive of Criminal Justice Data: Original research based on archived data concerning criminal justice and criminology.

18. Bureau of Justice Statistics: Information on anything related to U.S. justice system, including arrest-related deaths, census of jail inmates, national survey of DNA crime labs, surveys of law enforcement gang units, etc.

Free Data Sources: Drugs

19. U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Drug approvals and databases, including therapeutic equivalence evaluations for approved multi-source prescription drug products.

20. National Institute on Drug Abuse: Resources that cover a variety of drug-related issues, such as drug usage, emergency room data, and prevention and treatment programs.

21. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Research, trend analysis, and forensics with global and regional data collections.

22. Drug War Facts: Thorough look at drugs and drug policy, applied to public health and criminal justice issues.

23. Drug Data and Database by First Databank: Drug data and drug databases provided with the hope of drug knowledge inspiring change in the medication decision-making process.

Free Data Sources: Education

24. Government Data About Education: Education datasets, apps, resources for the classroom, and details about paying for college.

25. Education Data by the World Bank: Comprehensive data and analysis source for key topics in education, such as literacy rates and government expenditures.

26. Education Data by Unicef: Data related to sustainable development, school completion rates, net attendance rates, literacy rates, and more.

27. National Center for Education Statistics: The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

Free Data Sources: Entertainment

28. Million Song Dataset: A collection of 28 datasets containing audio features and metadata for a million contemporary popular music tracks.

29. The Numbers: Detailed movie financial analysis, including box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, and release schedules.

30 BFI Film Forever: Research data and market intelligence focused on the UK film industry and film culture.

31. IFPI: Global statistics about the recording industry.

32. Statista: Video Game Industry: Statistics and facts about the video game industry, ranging from global gaming software expenditure to U.S. brand equity of Nintendo Wii.

33. Statista: Film Industry: Statistics and facts about the film industry, from the number of movie tickets sold in U.S. and Canada to the number of 3D cinema screens worldwide.

34. Statista: Music Industry: Statistics and facts about the music industry, ranging from concert revenue to record company market share.

35. Academic Rights Press: A repository of historical and current music sales data with insight on how such numbers can be applied.

36. BLS: Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: Related industries at a glance, with statistics and datasets relevant to arts, entertainment, and recreation.

Free Data Sources: Environmental/Weather Data

37. Global Biodiversity Information Facility: An international network providing data on all types of life on Earth.

38. National Center for Environmental Health: Nationally funded data systems that have a relationship to environmental public health.

39. National Climatic Data Center: Quick links  from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, covering everything from storm data to climate indices.

40. National Weather Service: Climate data, including past weather conditions and long-term averages, from specific observing stations around the United States.

41. Weather Underground: Tracked weather by regional radar, regional severe weather, and global temperatures.

42. National Centers for Environmental Information: Weather record published since 1927, including monthly mean values of pressure, temperature, precipitation, and station metadata notes documenting observation practices and station configurations.

43. WeatherBase: Travel weather, climate averages, forecasts, current conditions, and normals for 41,997 cities worldwide.

44. International Energy Agency Atlas: A look at climate change that focuses on how each country produces and consumes energy.

45. Environmental Protection Agency: Information for more than 540 chemical substances, containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances in the environment.

Free Data Sources: Financial/Economic Data

46. OpenCorporates: The largest open database of companies in the world.

47. Google Finance: Real-time stock quotes and charts, financial news, currency conversions, or tracked portfolios.

48. Google Public Data Explorer: Searchable large datasets on economic development worldwide.

 49. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: U.S. economic statistics, including national income and gross domestic product.

50. National Bureau of Economic Research: Macro data, industry data, productivity data, trade data, international finance, data, and more.

51. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Quarterly datasets of extracted information from exhibits to corporate financial reports filed with the Commission.

52. World Bank Open Data: Education statistics about everything from finances to service delivery indicators.

53.  Financial Data Finder at OSU: Plentiful links to anything related to finance, no matter how obscure.

54. IMF Economic Data: Global financial stability reports, regional economic reports, international financial statistics, exchange rates, directions of trade, and more.

55. The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Analysis of trade flows and the sectoral composition of an economy with data visualizations.

56. World Bank Doing Business Database: An incredibly useful source of information that evaluates business environment indicators around the world, including trade capabilities and costs.

57. UN Comtrade Database: Raw data on high-level trade with visualizations.

58. Global Financial Data: Covers 60,000 companies across 300 years, analyzing the twists and turns of the global economy.

59. Visualizing Economics: Data visualizations about the economy.

60. Federal Reserve Economic Database: Data on money, banking, macroeconomics, international and regional economics, etc.

Free Data Sources: Government/World

61. Consortium for Political and Social Research: Provides access to a vast archive of social science data.

62. U.S. Census Bureau: Government-informed statistics on population, economy, education, geography, and more.

63. Data.gov: Open data of the U.S. government, focuses on everything from agriculture and ecosystems to manufacturing and science.

64. Unicef: Evidence on the situation of children and women around the world to inform national and global decision-making.

65. Data Catalogs: Comprehensive list of open data catalogs in the world, curated by a group of leading open-data experts.

66. European Union Open Data Portal: Data pulled from European Union institutions.

67. Open Data Network: Government-related data with some visualizations tools built in.

68. Gapminder: Massive collection of data sources that cover everything from agriculture and employment to aid given and death.

69. Land Matrix (Transnational Land Database): A meticulously developed database of international land transactions with plenty of visualization tools.

70. The World Bank’s World Development Indicators: Huge collection of national data on hundreds of indicators, with data on every country.

71. UNDP’s Human Development Index: A ranking of country progress under the lens of human development.

72. OECD Aid Database: Visualized data regarding aid collected from governments.

73. The CIA World Factbook: Facts on every country, dependency, and geographic entity in the world; focuses on history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.

Free Data Sources: Health

74. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Public health data and statistics by topic, from alcohol use to viral hepatitis.

75. World Health Organization: Information, data, statistics, and reports concerning international public health.

76. President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition: Information aimed to promote, encourage, and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sport.

77. Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce: A collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations, and health sciences libraries.

78. Health Services Research Information Central: Selective links aimed at providing information and data regarding health services resources.

79. MedicinePlus: Health statistics ranging from percentage of obese citizens to rates at which people are catching the flu.

80. National Center for Health Statistics: Datasets, documentation, data access tools, growth charts, and resources for further vital records.

81. America’s Health Rankings: Health reports that view the nation holistically, with in-depth data and analysis.

82. Health & Social Care Information Centre: National provider of information, data, and IT systems for health and social care.

83. Medicare Hospital Quality: A database on complication rates by hospital for interesting comparisons.

84. SEER Cancer Incidence: Cancer-related statistical summaries, interactive tools, and publications.

85. The BROAD Institute: Cancer program legacy publication resources and cancer-related datasets.

86. HealthData.gov: High-value health data for entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy makers; includes data on Medicaid, Medicare, clincial studies, and treatments.

Free Data Sources: Human Rights

87. Human Rights Data Analysis Group: Nonprofit, nonpartisan group applying rigorous science to the analysis of human rights violations around the world.

88. Harvard Law School: A collection of links that cover a variety of topics, including everything from international relations and human rights data, from political institution databases.

89. The Armed Conflict Database by Uppsala University: A look at fragile and conflict-affected states that dives into minor and major violent conflicts around the world.

90. Amnesty International: Human rights information, run independent of any political ideology, economic interest, or religion.

Free Data Sources: Labor/Employment Data

91. Department of Labor: Closely watched measures of employment and unemployment.

92. U.S. Small Business Administration: Employment data from business owners’ perspective, including economic indicators and projections.

93. Employment by U.S. Census: Data that measures the state of the nation’s workforce, including employment and unemployment levels, as well as weeks and hours worked.

94. Bureau of Labor Statistics: U.S. government’s data collection of employment-related stats across regions, states, and local areas.

Free Data Sources: Politics

95. Gallup: Data-driven news based on U.S. and world polls.

96. Real Clear Politics: A look at everything from policy support to election polling data.

97. Intro to Political Science Research by UC Berkeley: Statistics and data for those interested in political science; an ideal starting place.

98. California Field Poll: Independent, nonpartisan, media-sponsored public opinion news service that examines California public opinion.

99. Rand State Statistics: Social science data for the U.S. at the national, state, and local levels.

100. Roper Center for Public Opinion Research: U.S. and international polling and public opinion survey data.

101. Open Secrets: Nonpartisan, independent, and nonprofit; nation’s premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

102. Crowdpac: Calculates objective scores for political candidates showing their overall political position and their position on specific issues.

Free Data Sources: Retail

103. Love the Sales: Free data for insights into the global retail industry.

Free Data Sources: Social

104. Facebook Graph: API that pulls data about Facebook engagement.

105. SocialMention: Real-time social media search and analysis.

106. Google Trends: Data and trends by search engine engagement.

Free Data Sources: Travel/Transportation

107. Monthly Tourism Statistics – U.S. Travelers Overseas: A look at U.S. international air passenger statistics.

108. SkiftStats: Latest statistics, research, and data about the travel industry.

109. Search the World: Statistics, population, weather, webcams, and travel information for millions of locations worldwide.

110. U.S. Travel Association: Covers a wide variety of travel-related topics, from impacts of travel on state economies to analysis of what a stronger dollar means for the travel industry.

111. Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Transportation statistical data, research activities, and budgetary resources.

How to Start Data Storytelling

Regardless of the data you choose, turning that data into a compelling story is key. From copy to design, make sure to follow best data storytelling practices at every stage. If you’re ready to start:

• Find the story in your data set. Download our free e-book, The Content Marketer’s Guide to Data Storytelling, for more tips on bringing your data to life. You can also follow our step-by-step guide to uncover the stories in your data (and look into your own data if none of these sources were quite what you were looking for).
• Craft an effective narrative. Try these tips to turn your data into a compelling story.
• Choose the right visualization. Once you know your narrative, make sure to choose the right visual format for your story.
• Source your data correctly. Follow these 5 tips for sourcing to make sure you maintain your credibility. 
• Follow best practices for data design. Learn how to design the most basic charts and graphs, and follow these tips to upgrade your visualizations.

If you need any help telling your data story, hit us up. And if you have any tips for finding great data or great data sources, leave a comment and help us share the data love.

To generate high-quality content consistently, you need a steady stream of content ideas, a solid workflow, and—most importantly—a well-crafted content plan. With a solid plan, you can stay organized, execute your content strategy successfully, and ensure you’re creating content that will actually connect with the right people and convert them into lifelong fans. If you’ve never created a plan before (or aren’t sure you’re doing it the right way), you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll walk you through the content plan process—and help you avoid common mistakes along the way. 

But first, let’s go back to basics. 

What Is a Content Plan?

In short, a content plan is a way to document the content marketing you want to create—and ensure everyone on your team stays on the same page. 

Why Do You Need a Content Plan?

Good content marketing is strategic and intentional. It also involves many moving parts, from copywriting to design. The better you can plan, the easier it is to… 

• Publish consistently. If you want to build your brand through content, you need to show up for your audience regularly. Publishing a steady stream of content is one of the most effective ways to do that. But if you don’t have a reliable content infrastructure (aka the knowledge and resources to create content), it is very difficult to produce and publish high-quality content consistently. A content plan helps keep everyone on the same page to ensure you hit your deadlines and publish the right thing at the right time. 
• Tell your brand’s best stories. We like to think of content marketing as a unique ecosystem, where every piece of content helps reinforce your brand story. If you’re making content piecemeal, or on the fly, it’s harder to control the quality and message that you’re sending. But with a solid content plan, you can ensure that you’re creating the right mix of content for your audience. 
• Maximize resources. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 54% of B2B marketers say a lack of resources is their biggest challenge. When you know what content you plan to create, you can identify and allocate resources more effectively. In fact, the more you plan, the more mileage you can get from your content. 

Note: What’s most important is actually documenting your plan. That can help you keep track of your content, spot additional content opportunities, and more.

How to Create a Content Plan

Creating a content plan is simple and straightforward (if you know what you’re doing). Follow these five steps to set yourself up for success.  

1) Complete your content strategy.

Successful content marketing doesn’t start with content—it starts with strategy. Before you make your content plan, you need to know what your goals are, who your audience is, how your content will support those goals, how you plan to measure success, etc. If you haven’t established this foundation, your content won’t be very effective. (In fact, you’re almost guaranteed to waste valuable time and resources for little reward.)

This is why it’s important to start with the basics. Use our content strategy guide and toolkit to ensure you have the information you need to build a content plan that is aligned to your goals.

2) Build your content pipeline.

Good content rarely happens when you’re scrambling to create something last minute. Thus, your content plan needs to account for any significant events or dates that you will create content for.

This may include all sorts of notable events, such as:

• Holidays
• Seasonal events (e.g., annual tradeshow)
• Company milestones
• Launches

To make sure these events are on your radar from the start, we suggest building a content pipeline, wherein you document important events for each quarter. (Download our free content pipeline template to do it.) Although you may not be focusing on those events yet, it’s important to have them in the pipeline so you can brainstorm and prepare far ahead of time. 

3) Decide on your cadence. 

How often do you plan to publish? What is a steady, reasonable cadence? This will rely on your team’s knowledge, skills, and ability to create various pieces of content. You may publish daily, weekly, or monthly—it all depends on your brand. What matters most is that you choose a reasonable cadence that you can realistically maintain.

Tip: If you don’t have the ability to create something in-house, outside support can help. See our tips to figure out if you should turn to a freelancer or a content agency.

4) Brainstorm ideas by month.

Every brand’s content needs will be different, but if you’re building your content operation from scratch, it helps to break content plans down by quarter (via your content pipeline), and then by month.

We find it especially helpful to choose a specific topic, set of keywords, or seasonal theme to brainstorm around each month.

Note:  While you can loosely plot these themes out, they shouldn’t be written in stone. Things can (and often do) change. If you’re brainstorming too far ahead, and something unexpected happens, it’ll throw your whole calendar off. Instead, plan 1-3 months at a time.

When it comes time to brainstorm specific content ideas, there are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Include stakeholders. Don’t leave anyone important out of these meetings. More minds make better ideas. Plus, you don’t want to go back to square one if a stakeholder doesn’t approve of the idea.
• Vet your ideas. Don’t go with your first ideas. Instead, use your marketing personas to vet and prioritize the ideas that will resonate with your audience most.
• Consider the platform. Where does your audience live online, and what type of content do they like to consume on these platforms? This may influence the types of ideas you brainstorm.

Once you have your list of ideas, think about what order you will want to publish them in. For example, if you’re just starting to publish content, you will want to publish your larger, more broad pieces first. 

5) Build out your editorial calendar. 

Now you can use our editorial calendar template to schedule your content. (You may also use a calendar tool like CoSchedule.)

This is where you get into the nitty-gritty content-planning details. Build and schedule a calendar that keeps everyone on track, including all the relevant details like topic, keyword, author, etc. Again, you want to schedule things out far enough in advance that no one is unprepared or blindsided by a deadline. However, this is marketing, and things change (hi, pandemic!). You may need to be flexible and move some content up, or push other content back. 

For more on this, find out how to build a proper editorial calendar.

6) Plan your distribution strategy.

No matter how good your content is, if people aren’t seeing it, it isn’t doing its job. Focus on channels that align best with your goals and have the highest potential reach. For example, if your goal is brand awareness, prioritize channels with high visibility, like social media. For lead generation, use channels like email or gated content on your website. This approach ensures you’re not spreading resources too thin.

• Identify where your audience spends time. That might be LinkedIn for B2B or Instagram for younger audiences.
• Tailor your content for each platform. Segmenting by platform lets you adapt your message and format—using visuals and shorter copy for social media or long-form articles for your blog—ensuring your content resonates effectively with different audience segments.
• Analyze your audience’s engagement patterns to determine optimal posting times. Many platforms have peak engagement times (e.g., LinkedIn during weekdays), which can vary based on industry and audience type. Planning distribution around these patterns will help you maximize visibility and engagement.

For more tips, see our guide to build a distribution strategy that gets the right eyes on your content. 

How to Make Your Content Plan Successful

As you begin to document your plan (and measure the results as you go), we have a few final tips to make sure your content-planning work pays off.

• Optimize your infrastructure. Follow our tips to master content creation and work smarter, not harder.
• Choose the right mix of content. Think of your content as nutrition—your audience needs a well-balanced meal to stay interested (and satisfied). Find out how to serve the right type of content that will keep people engaged.
• Repurpose content. Maximize your content by looking for ways to repurpose content For example, you might break an ebook into a blog post, social media snippets, data visualizations, or even a podcast episode. This strategy boosts your presence across channels without having to create entirely new content. (For more tips on doing this, find out how a divisible content strategy can help you work more effectively.
• Test and tweak. Good metrics are the key to content marketing success because they tell you whether or not your content actually works. Measure your efforts, and use the insights to improve your content going forward.
• Don’t be precious with your content. If it isn’t working and you’re supposed to create the same content next month, mix it up.

Of course, if you need a partner to guide your strategy and content, we’re always here. See our content strategy FAQ, or hit us up directly. We’d love to help you create a content plan that resonates with the people you’re trying to reach. 

When someone wants to buy your specific product/service, how quickly does your brand come to mind? Are you their #1 pick? Are you in their top 3? Do they think of your brand at all? If you want to win customers now—and grow your brand long term—you need to make your brand the most memorable in the market. How do you do that? Focus on increasing mental availability. 

What Is Mental Availability?

Mental availability is a marketing concept that refers to how much real estate your brand takes up in your customers’ minds. 

Remember: People don’t want to spend any more brain power or effort than they have to. Hence, when making purchasing decisions, they prefer to go with the first brand that comes to mind. The familiar choice is the easier choice because it takes less energy. It also feels like the better choice—simply because consumers equate familiarity with trust. 

This is why mental availability is the key to market growth. But how do you increase your brand’s mental availability? 

The Formula for Mental Availability

To achieve mental availability, you need to focus on two key areas:

1. Awareness: People knowing who you are and what you do. 
2. Recall: People remembering who you are and what you do. 

Note: There are many strategies to increase awareness and recall, and a healthy marketing strategy should allocate equal resources to both at key stages of the buyer journey. Fortunately, increasing mental availability is not as difficult as it may seem.

10 Strategies to Increase Mental Availability 

Mental availability is ultimately about reach and repetition, which you can reinforce in big and small ways. Start with this roundup of go-to strategies to keep your brand top of mind. 

1) Brand all your content. 

Your brand is the amalgamation of your beliefs, story, voice, and personality—communicated at every touchpoint. As industries become overcrowded, brand is one of the last remaining competitive advantages. This is why it’s so important that any and all content accurately reflects your brand, from your visual identity (logos, colors, and design elements) to your personality and voice. 

When you create consistent, cohesive content you stand out from the crowd and cultivate familiarity with your audience. This helps you become an instantly recognizable resource—one they will remember when it comes time to buy. 

Tip: To create on-brand content, you need a visual identity that is both distinct and flexible. Use our brand identity toolkit to design your identity, and use our branded content checklist to ensure that every piece you put out is authentically and distinctly yours. 

2) Use emotional messaging. 

If you want to make your brand more memorable, you need to cultivate an emotional attachment between your brand and audience. (This is even true in B2B, where it is a myth that purchase decisions aren’t emotional.) There are many ways to do this across the buyer journey:

• Use more emotional language in your written content, whether it’s an article or CTA. 
• Develop catchy, easy-to-remember taglines.
• Use more inclusive imagery.

Tip: Look for more creative and exciting ways to humanize your brand and connect with your audience. Try these tips to brainstorm bold content that elicits strong emotions.

3) Increase your exposure.

If you want to grow your brand, you need to reach as many people as possible through as many means as possible. That includes: 

• Omnichannel ad campaigns to keep your brand top-of-mind. Start with our guide to run successful paid media campaigns.
• High-value content marketing on owned channels. See our tips to brainstorm content that will resonate with your audience.
• Features in industry publications. Find out how to promote your content like an agency would.

Tip: Although you want to increase your exposure, not all channels will work for your brand. Find out how to choose the best channels for your audience, then focus on building a strong presence on your priority channels. 

4) Expand your network. 

In B2B, there are a lot of people who influence purchasing decisions. While you want a broad audience to increase awareness, it’s also important to reach key decision-makers within that audience. 

According to Gartner research, the average number of stakeholders that influence a B2B buying decision is 11—and sometimes up to 20.

To expand and engage this network, make sure you have segmented your marketing personas, as well as ideal customer profiles. This will help you better tailor your campaigns and cultivate stronger connections with the right people.

Tip: Participate in industry events and webinars to increase your visibility and establish yourself as an expert. You can also partner with relevant publications to get your brand in front of industry thought leaders.

5) Showcase the people behind your brand. 

If you want to expand your reach, you don’t always have to focus on external players. Your own employees can be some of your best advocates. They have a wealth of expertise to share, and they can expand your reach across their own networks. Showcasing the real humans behind your brand also increases people’s emotional attachment to your brand (which, again, makes you more memorable). 

Tip: Turn your team into content creators by encouraging them to share their tips and expertise. You can also highlight your employees and brand culture on social media. This is a great way to let employees express themselves and foster more human connections. 

6) Use retargeting. 

How do you increase mental availability? Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Use retargeting ads to reinforce your message to people who have shown interest in your brand. (Sidenote: We’ve also found success by targeting competitor keywords in Google Ads.) Make sure to follow up with leads via emails and other personalized communications.

Tip: Personalization is an incredibly effective way to engage your audience. Find out how AI tools can make it easier to infuse more personalization across channels.

7) Highlight your customer relationships. 

Social proof is always a great tactic to increase mental availability, as it demonstrates your expertise and elicits excitement (especially when you highlight the ideal state your customer will be in after they’ve used your product/service).  

• Solicit testimonials from satisfied customers to build trust and recognition.
• Share detailed case studies that showcase your success and expertise.
• Showcase user-generated content on your channels to engage your audience. 

Tip: Case studies are most effective if they follow a narrative arc. Find out how to turn your customer wins into compelling stories.

8) Engage people with interactive content. 

Interesting and unique content will always stand out, which is why we’re such a proponent of interactive content. Interactives put your audience in the driver’s seat, creating a more engaging experience than static or video content. Whether you’re looking to entertain or educate your audience, think of ways to provide value via interactives. 

• Build a helpful calculator or tool to help them accomplish something. 
• Create an entertaining quiz.
• Synthesize data into an interactive data visualization they can explore. 

Tip: Although interactives can be a great tool, not all content works with the medium. Ask these questions to brainstorm and vet your interactive ideas.

9) Embrace data-driven storytelling. 

Data visualization and data-based stories can be incredibly powerful tools for brands for several reasons:

• Data increases your credibility. 
• Proprietary data makes you stand out as an expert in your field. 
• Data storytelling makes information easier to digest and—most importantly—recall. 

Whether you’re creating an annual report, white paper, infographic, or interactive database, think about how you might add data to your content to create more trustworthy and even newsworthy content that expands your reach. 

Tip: Proprietary data is ideal for data storytelling because it is original content your audience can’t get anywhere else. If you need inspiration, look at these internal data sources, and find out how to turn them into compelling content.

10) Engage your customers on social. 

Social is one of the most powerful platforms to increase your awareness and recall via paid campaigns and organic interaction. Look for creative ways to build a stronger presence on your social channels. 

• Run creative contests or solicit UGC. 
• Expand your reach with social media account takeovers.
• Promote causes you care about. 
• Run polls to seek customer feedback. 
• Share memes, relevant news, or industry trends. 

Tip: Maintaining a strong social presence across multiple channels can be tricky, but AI tools can make it a lot easier. Find out how to use AI to hack social and save energy, time, and resources. 

How to Keep Increasing Mental Availability 

Although we’ve found success with these particular strategies, increasing mental availability doesn’t happen overnight. You need to regularly analyze campaign performance and adjust your strategy for the best results.

Like everything in marketing, it’s a process of experimentation and optimization. But sometimes it can help to gain a fresh perspective. If you’re looking for a partner to help you grab more market share, see our tips to find the right agency or explore what it’s like to work with us.

Either way, remember the best way to stay on top of trends and top of mind is to educate yourself about marketing best practices. Subscribe to our Best Story Wins podcast for more expert tips to win your customers’ hearts and minds, and check out our full resources archive for tools and templates to work smarter and win your market. 

Good luck out there. 

At a time when engagement marketing has quickly overtaken interruption marketing, branded content is one of the best tools for marketers to connect with people. But if your content doesn’t properly communicate your brand, it won’t help you increase brand awareness, engage your audience, or achieve your goals. We’ve seen plenty of brands struggle with this issue, and we don’t want you to be one of them. So we’ve put together this handy checklist to help you ensure that every piece of content you put out is up to par and, most importantly, on brand. 

Before we dive in, however, let’s talk about why not all branded content is created equal.

The Keys to Good Branded Content

Good branded content communicates your brand story. It shows people who you are, what you do, and how you help them. Unfortunately, brands often think that creating any sort of content means they’re making good branded content. But you can’t just slap your logo on something and call it a day. Whether it’s an annual report, infographic, or video, you need to create content that makes a memorable and meaningful impression. The ability to do this well is one of your biggest competitive advantages in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Why? Because good branded content helps you build stronger connections with your audience in three key ways:

1. Appeal: Well-designed content intrigues people and entices them to interact with your brand. 
2. Memorability: Visual content (in particular) is easier to synthesize than plain old text, simply because our brains process visual information faster. The more effectively you apply your visual identity, the easier it is for people to consume, comprehend, and recall your content. 
3. Awareness: The more consistent you are, the more people see you as a credible, reliable resource. This is the key to building trust and, as a result, a long-term relationship with the right people. If the content you create is segmented, siloed, or scattershot, with no thought to branding, design, or presentation, it’s much harder to nurture that relationship.

Most importantly, branded content is what consumers want and expect—and it’s more effective than traditional forms of advertising. According to The Emotional Impact of Branded Storytelling study by Realeyes/Turner Ignite, branded content elicits stronger emotions than a traditional 30-second advertising spot.

When compared to traditional advertising, the study also found that branded content made viewers: 

• 62% more likely to have a positive reaction. 
• 31% more emotionally engaged.
• 17% more likely to buy.

Tl;dr if you’re looking to make meaningful connections with the people who need your product or service, branded content is the way to go. But branded content is only effective if it provides value and accurately reflects your brand. Much of the branded content we see falls into one of the following categories: 

1. Overbranded: It is centered only around the brand, self-referential, or visually over-branded.  
2. Underbranded: There is little or no visible branding. It is generic, boring, or completely forgettable. 
3. Misbranded: The branding is inconsistent or notably off-brand. 

You want to avoid all of these cardinal sins, so before you upload your next video, send that email to your subscriber list, or press publish on your latest ebook, use our checklist to make sure you’re creating the highest-quality branded content that will give you true ROI.

Your Branded Content Checklist

Pro tip: Share this checklist with all brand creators to ensure you always create cohesive, consistent content.

1) Identify the value to your audience. 

This is one of our biggest pet peeves in content marketing. Brands come up with seemingly “brilliant” ideas, but they can’t identify how or why they connect to their audience (or even to their brand). 

• Is this idea interesting and relevant to your audience?
• What pain points/needs/wants does this content address?
• Are there clear takeaways?
• What will someone learn/how will they be better after engaging with this content?

Tip: Vet ideas according to your marketing personas. If you’re struggling to come up with strong ideas, follow our tips to create high-value content, and use these 5 ideas to tell your brand story as prompts for your next brainstorm. 

2) Ensure your messaging is accurate and consistent.

Telling a consistent, cohesive story is the #1 way to build brand awareness and recognition. Messaging is a huge part of that, but we see many brands miss the mark with weak or off-brand messaging. Double-check that your content delivers the right message, talking points, and ideas. 

• Are you using the right phrasing or keywords?
• Is there a clear message, or are you trying to introduce too many ideas in one piece?
• Does this content support your overall messaging framework?

No matter how big or small your content is, everything from your gated ebooks to your homepage CTAs should support your brand story. 

Tip: Build your brand messaging framework (including tagline, value prop, and key stories) to guide your content creation. (This is also a convenient tool to share with freelancers or other people creating content on your brand’s behalf.) 

3) Showcase your voice, tone, and personality appropriately.

The way you speak, write, joke, etc. are all unique to your brand—and they are a great way to stand out from the crowd. Whether it’s a video script or a social status update, inject your brand personality into every piece of content to humanize your brand and become an accessible resource.

• Is the content’s tone consistent with your brand personality?
• Does the tone match the subject matter?
• Are you using the right slang or phrases?

Tip: If you haven’t clearly identified and articulated your brand voice, answer the questions in our brand voice template to find it. 

4) Design according to your visual identity.

From your products to your website, the way your brand “looks” tells its own story. (Good design isn’t just a differentiator; it’s what people expect these days.) Make sure you have a comprehensive, cohesive visual identity that includes all of the elements designers need to create branded content, including: 

• Logo
• Color
• Typography
• Data visualization
• Photography
• Illustration
• Iconography

This identity should be applied accurately and appropriately to all your content. (Sidenote: Don’t add your logo more than once!) When it comes to your visual identity, remember that the devil is often in the details.

• Are your brand color codes correct?
• Does the imagery match your brand’s aesthetic? 
• Does imagery reflect your brand values (considering age, race, gender, etc.)? 
• Is there a clear hierarchy in layout? Is content easy to follow?

Tip: Follow our guide to build a comprehensive brand identity, use our visual identity checklist, and bookmark these 100+ tools to build a brand identity.  

5) Consider SEO and accessiblity.

You put a lot of work into creating content, so you want people to be able to find it. SEO and accessibility play a huge role in your visibility.

• Are brand-specific and industry-relevant keywords included?
• Is the content easy to read (e.g., proper use of headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs)?
• Are all images accompanied by appropriate alt text?
• Are meta titles and descriptions aligned with your brand and SEO strategy?
• Have you added appropriate disclaimers or privacy notifications?

Tip: A lack of inclusion and accessibility can significantly hurt your brand’s reputation. See our tips to fight bias and create more inclusive marketing.

How to Make It Easier to Create On-Brand Content

It’s important to sanity-check any content you put out into the world, but there are a lot of tweaks you can make internally to improve the quality of your content overall.

• Create a style guide. Include examples, tips, and guidelines for all designers and content creators working with your brand. See our guide to build a brand style guide that’s easy to use. 
• Create templates. If there are types of content you regularly produce, create branded templates to ensure consistency and cut down on design time.
• Assign a brand steward. This team member should oversee brand adherence for all content.
• Improve your brand storytelling skills. Telling your brand story is an ongoing process. Learn about the 5 ingredients you need to tell a good brand story, get inspired by these 7 examples of creative brand storytelling, and find out how to tell the right story at every stage of the buyer’s journey. 

And if you need help at any stage of the process (from ideation to design), consider bringing in some support. Follow these tips to find the right creative agency for you, or holler at us. We’d love to create branded content that beats your competition.