December, 2021

5 tips on how to make a Tableau dashboard look good

December 10, 2021

A Tableau dashboard is a powerful marketing and sales tool. It can help you to visualize data in an interesting and engaging way.

Despite this, there are many pitfalls that marketers fall into when building dashboards.

In this post, I will share five tips on how to make your Tableau dashboard look good.

What is a Tableau dashboard?

A dashboard is a combination of several views of data. You can arrange them for a presentation or to keep an eye on data as it changes.

A Tableau Story is different. It is a sequence of views or dashboards that work together to convey information.

Building dashboards with Tableau allows beginners to create engaging, interactive visualizations in minutes.

In a few clicks, you can combine data sources and dd filters. You can drill down into specific information.

Tips for Tableau beginners

If you are new to Tableau consider these tips:

You do not need to wait for your source data to be perfect. Tableau can help you identify so-called “dirty data. “

When connecting to data, there is a method that allows you to use a connection from another workbook. On the Connect panel, choose the “other files” option. Then select the workbook with the data source you’d like to use in the new workbook.

You can copy whole dashboards between workbooks too. Right-click on the tab of the worksheet and /or dashboard you want to copy. Next, select “copy sheet” from the menu. Then right-click over the tab area of your destination workbook. Then you can select “paste sheet.”

Remember, data visualizations are generally produced for others to read. So it is a good idea to ask yourself, “Would this view make sense to anyone else?”

That’s where visual best practices come in. It can help you make dashboards that actually make sense to other people.

Don’t forget to test for performance!

What is Tableau dashboard size best practices?

The golden rule is to author at your final display size.

Tableau dashboards are set to use a fixed size. If you keep this setting, be sure to build your visualization at the size your audience will view it at.

You can set Size to Automatic. This makes Tableau adapt the dimensions of a visualization based on screen size.

If you design a dashboard at 1300 x 700 pixels, Tableau will resize it for smaller displays. Sometimes this results in scrunched views or scrollbars. The Range sizing feature is helpful for avoiding this.

When it comes to Tableau dashboards, there are many things that you can do to make them look good.

In this post, I will share 5 more tips on how to make your Tableau dashboard look great.

1. Organize your data

One of the best ways to make your Tableau dashboard look good is to organize your data.

You have spent time and effort collecting, organizing, and cleaning your data,. Now it makes sense to spend more time making sure you display this information how you want it to be.

Using the Tableau easy filter option is a great way of making your data look good. It will keep things organized at the same time.

2. Use dashboard actions for quick insights

The best way to make your Tableau dashboard look great is by adding interactive elements. One example is dashboard actions.

Dashboard actions mean users can get instant insights into their data. All they have to do is click on the visualizations.

Imagine you have a visualization of how sales vary by region and how sales relate to the size of the company. Adding a dashboard action that shows how many clients there are per region would add context. It would allow your users to see how this data impacts your business.

3. Take advantage of filters

Another way to make your Tableau dashboard look great is by taking full advantage of filters.

Filters help achieve valuable insights. They show how different parts of your data vary from each other. You can use colour coding conditional formatting with thresholds. These .make sure users see patterns in your data.

But remember: too much colour can be a bad thing. This is because colour is powerful. Each different colour has an emotional meaning. Red can raise the alarm, blue is calm. Drenching your charts in colour is a typical beginner’s mistake.

For a premium touch, instead, use different shades of the same colour. Google uses this method for its data analytics. By using different shades of blue, their charts cool calm, and in control.

4. Make sense from all angles

Sometimes it’s tempting to cram as much information as possible into your dashboard. But it is important to make sure that all the data is easy to understand from all angles.

Once again, try not to use too many fonts and colours and make sure that you align everything.

A sans font such as Ariel is easier to read small.

5. Use storytelling to engage users

The best way how to make your Tableau dashboard look great is by using storytelling.

Storytelling helps you to communicate complex information in a clear and concise way. It helps keep users engaged with your data.

To tell a story with your data, pay special attention to the title of your chart. The title should be the conclusion of the data beneath it.

Eye-tracking surveys reveal readers look at the headline first. Then they look at the chart to see if the visualization supports the conclusion in the headline.

If you put the conclusion of the data in the chart headline you will be able to develop a story over a series of charts. And your readers will be able to follow it.

If you do not put the conclusion in the headline, your readers will not be able to follow and they will get lost.

It is shocking how fast readers abandon charts they do not understand.

Use these techniques. You will make your Tableau dashboards more engaging and visual.

The golden rule is that it is important that your data is correct. But it is also important that your data visualizations are interesting. Make sure you do not overwhelm your charts with colour. Ensure that you have a story to tell. Tell that story by putting the conclusion of the data in the headline. Then make sure the chart supports that headline. If you do these things, your Tableau dashboards will look good.

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About the author

My name is Andy Pemberton. I am an expert in data visualization. I guide global clients such as Lombard Odier, the European Commission and Cisco on the best way to use data visualization and then produce it for them: reports, infographics and motion graphics. If you need your data visualized contact me at andy@furthr.co.uk or call 07963 020 103

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How to write a rock solid content strategy for any business in three easy steps

December 8, 2021

It is easy to write a content strategy for any brand, political party or organisation.

And I mean, embarrassingly easy. It will take you 20 minutes,

All you need are three key pieces of information. And they are:

Who is the single most important customer?
Who is the single biggest competitor?
What does your brand actually do?

The single most important customer

I have written at length about the critical importance of getting your audience down to one person. But how do you figure out who they are?

This is a tricky question and takes some skill to figure out. But not much skill. Perhaps you could start by asking yourself, who actually pays the bills? Who is the customer, without whom this entire business or political party will crumble into dust?

Sometimes this is not as obvious as it seems. I work with many B2B businesses who get confused. They think the person physically paying the bills is the customer. But this may not be the case. Just because a CEO pays your fees does not mean they are the customer for your corporate social responsibility programme. Despite the flashy title, that CEO is often a middle man. The customer is the employee on the receiving end. on one occasion, this person was described to me by one high up as “Doris on the till.” If Doris does not get it, he implied, you will be out on your ear. Doris is the customer.

A politician’s customer is not her political boss, or the press or civil servants. Voters are her boss. (The question for her is, which voters matter most?)

As you can see, once you know who your single most important customer is, you are up and running, Now you can deep dive into their brain and see how they feel about your product, service, organisation or party. You can ask them directly. I regularly interview client’s customers on their behalf. It is always illuminating.

With a clear view on the customer, content becomes easy. Do the things she likes. Avoid the things she doesn’t like.

Who is your single biggest competitor?

Research firm Gartner have made millions explaining the competitive landscape to brands. Of course, rather than explaining it, they make it seem fiendishly complicated. If it’s complicated, you need Gartner.

It is true that the competitive landscape can be complex. It can be hard to wrap your mind around it.

It’s far easier to think about your single biggest competitor. Who is the brand or rival who keeps you up at night? You should not have to think about this too hard. Their name should trip off your tongue as they are the ones making your professional life a misery.

Once you have your fiercest rival in view you are ready for point three.

What does your brand actually do?

This is a deceptively complex question, but whatever the reality, you need a simple answer.

The answer must be simple because you need your single most valuable customer to easily understand it.

Amazon is the world’s biggest store. The RNLI saves lives at sea. Google organises the world’s information.

If you do not know what your firm does, type their name into Google. When their name comes up on the search engine results page, the line under the company name should explain what your firm does.

If that line sounds a lot like your fiercest rival, you have a problem. Your customer will not be able to tell the difference. You will have to change that line.

Otherwize you are in good shape. Now you should have a clear view on your single most important customer (name her!). You should know your biggest rival. (Make sure you are distinct from them). And finally a simple and clear explanation of what it is your company does.

Headlines, headlines, headlines

Now start making content. How often should you make content? What kind of content should you make? How long or short should it be? Should I make video? Infographics? What about White Papers? Should I be on Tik Tok?

The answer to all these questions and more is always the same: ask your single most significant customer. If they like it, do it. If they don’t, don’t. Twelve year olds aren’t on LinkedIn. CEO’s don’t go on Tik Tok. You get the idea.

So that was the easy bit. Now comes the hard part. The place where your strategy comes alive, where it gets real, is the headlines to your stories.

Anyone who is ever going to engage with anything you do ever, will read the headline first. Whatever picture you use, what video you make, where that content lives is all led by the headline. So, when you come to make content there are three things to focus on: Headlines, headlines and headlines.

So here is my advice: put all your efforts into crafting headlines that engage your core customer. If you can do that, the content world is yours.

Thanks to Andy Cowles for brilliant design work here.

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Effective content is easy if you use this one secret technique favoured by experts

December 6, 2021

Making effective content is easy.

Devising a workable content strategy is simple.

Creating impactful comms is a cakewalk.

All you have to do is use one simple strategy used by experts.

It’s this: get your audience down to one person. Once you have done that you are all set.

Get your audience down to one person

It feels counter intuitive. That is until you actually stop and think hard about it. And then you realize doing anything else is impossible.

We know that emotions drive behaviour. This is not an opinion. It is a recorded scientific fact. Therefore if we want to engage anyone and get them to take any kind of action, we must appeal to their emotions before we do anything else.

But what if we want ten million people to vote for us? What can we say or write that will win over the hearts of ten million people?

Sit at your computer and try to imagine ten million people. You can’t, can you? What about one million? Forty thousand? Do you even know what 300 people look like?

Crafting messages to trigger the emotions of lots of people isn’t just hard, it is impossible. How can we make it more manageable?

Marketers will try to create “personas” of six potential customers to simplify their messaging strategy. What is so special about six? Nothing. There is no logic to this at all. Why not 66? It makes no earthly sense.

So what do you do? You get your entire audience down to one person. Let’s try it.

Workington Man

You are Boris Johnson. It is the 2019 UK general election. A large part of the electorate has already decided they will vote Labour. Another segment will vote conservative. There is absolutely no point creating a comms strategy aimed at either group. They have already decided who they will vote for.

Better to target the undecided. The floating voters. It makes sense to aim all your emotive messages at them. If they vote for you, after all, you will be prime minister.

In the 2019 election, these floaters were ex Labour voters who backed Brexit. Research suggested they’d be willing to vote for the Conservatives under Brexit-winning Johnson. But as a group they still seem is a bit too abstract. If we want to start crafting emotionally resonant messages for this group we need to make them feel real.

Conservative strategists settled on one person: Workington Man. He was male, 57, loved rugby league, drank beer and wanted to “Get Brexit Done.” If Boris Johnson’s messages did not resonate with this one man, then he would not win the election. But if Workington Man liked what he heard, Johnson was going to win.

The reason this strategy works is complex. Successful messaging must be strong and clear. If it is targeted at the most valuable member of your audience or customer base only, it will be clear. And they will love it.

Then, something strange happens. Others around this group start to like what they hear too. We do not need them to love it, just to like it. They vote too.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but the way to win over a crowd is to appeal to the most valuable member first. Your messaging will be tight, focussed and effective, and those around that individual will be drawn in.

It’s a strategy that works. Just ask soccer moms, Mondeo Man, Harlow Man, the list goes on.

Effective comms

Now think about the reverse case. If you write for thousands, you will freeze at the keyboard. Who can possibly guess what motivates such a large crowd? Your messaging will be bland, distant and dull. You will lose.

This is the way content works. Next time you have to write an article, think about who it is for. Get that down to one person. Now write as if you are writing to them.

The effectiveness of your comms will go through the roof, I guarantee it. But you do not need my guarantee. If you think about it hard enough, you will see there is simply no other way to do it.

Now you hold the secret of content in your hands. Use it wisely.

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