Communicating Impact: Getting the data out there

If you don’t tell anyone, how will they know?

I always come back to this question, because so many of you like to keep your organisation’s impact as the best kept secret.

If you’re struggling to figure out how to share your impact data this month’s newsletter is for you.? Read on.

Crucial points about communicating impact data

1.????? Identify the purpose of sharing the data – what do you want to achieve through this?

2.????? Identify what that particular stakeholder or audience cares about and make that the focus of what you share.

3.????? How does that stakeholder or audience like to be communicated with?

Select the right method of sharing your data based on your responses to the three points above.

Options for communicating your impact

Below are some options for communicating your impact and some free or low-cost tools that can help you. Chances are you’re using lots of these already but probably not to share your impact data and impact story.

Infographics

Who doesn’t love an infographic with some compelling facts and figures about your impact? Infographics are a visually engaging way to present your data and highlight key achievements.

Impact Reports

Impact reports - yeah I know these can have been the go-to method for years, but please don’t produce a book – make it short, to the point and relevant to the audience.? The reason these so often end up as far too long is because you’re trying to fit everything into the report and satisfy all your different stakeholders.? It’s better to write the report for one specific audience instead.

Social Media Posts

Share bite-sized pieces of your impact data on social media platforms to reach a wider audience.? This is definitely where less is more applies – don’t try and share too much in a social media post, and make sure it’s relevant to the audience.? Customer stories, quotes and feedback are great to use on social media, as well as short videos or one or two facts in a post.

Blog Posts

Detailed blog posts can delve into your impact data, explaining the significance and stories behind the numbers. They’re great if you want to talk about trends, how things have changed over time or what policy or financial support is needed to solve the problem you’re working on.

Email Newsletters

Keep your supporters informed with regular updates on your impact through email newsletters.? I’ve seen these work really well for crowdfunding campaigns, where the focus is on the impact you’ve had and how the extra support can help you deliver more.

Interactive Dashboards or webpages

Interactive dashboards or webpages allow stakeholders to explore your data in an engaging and user-friendly manner. The best ones allow your stakeholder to focus on the things they’re interested in and often offer real-time insights – which are also great for sharing internally with team members to track progress.

Short Videos

Videos can convey your impact in a dynamic and engaging way, perfect for social media or your website.

Case Studies

Detailed case studies provide in-depth looks at specific projects or beneficiaries, showcasing the real-world impact of your work.? There is so much power in stories – if you only do one thing then I’d recommend it is this.

Webinars and Live Streams

Engage your audience directly with webinars and live streams where you present your impact data and answer questions in real-time. These can be internal webinars to share with your team or for external audiences.

Podcasts

Convert your webinar, live streams or videos into podcasts to provide another way for your audience to engage with your impact data.?

Internal team sharing and communication platforms

An intranet platform can serve as a central hub for all internal communications, including impact data.

Tools you can use to make it easier

There are so many different tools out there that are free or low-cost.? Here’s a few that I’ve used:

Canva which offers user-friendly infographic templates and Piktochart which provides customisable templates and a range of design options. Visme is also an option for infographics as well as presentations.

Tools for producing reports include Canva, Lucidpress and Adobe Spark for creating visually appealing reports with ease.? For presentations Prezi creates some lovely, visually appealing ones.

There’s Google Data Studio which is a free tool for creating interactive reports and dashboards, Tableau Public for data visualisation, and Microsoft Power BI for interactive dashboards.

For creating short video clips I love Opus Clip – it takes a longer video and creates short clips for you.? Another favourite is Lumen5 which turns text content into videos.

For case studies there’s Scribe which is an AI-driven tool that converts spoken or written narratives into formatted case studies, and Narrato which is an AI writing assistant for creating case studies.

When it comes to internal communication some tools that can work are Slack or Microsoft Teams – where you could create a channel dedicated to impact data, or there are project management tools like Asana and Trello where you could use boards/project dashboards to share and update impact metrics.

What next?

Don’t just read this and think that all sounds great but I don’t have time to do any of this.? Pick one or two methods and start.? Start small, but whatever you do please start.?

There is so much power in communicating your impact clearly to each of your stakeholders.? And it’s not just me saying that – there’s a lot of data showing that communicating your impact improves your organisation’s performance (income, profitability, staff engagement, innovation levels) and increases engagement and support from stakeholders.

If you need help with communicating your impact - get in touch. I can help solve this problem.

#CommunicatingImpact #SocialImpact #ImpactMeasurement