Boost engagement with interactive data visualizations

How do you increase content engagement? Do you know how to visualize complex data in a comprehendible manner? These are some of the questions we might be asking ourselves to connect with our audience on a more profound level. 

Due to the abundance of information on every corner of the web, we all make calculated choices to opt for easily digestible content. For instance, text-heavy news articles and blog posts can be rather difficult to engage with as they require extra concentration skills to properly assess. Even though images add a visual appeal, they’re still static elements that only capture our attention for a brief moment.  

Luckily, you don’t have to stay in the static content bubble. There are so many ways you can turn data-rich information into the most exciting puzzle piece of your content. That’s where interactive data visualization comes into the picture. 

Click to jump forward:  
What is interactive data visualization?
Interactive vs. static content
Make data design interactive with these elements
Measuring visualization engagement

What is interactive data visualization?

Before jumping into the topic, let’s define interactive data visualization first. Data visualization, as we have described in a previous article, is “the presentation of quantitative information in a graphical form.” The interactive part concerns how the data can later be processed by the end-user. Through active participation in the data discovery process, such as clicking, scrolling, and hovering over data points, users can engage with the data intently. In short, interactive data visualization motivates passive viewers to become active participants.

Interactive vs. static content

According to a study in 2019, interactive content gets two times more engagement than static content. Furthermore, a study done by the Content Marketing Institute showed that increasingly more marketers choose to entice their audience with interactive content. One of the reasons why interactive content, including interactive data visualizations, generates more engagement than static content is because its sole purpose is to turn passive consumers into protagonists using reciprocating elements. 

To visualize the difference between static and interactive content, let’s compare them using the two infographics below. The first one consists of interactive maps, charts, and graphs.

The second infographic visualizes the same data as the first one, but without animations or interactive design elements.

As we can see, both infographics do the job of conveying information in a visually appealing manner. However, the first infographic is much more engaging. Since some data is hidden behind data points and interactive elements, it ignites curiosity to reveal it by clicking, scrolling, or hovering over the components. The data discovery process prolongs users’ interaction with content and increases engagement.

Make data design interactive with these elements

Now that we have distinguished the difference between static and interactive content and stated the aim of interactive data visualization, we can look at some elements that make data design interactive.

• Maps

Try this template

Interactive maps are a great resource for visualizing the location and demographic-based information. In the interactive map displayed above, you can hover over the countries to find new data. As it requires you to interact with the map to find out more information, you actively engage in the process of data discovery. The process of scrolling and hovering over data points makes this data design interactive.

If you’re interested to see how you could visualize your project on an interactive map, feel free to choose from more than 800 maps of various regions, countries, and cities we have in our library. Get creative and find the right map!

• Charts

Try this template

We can use interactive charts to visualize, compare, and classify data sets. In this 2-page report, you can hover over different charts to reveal new data. On the second page, you can click on each pie chart‘s icon labels to remove or add this data to the chart. In table charts, you can click on each data label and rearrange information in a certain manner. And there’s so much more you can do with all 15 charts stored in our library, such as adding multiple tabs for your data series or linking charts to other pages or sections in your project. Discover all available charts here.

Measuring visualization engagement

We know that interactive maps and charts offer endless opportunities for visualizing information in an engaging way – but how can we directly measure engagement?  

We can measure the website’s success via site engagement. However, site engagement is evaluated by a couple of key metrics listed below. 

• Pages per session

Pages-per-session metric indicates how many pages one user has viewed per one visit to your site. Usually, the more pages one has visited, the more engaged the visitor is with your content. Interactive data visualizations help capture the visitor’s attention and interest to discover more pages on your site.

• Page depth

Page depth refers to the so-called scroll-depth (how far the visitor has scrolled down your page). Generally, interactive infographics require a long scroll, which increases the likelihood of the user spending more time on the page. Also, interactive design elements incite curiosity, which motivates the user to keep scrolling and revealing new data. 

• Session duration

Interactive data visualization can have a substantial impact on the session duration. As it takes longer to discover and manipulate all the data that can be found in an interactive map or chart, it prolongs the viewing time of the site.

• Comments and shares

Comments and shares are the first direct indicators of engagement. Since visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social media channels, interactive visual content will also score in its shareability. 

*For a more extensive insight into data visualization’s impact on engagement, visit our comprehensive research on engagement.  

Not only can we measure site engagement, but we can go more in-depth with Infogram’s engagement analytics to specifically evaluate each data visualization project’s performance. 

Infogram analytics allows you to examine the number of views your project has received, the device it was viewed on, and the country the views came from. Also, you can view the interaction rate and how many times the project was shared. More in-depth analytics will display the number of people who hovered over your tooltips and clicked on legends, tabs, or other objects. If you’re interested in discovering the whole spectrum of analytics, watch this video: 

Engagement is gold in today’s low-attention economy. Interactive data visualization can notably increase the participation of your audience. We believe that in this data-driven culture, we can create meaningful relationships with our customers. All that we need is the right tools. So, if you’re interested in trying these effective tools out, check out our templates here. 

Interested in discovering how Infogram can enhance your team’s work? Join a brief Zoom session with our Infogram representative to explore key features, get answers to your questions, and understand how we can assist. It’s quick, informative, and just like a coffee break chat. Schedule your call now!