It’s stating the obvious to say that the pandemic has transformed nearly all aspects of our personal and professional lives. We have been forced to adapt to new ways of doing things —both in terms of how we work as well as how we spend our leisure time. As lockdowns leave us feeling isolated, personal interaction has never been more important.
By way of example, consider live music. Pre-pandemic, musicians packed venues large and small to share their music, largely in a one-directional manner: as the artist performs, feedback is limited to audience applause, dancing, etc. With safety concerns now curtailing musicians’ ability to perform to crowds, many have turned to live-streaming to share their art with fans.
Platforms such as Sessions Live enable musicians to broadcast live concerts to the homes of fans who purchase tickets. Other artists such as Pete Kilpatrick have taken a somewhat different approach, performing on social media platforms such as Facebook Live for “virtual tips” rather than fixed ticket prices.
Just as livestream commerce provides a new experience for retailers and brands to connect with consumers, these live-streamed concerts can be an entirely different experience allowing artists to engage more directly with the audience. Such interactivity includes taking requests, answering audience questions, and having more of a conversation than is typically feasible in traditional music venues. This allows artists to better connect with fans on both a group and individual level.
Similarly, data insights are becoming increasingly interactive. Although the idea of dashboards is not new, reporting tools and their users are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Not only does this allow data to be presented in more visually engaging ways, but it allows decision-makers to better connect to the business by allowing them to explore tangential questions —in aggregate and on a more granular basis.
Certainly there remains a need for some data to be presented in a traditional, static format. However, as the the workplace continues to be disrupted, successful “data artists” will invest in interactive data visualizations to deepen the connections between business leaders and data. The following Tableau visualization allows fans of the aforementioned Pete Kilpatrick Band to quickly see both aggregated highlights as well as specific details including setlists, artists and songs covered, and the even the specific opening song Pete played after the recent election (Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds).
Just like the musician who engages fans through storytelling, insights professions can leverage interactivity to facilitate storytelling. In turn, this will help build closer connections to fans and customers.