Many non-profits have a giant spreadsheet. Every time staff send an email, post to social media or write a blog post, they record the key metrics in their enormous Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet.

This sounds like a good idea, right? This way, your organization has all the data staff need to gain vital insights into your communications work. Staff can look at the metrics and know exactly what content, messages and channels are most effective. They have all the data they need to make decisions.

Except it never works that way! Maybe, you make a few charts from the data for your annual report (Facebook likes are up this year!). But you never use it to make actual day-to-day choices about your website design, social media content or marketing strategy.

The top reasons to get rid of your giant spreadsheet:

• It’s tedious: So many of us (especially in creative professions like communications) HATED math class. Don’t make yourself or your staff relive it with number-related busy work. Recording numbers in a spreadsheet that you never use makes data seem pointless and frustrating. This attitude will make it much harder to get everyone to embrace data-driven decision making later on. [Read more…]