As a kid, I was always fond of watching a potter make pottery. It was always an amazing experience watching them take the clay, mix it with the right consistency of water and put it on the potter’s wheel (wheel head). With a focused look and creative hands, they would convert that clay into a beautiful clay pot. To make the pot even more beautiful, the potter or an artist would paint and add lovely colors to the pot to make it stunning. Till today, I am amazed whenever I watch a potter at work and the work produced by the potter.

Okay, I hear you ask me “what exactly is raw data, analytics and insights?”

Raw Data

Raw data is a term for data collected from a source (from wikipedia). Numbers and more numbers, sometimes in terabytes or greater in size.

Another example could be that 100 people visit your website

Analytics

When you convert the raw data (or numbers) into meaningful patterns, it is called analytics. From Wikipedia, analytics is the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data. Analytics helps you describe, predict and improve business performance.

In the past month, you have had 100 people visit your website on a daily basis between the times 5PM – 11PM. Most of the people who visit your website are from the US and they visit your website through your Facebook page.

Insights

The power of detailed observation and deduction from the information available to you through raw data and analytics.

Observing that you have most of the people who visit your website do so between 5PM – 11PM and are from the US through Facebook, you might want to consider investing in display ads on Facebook between 5PM – 11PM in the US