Integrate Looker Studio with Powerpoint

Updated Nov 14, 2024

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to pull data from Looker Studio (previously known as Google Data Studio) into a PowerPoint deck using Slideform's Looker Studio integration. We'll also go over the new features to embed individual text metrics, images, data tables, and charts from Looker Studio into slide decks and reports. Let's explore! 

Prefer to watch the video tutorial?

Why present Looker Studio data in PowerPoint?

Looker Studio is an affordable and easy-to-use dashboard solution. However, the challenge arises when you need to present these charts and metrics in a slide deck, presentation, or report. Traditional methods such as screenshots and manual copying can be time-consuming and inefficient. That's where Slideform comes in. Slideform bridges the gap between dashboards and reports. Slideform automatically pulls the latest data into your customized PowerPoint decks, Google Slides, documents, and reports for you. This is especially useful for reports that you create on a recurring basis each month, or if you create the same report for many different clients. Let's see how we can use Slideform to automate some of these common reporting tasks.

How to embed Looker Studio into PowerPoint

1. Create a PowerPoint Template
2. Connect Looker Studio to Slideform
3. Match the Data to the Template
4. Generate the PowerPoint Presentation or set a Schedule
   
   

Step 1: Create a Customized Template for your PowerPoint Deck 

The first step towards automating your report is to make a custom template for the slide deck in PowerPoint. It is useful to use a previous report as a guide. The slide's look & feel should align with your company's branding, colors, and presentation style. Use any colors, fonts, and images you want. All the styling will be carried through to the final output.

Create placeholders for the data from Looker Studio. To include text or numbers from the dashboard, just add a text box with a placeholder like {{views}}. This text will be replaced with the text or number from the dashboard.

For charts, use a PowerPoint shape (rectangle, square, or even circle) to indicate the placement and size of the chart. Then click into the shape and insert a placeholder like {{chart:sessions_over_time}}. These placeholders serve as dynamic containers that automatically update with the latest data, ensuring your presentations are always up-to-date.

Pull data from the dashboard into a PowerPoint table using a rectangle placeholder like {{data:top 5 channels}}. 

For this tutorial, I'll create a PowerPoint presentation with GA4 Analytics from my Looker Studio dashboard. Here's one slide from my template.

Once you've saved your slide deck template as a PowerPoint file, click New Project in Slideform and upload it.

Step 2: Connect Looker Studio to Slideform

Slideform works by pulling in your entire Looker Studio dashboard and all elements (charts, scorecards, KPIs, tables, images, & filters) for use in your slides.

For example, let's look at a sample Google Analytics dashboard. Here is a view of the main dashboard page. I need to embed charts and metrics from this page into my weekly performance report for each client.

1. To connect this dashboard to Slideform, first, open your Looker Studio dashboard. Click Share and add viewer access for share@slideform.co. Make sure that Embed Report is enabled.

2. Log into Slideform and go to Data Sources > Add Data Source. Then under Looker Studio, click Add Integration. Copy the URL of the Looker Studio dashboard into Slideform. Its super simple to set up, and you'll always have the latest data available for your reports! For more details on setup, see How to Connect A Data Source.

Step 3: Match the Data to Your PowerPoint Template

With Looker Studio connected, it's time to map your data to the PowerPoint slides. In Slideform, click Configure Data, and match each placeholder to the corresponding data. Use the preview button to see the chart, table, or metric.

Let's look at {{chart:sessions_over_time}}. We select the data source (Looker Studio), then choose the worksheet or dashboard page, and select the chart.

To pull in a number, such as a KPI or metric, it is a similar process. Slideform captures the data behind each table and chart and you can filter and perform simple functions to select the data you want to use. For example, I can pull out the number of Views and embed it into the report in a text box.

Data Filtering: With Slideform, you control the filters dynamically, without having to go to the dashboard. You can filter the data with any filters that are included in your dashboard, such as date range, client, or campaign. You can filter the data for each chart separately, or you can set an overall filter for the report. Slideform supports custom date ranges, plus several built-in date ranges.

Step 4: Generate and Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

Generate a PPT deck from your Looker Studio dashboard by clicking Generate on the project card.

You can download the PowerPoint, save the deck to OneDrive or Sharepoint, or convert it to Google Slides or PDF. You can also Set a Schedule for Recurring Presentations to auto-generate and email the deck to you. Or you can create a batch of presentations, one for each client, with Slideform Bulk Mode. Awesome, right!

Check out my completed report! The styling, colors, fonts, and layout are preserved and the charts and metrics are filtered by week and filled in from Looker Studio!

Slideform is the solution to connect Looker Studio to PowerPoint

1. Efficiency: Say farewell to time-consuming screenshots and manual copying.
2. Schedule Updates: Set a schedule to auto-generate reports, or create on demand. 
3. Powerful Filtering: Set dynamic filters and date ranges in Slideform without visiting the dashboard.
4. Customization: Tailor your presentations with branded templates, images, and layouts.
5. Advanced Functionality: Pull data, images, charts, tables, and text from your sources.
6. Format Flexibility: Generate output in PowerPoint, Google Slides, Google Docs, Word, or even a spreadsheet.
   
   

Ready to streamline the way you present Looker Studio charts? Start your free trial today!