CMWorld 2017: Let the Data Drive Your Stories

The following post is a recap from Content Marketing World 2017. To view the full presentation, click here.

Margaret Magnarelli, Managing Editor of Content and Senior Director of Marketing for Monster, shared a presentation on the importance of linking data and storytelling – to ultimately improve a company’s reputation and ROI.

Why use data storytelling?

Magnarelli said that sharing data in the form of a nutgraf may be beneficial because consumers won’t always remember data if it’s standing alone. They remember it better in a story.

Providing consumers with data helps trust, credibility and authority. And adding a story can provide humanity, context and perspective, Magnarelli said. But, without a combination of the two, there can be unproven claims or missing details.

How do you use data storytelling?

There is often a perception in order to display data it has to be in the form of an infograph. In fact, Magnarelli diminished those thoughts reminding the audience that data storytelling isn’t equal to data visualization. A story and data can be combined in a number of visuals like webinars, videos, white papers/ ebooks, and more, in addition to infographics.

When considering which medium to use to share your next data story, Magnarelli suggested asking yourself the following questions:

1. What message do you want customers to walk away with?
2. What numbers would support that message?
3. What platforms/ forms of content can you use to convey the data and story?

With these three questions in mind, you can begin to determine what your campaign strategy or goals may be for data sharing. With the medium(s) in mind, you can then leverage data into one consistent message and branding for consumers. This consistency will also allow you to determine a “dream data point” or what you want consumers to walk away with after seeing your end product.

Where do you find the data?

Magnarelli introduced three ideas:

Creating data could be as simple as using a third party, or DIY ideas like creating a social media poll. Unearthed data is new to the audience and can even be pre-existing if it has the ability to be altered for the given goal or story. Think: working with your sales or PR/marketing teams, or using your website analytics to discover a new trend. And borrowed data can be from a report, or can create an opportunity to partner with other organizations.

The next time you or your company decides to share data, remember that putting that data in a story will make it more meaningful and believable. With this in mind, you’ll need to pick the right story that aligns to your overall brand and the right mediums to share it on. Once you have this, you may be able to improve reputation and ROI.

Margaret Magnarelli is a Managing Editor for content and Senior Director for marketing at Monster. She’s a former Executive Editor for Money Magazine and often refers to herself as a storyteller or bridge builder in her profession. Margaret has spoken at Content Marketing World the past two years.