Tale as old as time: Data + Storytelling

I’ve been talking about data A. LOT. So, for this week’s blog, I thought I’d return to my storytelling roots…and talk about data. I know, I know. Hear me out on this one.

As kids, we’re all storytellers. Whether we’re pirates on the open sea of our bathtubs or princesses locked up in the castle tower of our bedrooms, storytelling is a natural part of childhood. It allows us to explore the world inside ourselves.

As we grow older, stories remain important to us and we use it as a way to connect with others. Whether sharing stories in a social or professional setting, storytelling allows us to find common ground and understand the world in which we live.

So, what does that mean for communicators?

As professionals, our job is to connect with our target audience. We – wait for it – relate to the public. Storytelling is a great way to do that.

But, how do we know which stories to tell? Using data can help steer the direction of the stories to what engages our target audiences. Here are a few tips for applying data to your storytelling

• Discover what type of content gets shared. Run a keyword search on a share aggregator tool, such as Buzzsumo, EpicBeat, Social Animal or socialmention. Even a quick search on Facebook and/or Twitter can provide insights on the most popular content.
• Learn more about who is already interested in your organization. Use Google Analytics to discover everything from what device they use to their primary language.
• Track click-throughs on emails, downloads and more. Most email management services offer these tools as part of the service. MailChimp is a good place to start, since it’s user-friendly and they offer a free, non-commercial license.
• Understand what influencers are sharing. PR pros tend to gravitate to this data, since we use it for pitching. Tools like Cision, GroupHigh and MeltWater are great for analyzing what the most influential outlets and bloggers are sharing.
• Show your impact. While storytelling has the emotional payoff, in the end, there has to be a financial payoff. Use data to show the impact of storytelling on the bottom line.

For more tips on storytelling and data, check out The Art of Story Telling in Data (Analytics Vidhya), Adventures in Data Storytelling: Three Key Traps to Avoid (Forbes), and Storytelling and Big Data (Huffington Post).

Cheers!