I want to motivate readers to take action, such as purchasing a product or service from our company.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The data points you use to support the objective should follow a natural progression, leading from one level of understanding to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examine the available data closely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll get stuck pretty quickly if you don\u2019t have the right data points to support your objective. Make a list of all of the data you already have, and see if there is anything important missing. This gives you the opportunity to either find the additional information you need\u2014if that\u2019s an option\u2014or, it shows you where you might need to fill in gaps another way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t forget to include media coverage as a rich data source\u2014you can extract a lot of information from past news archives. Changes in volume and sentiment, topic coverage, and competitor mentions should not be overlooked when determining data scope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you treat your data as a map leading to the objective, you might want to start your narrative with the data point that is easiest for your target audience to grasp. This can either serve as a foundational concept or as a hook to keep them reading. Either way, if your first data point is readily understood by your audience, your next step is to move them along with the narrative to the next data point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There should be a logical transition from one data point to the next. An outline can help to keep you on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you explaining your data, or using your data to explain your efforts?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There isn\u2019t a right or wrong answer here, but knowing what you are pursuing is important to writing a successful piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are explaining your data, you\u2019ll need to break the data collection process down and describe why the information<\/em> is important. An example of using storytelling to explain data is post-election analysis. After an election, journalists and pundits have mountains of information available: turnout numbers, voter demographics including age, gender, location, and frequent political affiliation, and of course they have the election results. What they then try to do is create an understanding of human behavior based on the data available, usually by using charts and storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAvailable data used in storytelling can even include earlier media coverage, providing a supporting narrative demonstrating a progression of the campaign or issues, or as data points that show how changes in sentiment and issue prominence might have impacted the end result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are using data to explain your efforts, you\u2019ll use the available data to illustrate the progression of the PR program or plan. A common example of using data to illustrate the progression of a plan are corporate annual reports. In this case, the relevant data and information are selected to show how\u2014or if\u2014business goals are being met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While these examples sound similar, the objectives are different. In the first, the goal is to understand the data. In the second, the goal is to use data to understand the success or failure of a program. Storytelling makes both examples accessible to targeted audiences by providing context to the data in an easy-to-understand narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use Charts Wisely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Incorporating visuals into your data storytelling can be incredibly powerful. Charts provide an \u201cat a glance\u201d way of delivering information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s important to choose the right charts to illustrate data. Lines, bars, and columns are good for showing growth or decline over time. Pie charts are good for showing parts of a whole, such as share of voice. Treemaps also show parts of a whole, but prioritize the data, giving the largest segment the biggest \u201cblock\u201d showing a ranking. Pyramids also depict hierarchical data, but emphasize a progression, or ranking, from bottom to top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again, knowing what your objective is and the type of data available to you will help to determine which charts tell your story the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you are fortunate enough to have a design team to help out with your data visualization, animation can be incredibly useful to illustrate things like before and after, or \u201cwhat if\u201d scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Newsrooms have been effectively deploying this type of animation in pieces about climate change. From showing wildfire risks to flooding potential, the use of interactive features can be impactful and persuasive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s one thing to read about risk, it\u2019s another thing entirely to punch in your address or zip code and see what the risk of a flood or wildfire is on your street. That\u2019s the power of animated data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understanding Narrative Arcs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In storytelling, a narrative arc<\/a> is how a writer advances a plotline, usually chronologically. Typically, a narrative arc will follow a pattern of establishing the setting, introducing conflict or action, climax, and then arriving at a resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEven though you aren\u2019t writing a novel, it can be very helpful to understand story structures when you are explaining data. In addition to keeping a piece interesting, when you use a narrative arc, you are creating a path for the reader to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Narrative arcs can help you to tell a compelling story. Think of the impact of building a narrative arc with tension, \u201cif we don\u2019t act now, this is what could happen,\u201d and then using animated data to show the result. Pairing a narrative that establishes a conflict or problem with animation of data that shows the results of a \u201cwhat if\u201d scenario can be very persuasive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Creating a narrative using data does take time, and there\u2019s a lot to consider, from what types of information to include, to when and how to use data to support objectives. However, it\u2019s well worth the time invested if you can tell a captivating story with the data because a strong story will stay with people far longer than a list of facts and figures ever could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PR measurement has come a long way from counting clips. With sophisticated software, better data collection processes, algorithms that can make quick work of mountains of numbers and more PR practitioners versed in using tools like pivot tables in Excel, it\u2019s easier than it has ever been to gather information. While there are some people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":19353,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[330],"the_measurement_standard":[],"creator":[288],"class_list":["post-19352","tms","type-tms","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-pr-measurement-evaluation","creator-jen-phillips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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