Your Data as a Hollywood Film — How to Use Company Data to Tell a Story

Photo by De'Andre Bush on Unsplash

Imagine a world where numbers, statistics and other bits of data floated around us with every step and inspired our daily choices. Where informed reasoning unfolded at the snap of a finger or click of a button based on the moment’s needs. Take a closer look — that world already exists!

Everywhere we look today, data is being used to craft a narrative for our life. It tells us why we should buy the latest car model, convinces us that we deserve a vacation to Bali with our friends, and encourages us that since we bought that new gaming chair last week, we’re probably going to want a new desk, keyboard and monitor stand to go with it — and here are 3 great options from your favourite furniture store!

In this age, data is more valuable than oil. It is the commodity that gets used most universally in transactions, whether we recognise it or not. If something on the internet appears to be “free”, you can bet your bottom dollar that your personal data is paying for it. The fact is, personal data has become so monetizable because people — and corporations — have figured out how to sort, analyse and turn it into a blueprint that informs company decisions and market focus. Truly understanding how data can be turned into a powerful arsenal however, is critically empowering. In this article we’ll talk about what exactly this data is, and how your company can use it to maximum benefit.

What Type of Data Are We Talking About?

A few years ago, you may have thought of ‘data’ as a string of ones and zeroes, or as the hidden logical inputs that allows a computer to operate. In recent times however, the technical definition has expanded to mean a set of facts, statistics and qualitative or quantitative variables about a person, object, or group thereof. In the real world, this can be absolutely anything. Your own personal data points may include standard demographics like your age, race and physical address, to specifics like your salary range, professional field, the type of car you drive, your preferred sports teams and the leisure activities you enjoy. As a list of variables, all this data may seem arbitrary, but strung together and smartly organised, it provides a clear insight into who you are. In a corporation, your data points are likely to be defined differently. Perhaps by the type of product or service you provide, the number of customers you serve or employees you hire, the regions you operate in and the range of revenue you bring in on an annual basis. Again, these all paint a picture of your company and can be organised and tracked overtime to create a story and share information.

How to Create a Story With Your Data

At this point you may be asking, ‘What on earth does my data have in common with a Hollywood film? Both, when produced well, have the ability to capture the audience’s attention with an equal balance of emotional or intellectual gravitas and real-life context to make it both believable and memorable. According to the Native Advertising Institute, research shows that 70% of consumers prefer to learn about a brand’s products and services through content. That’s a huge chunk of the pie and a great miss for anyone not utilising media as a marketing channel. It also means that people are expecting you to tell them a story and convince them of your worth visually or aurally. So how do you do this effectively?

As with any good movie trailer, good marketing content should set the scene for what to expect from your full service. This is where well-analysed data can be used to form a strong narrative. You can organise the relevant data you have on your company and your customers to quite literally change the plotline of your company’s story. Take for example Facebook (now Meta). In my recent article about the Metaverse we talked about the company’s ability to play to their customers’ interests and emotions through highlighting the possibilities that could exist in the metaverse. Many have said that the timing of this release was a ploy to mask or distract from the legal proceedings and negative press surrounding the recent claims about them deliberately ignoring the child safety issues on their platforms. Regardless of the reason, the story was well-crafted and effective.

While we know that any good story has a well-plotted arc, a good data story should also contain a few key elements — solid, relevant data, strong visuals and a coherent narrative. Choosing the right points will heavily depend on the audience you are trying to reach. Here’s a helpful step-by-step guide to developing your data story:

• Discover what correlations occur between your data points
• How can the long list of data be strung together and compared?
• Identify trends
• Is there growth in a specific product or market sector?
• Decreased popularity in any area?
• Make comparisons between similar datasets and form insights
• Consider correlations but don’t assume causation. Be curious about your findings.
• Don’t ignore the outliers
• Points that surprise you or appear as unexpected may be compelling bits of data to share or use as a hook. “Did you know…?!”
• Define your audience and what they care about
• Which datasets will be most relevant and interesting to your customers?
• What information are they trying to find?
• Create a narrative
• Develop the context or key feature that will hook your audience.
• Identify the characters of the story — make them relatable to the audience.
• What is the conflict or problem within your story?
• How does it get resolved? Any key insights or actionable steps on the part of the customer?
• Use visuals to tell the story
• Compelling diagrams and clear charts help to cement your idea in the minds of the audience

Always be sure to create trust with your audience by using reliable third-party data to build your storylines. The story should be based on real, collected information and not simply an amalgamation of your own thoughts and opinions.

Using a Data Story to Your Advantage

One great example of a company that uses data to its advantage and tells a compelling story with it is Spotify. As part of their annual end-of-year campaign, Spotify Wrapped compiles user data into an in-depth, personalised trip down memory lane of all the music and podcasts they’ve listened to and discovered over the past year. While creating warm, nostalgic feelings for their users, Spotify is also strategically depicting itself as a platform that truly ‘gets’ its customers by being able to highlight what you love and suggest new music that you might have missed, but are sure to enjoy based on listening habits. This is the balance of fact and emotional outreach that is most effective in data storytelling.

A great analyst can find the most compelling points within their dataset to form a narrative that communicates exactly what the customer needs to know to make the choice you need them to. The ethics of it all may draw a thin line in the sand, but the potential power is boundless. What important information does your audience need to hear from you? Find that, and find the key to unlocking your stories.