Pardon my obvious misuse of the English language. But if you've ever been presented a fact, or a series of facts (a.k.a. data) that has truly blown your mind, you read the title of this post with all of the inflection of a kindergartner hyped up on cotton candy. You, my friend, have experienced the power of storytelling through data.
Over the next 5 weeks, as we continue our conversation about the importance of storytelling in marketing, specifically the storytelling of your brand, we are going to bring to light 5 trends that we see happening, and how you can implement them no matter how big or small your brand/company is.
From video to VR, social media and beyond, there is a host of mediums through which a brand can tell their story - and many ways to do so. In this post, we will explore how leaders can help ensure their teams are telling a compelling brand story that helps engage and influence customers.
Trend #1 - Data-driven storytelling
By 2020, 1.7 megabytes of data will be created every second, for each person on earth. Leveraging the colossal amounts of digital data available to create highly visual, engaging, and targeted stories will prove incredibly potent from brands and companies in 2020 and beyond.
The average human processes images 60,000 times faster than text, and by using data to create visually stunning stories, brands will be able to grab attention, provide detailed solutions to problems and cut through the raft of noise online. An exemplary example of a visually striking data-driven storytelling comes from Google Trends.
During its Lookback campaign, Google Trends collated its most valuable search data from the previous year and used it to create a video as an additional layer to its narrative. As a result of this analytical approach, the brand delivered on its promise of offering marketers a means of understanding how to tap into the zeitgeist to launch more effective ad campaigns. With 15,298,283 views and counting, Google Trends grabbed the attention of a vast demographic and told a story that engaged consumers on a global scale.
Data is key to developing good content and ultimately telling a story that resonates. It’s not always necessary to rely on words to tell a story and leaders that can help direct their teams derive insight from data can help to tell a unique story as the demand for interactive content gains ground.
So you have data about your company or your product, but how do you actually convey that into a story? We may suggest a few of the following:
- Charts
- Tables
- Graphs
- Maps
- Infographics
- Dashboards
Remember, these are not stand-alone items, they are a part of the greater story that you are weaving for your customer. So, compel the people that know you and the people that should know you with some juicy data. Let it capture their attention and then weave your story magic to create the full image of your brand and it's purpose.
Stay tuned for next week when we take a look into the fun topic of Mini-ads.