Digital Bootcamp March 2016

Using Data to Tell a Story

twitter @gwkuhn3

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What’s on Tap?

oWhy is Storytelling Popular?

oBasics of Storytelling in Business

o Tips for Storytelling with Data

Video 1

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About Me

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Me at Age 6

Accounting

Market Research

Web Analytics

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Why is Storytelling Popular?

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Overwhelming Amount of Data

Why is Storytelling Popular?

Limited Time

7Why is Storytelling Popular?

Attention Spans

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Think 7 to 10 Seconds

Your Colleagues and Clients

Why is Storytelling Popular?

#GoldfishBoss

Numbers People & Everyone Else

MATH

9Why is Storytelling Popular?

Mental Abuse to Humans

Stories Make an Impact

10Why is Storytelling Popular?

The Basics of Storytelling in Business

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Basis of Storytelling

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How Not To Do It – Example 1

13The Basics of Storytelling in Business

#ChartFail

How Not To Do It – Example 2

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#ChartFail

How Not To Do It – Example 3

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#ChartFail

How Not To Do It – Example 4Putting numbers into sentence format is not insight

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68%

32%

YesNo

68% of users said “yes”.

#ChartFail

The Basics of Storytelling in Business

How Not To Do It – Example 5

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50%

18%

21%

10%

BrownBlackBlondeRed

7 Common Species of Bears1 Black bears

2 Brown bears

3 Polar bears

4 Andean bears

5 Sloth bears

6 Giant panda bear

7 Sun bear

Porridge Consumption

2.7%Percent of adults in the U.S. that consumed 1 to 4 portions in the

past 7 days

Female Hair Color

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013* 2014**

2018**

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120Billion Furniture and Bedding Sales in the U.S. by Year

The Basics of Storytelling in Business

How To Do It

18The Basics of Storytelling in Business

Know Your Audience

19The Basics of Storytelling in Business

Ask Yourself QuestionsPut yourself in their shoes

20The Basics of Storytelling in Business

Create Personas

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“I see…people. Not data. Not consumers. Not customers.”

Provide Closure

22The Basics of Storytelling in Business

Pick Your Times

23The Basics of Storytelling in Business

Tips for Storytelling with Data

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Working “On” Your Data Not “In” Your Data25-75 rule

25Tips for Storytelling with Data

Custom Versus AutomatedAutomated for Tracking, Custom for Insight

26Tips for Storytelling with Data

Video 2

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Too Little Data, Too Much DataDon’t overwhelm your audience, but don’t underwhelm either

28Tips for Storytelling with Data

Reporting Tips:

o One slide at a timeo Consider flow of reporto Use the footer to defineo Cater to reader and viewer

Dashboards and InfographicsPassing the eye test, remember the appendix “under the hood”

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Free infographic sites:

oPiktochart.comoEasel.lyoCanva.com

Creating Themes

30Tips for Storytelling with Data

Data Insight Storytelling Themes

#DataToStrategy

What? So What? Now What?

31Tips for Storytelling with Data

o Our average time on page is 3:48, nearly 2 minutes higher than other pages.

o A higher than average page engagement means users are consuming the content in-depth across devices.

o Let’s create other similar pages that follow a similar structure to replicate the template to improve site-wide engagement.

What?

So What?

Now What?

Ask Why?

32Tips for Storytelling with Data

Why did we see a

peak in evening hour

traffic on the site?

Answer: Mobile

Why did we see a lot of mobile traffic in the evening?Answer: Facebook

Why did we see an uptick in

Facebook traffic?

Answer: Paid AdvertisementsIf 90% of site hits came between 5:00 and 10:00 PM why

can’t we filter our next Facebook campaign for those hours only on mobile to improve CTR?Answer: We can

Don’t be Afraid to be WrongMake assumptions, create dialogue, predict the future

33Tips for Storytelling with Data

DMAICDefine, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control

34Tips for Storytelling with Data

Add Context to Your StoryYour CTR is 2.50% This Month

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TrendingMonth-over-Month

Quarter-over-QuarterYear-over-Year

CompetitionCampaignsComScoreSurveys

IndustryBenchmarks

Online Research

Fun Facts

36Tips for Storytelling with Data

6 Million Unique Visitors Per Month

It would take the New York State Fair 7 years of ticket sales to equal one month of

Syracuse.com unique visitors.

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VoC, UX and Customer Experience (CX)

“Without user experience (UX) and voice of customer (VoC) added to your web analytics

data you’re not driving blind, but you are driving with one eye shut. You’ll lack depth

and perception.” @gwkuhn3

Tips for Storytelling with Data

Using Research to ListenExplore, Dig-in, Create Data-Driven Strategies Driven by Users

38Tips for Storytelling with Data

To

Next StepsAlways end with actionable next steps

39Tips for Storytelling with Data

“Good analysis leads to more questions than

answers.”

40Tips for Storytelling with Data

3 To GoTell them what to remember

1) Put yourself in your reader’s and audience’s shoes.

2) Find your passion in the process (helping people, the data, the graphics, the strategy, the analysis, all of the above.)

3) Data is just the beginning, not the end of your process. Separate yourself with insight and value-added nuggets.

41Tips for Storytelling with Data

The Essence of Storytelling

The DataThe Story

Questions?

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email gkuhn@syracuse.comlinkedin www.linkedin.com/in/gwkuhn3

twitter @gwkuhn3www.advancemediany.com

www.syracusemediagroup.com