Turning Social Media Data into a Story

Writing your data story

No doubt you’ve found yourself working on a monthly report that required you to interpret scores of raw data. Dutifully, you find the trends and work the percentages. A few graphs and pie charts later, your data is visualized, ready for the world to see.

But your data does more than reflect a month of results. Your data tells a story, complete with characters, plot, and setting. Understanding this story will not only change how you interpret your data, it will also help focus your social media strategy.

Finding the story

Every set of data tells a story. Just like main characters, your target audience shapes the direction of the story, which is expressed in data trends. However, your story is incomplete if you don’t consider the influence of the setting, or media platform.

Character - The most important element of a story is its characters. Each demographic of your audience can be thought of as a character, distinct from all others in essence and personality. “Women ages 18-25” is a great description of a marketing demographic. But as a character, what kind of person would this young woman be? Would she lounge under a blanket on weekends, reading Jane Austen and sipping chamomile tea? Or would she only come alive under the bright lights of the city? Would she bury her head in LSAT references, or browse the internet for unique recipes? Would she think bow ties are cool? These and questions like them can increase your understanding of your audience’s overall character, providing you with a firm foundation of your data story.

Plot - Data trends outline the plot of your data story. The trends reflect the attitudes and behaviors of your audience. Changes in interactions, follower growth, and other data points set the pace of the narrative. Changes may indicate a fast-paced adventure or a mournful dirge, but in each case the changes reveal the audience’s impact on the story. Once this plot is known, you can use it to outline the next chapter of your social media strategy.

Setting - Social media platforms are like the settings of a story. Just as a character reacts to its setting, your audience communicates distinctively on each platform. Understanding each communication style will allow you to shape your content accordingly. It will also help you navigate the interpretation of your data. For example, an increase of followers and retweets with a decrease in mentions on Twitter may indicate a strong desire for shareable content, while the same pattern on Facebook may simply reflect a response to a contest. Keeping the platform in mind will help you make informed decisions when creating your content.

Making the story matter

Understanding the characters, plot, and setting of your data can improve your interpretation for monthly reports. It can also help improve your overall social media strategy in three ways: a proactive strategy, increased adaptability, and stronger relationships.

Create a proactive strategy – Awareness of your data’s story can help you hone your content. Knowing communication styles allows you to proactively create content that connects with your audience. Maintaining a steady communication style on each platform will create a stable and familiar brand voice for future interactions.

Adapt to media platforms - Because your audience communicates distinctly on each media platform, you need to adapt your content accordingly. A major announcement on Twitter can be shared with a compelling headline and a link, while a Facebook status can express major points and create room for dialogue. An Instagram post and a pin on Pinterest may share the same image, but you can customize each description to reflect the style of the platform. By adapting to the platform, you can ensure your story will reach the audience effectively.

Focus on relationships - Understanding your data story will help you understand and relate to your audience. Social media is not intended to be a megaphone for public announcements; it is meant to promote lasting relationships. So engage with your audience. In doing so, you will help shape your story.

- Meagan Ewton