{"id":249,"date":"2025-02-07T20:36:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T21:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hudsonpcrepair.com\/?p=249"},"modified":"2025-02-22T16:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T16:17:07","slug":"the-playbook-for-viral-data-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hudsonpcrepair.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/07\/the-playbook-for-viral-data-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"The playbook for viral data storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to <\/em>The GTM Newsletter by GTMnow <\/em><\/strong>\u2013 read by 50,000+ to scale their companies and careers. GTMnow shares insight around the go-to-market strategies responsible for explosive company growth. GTMnow highlights the strategies, along with the stories from the top 1% of GTM executives, VCs, and founders behind these strategies and companies.<\/em><\/p>\n

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The power of combining data and storytelling<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With so much information available, how do you get your audience to care about your content? One way is through data storytelling. The practice of boiling down large amounts of information into clear, shareable graphics is driving incredible impact for some companies.<\/p>\n

To learn more about it, we spoke to Peter Walker<\/a>, head of the insights team at Carta<\/a>. Peter is an industry veteran known for unearthing juicy information about the startup industry that people love to discuss. His posts on LinkedIn get thousands<\/a>of<\/a>likes<\/a> and hundreds of comments and reposts. At Carta, his team draws upon proprietary data to produce social media posts, a newsletter, and a podcast.<\/p>\n

We spoke to him about the importance of data storytelling, how to get started with it, and tips on how to run a successful data-driven content strategy.<\/p>\n

Why data storytelling is so important<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While Peter worked in data visualization at early stage startups, he moonlit at The COVID Tracking Project. This was during the early days of the pandemic, when everyone was trying to make sense of a lot of new information. There, he learned that data graphics can help create clarity out of noise. When they\u2019re readily shareable, they can also contribute to a conversation and convince audiences who may have different viewpoints.<\/p>\n

Data gives you a solid backing and credibility for what you say. That is the power of data. Done well, data storytelling brands you as a thought leader and instills trust. For customers, making a purchase from your brand is much easier when they already trust you.<\/p>\n

Common misconceptions about data content marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Misconception 1: You need a lot of data<\/h3>\n

Good stories don\u2019t necessarily need a ton of data to tell. You could focus on a space where there\u2019s not a lot of data (either your own, or public data), and create content in that space. That way, there\u2019s less competition for the topic you\u2019re creating content around.<\/p>\n

Misconception 2: You need proprietary data<\/h3>\n

You don\u2019t need to produce a lot of your own data. You could also tell a data story by using publicly available numbers, but telling a clearer story using those numbers. For example, there are companies that have more data than Carta, but Carta\u2019s posts go viral because they know the content their audience is interested in consuming.<\/p>\n

Misconception 3: Less is more<\/h3>\n

Simply putting out one big quarterly data report won\u2019t work. You need to put out content often in order to achieve visibility and engagement.<\/p>\n

Carta puts out insights 4-5 times a week. Producing more content is more effective because you get more feedback, quicker. As Peter explains: \u201cEach one of these graphics has a chance to go viral in a way that a quarterly PDF is just not going to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misconception 4: Posting a lot is harder than posting quarterly<\/h3>\n

While it may seem counterintuitive, putting out more content is actually easier than creating less. If you\u2019re in the data that much, then the story just becomes much more natural. You start noticing connections among the data. In the beginning, it took Peter more than an hour to create one LinkedIn post. Now, he can do it in 25 minutes.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re struggling with this at first, try blocking off dedicated time every day to make a data graphic. When Peter was getting started, he had a block on his calendar from 8-8:40am simply titled \u201ccreate something.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to get started telling stories with data<\/h2>\n

Now that we\u2019ve established that any startup can use data to tell stories that promote their brand, here\u2019s a step-by-step guide on how to do that.<\/p>\n

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1. Build one graphic for social media<\/h3>\n

Creating one simple data graphic and posting it on one or two social channels is the quickest way to enter a conversation in your industry. Peter advises trying to do this at least 2-3 times per week. The repetition of content creation will help you get better at it.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be worried if you have a few months of low engagement \u2014 that\u2019s normal. Focus on just one or two channels and don\u2019t switch courses before you have enough time to build your presence on those channels. In his first few years at Carta, for example, Peter\u2019s team decided to just focus on LinkedIn and the newsletter. Now, they\u2019ve only expanded to a podcast because they can trust that those two channels will continue to perform well.<\/p>\n

2. Use both data and graphic design tools.<\/h3>\n

Effective data stories make sense of the numbers, but also look clear and well-designed. Here\u2019s how Peter creates content for a post:<\/p>\n