• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, February 9, 2022

I often get asked that question, since I basically mention the topic everywhere. To be honest, my answer changes slightly from time to time, in much the same way that a story does.  In recognizing that, I realize that I am employing data-driven storytelling in the very definition of the phrase itself. 

Let me dive in.

A storyteller is someone who can craft a narrative that conveys a point of view.  Human beings have been telling stories for thousands of years, and the way those stories get handed down generation to generation involves contextual refinements that make them more relevant to the audience listening.

In the case of marketing, a storyteller is someone who can craft a narrative for a brand, product or service that resonates with the intended audience, helps answer questions, and drives them toward an action.  Marketing is the ultimate career for storytellers, unless of course they want to write a book.  There are many storytellers in marketing who also happen to be authors of many kinds.

Data-driven storytellers look at data to know why something worked and/or why it didn’t, and they use those insights to augment or refine the story they are telling in much the same way that generations refine based on context.  In the case of a data driven storyteller, both context and data are what help to refine that story.  The story can be refined iteratively over time, or through more drastic, revolutionary approaches.

Storytellers attempt to get into the mind of the target audience they are speaking to and understand their motivations, then deliver a story that speaks to them in way that has meaning. Data-driven storytellers do all this, but also understand how to essentially “read the room” using the tools they have at their disposal.

Storytellers want to impact the lives of their audience.  A data driven storyteller is likely looking to measure that impact.  A data-driven storyteller uses data, both qualitative and quantitative, to refine the story over time and craft the best story possible.  Quantitative in marketing means engagement and conversion data.  Qualitative means direct feedback from an audience.

I always wanted to be a writer, and I’ve always personally gravitated towards data, but only in the last few years have I come to realize these are not the standard characteristics of other marketers.  Traditional marketers tend to be trained to think like marketers.  They were not traditionally trained to be analysts.

I was trained to be analytical, and being dropped into the very first wave of digital media meant I had data that more traditional marketers were never able to see.  Many marketers like to say they use data, but they only use it a little. 

Data-driven marketers integrate data into every aspect of their campaigns.  Data-driven storytellers have the balance of creative thinking and analytical review that results in a truly innovative approach to impact an audience.  Data-driven storytellers are OK knowing their initial story will grow, evolve and refine over time. 

I love analogies.  The best analogy I have of this process is about how comedians work.  You hear about comedians who drop in an open mic night to test their material before they do their HBO or Netflix special.  They are looking to hone their stories before they go big-time.

This is a similar exercise.  You start with a story, you test it out, refine it, work it, and make it better over time.  One audience is happy, and the next is even happier.

Data-driven storytellers believe in testing, in dashboards, and balancing gut with data.  They realize that telling the story is not the end game.  In fact, making a better story over time and improving the resonance of the story is the actual goal.