Can data make for a good story? Content marketers think so
With B2B marketers inundated with data, it is estimated that only 12 per cent of the data is analyzed with 88 per cent of it left going unused. Content marketers have now taken to mining unused data for stories, and leveraging them into info graphics, blog posts and podcasts as an increasingly successful way to 'use' unused data.
B2B marketers are quickly catching on to the power of data driven content, according to a report and often use the data well. Brands like Allstate effectively used the infographic to talk about the statistical personalities of car buyers in a fun infographic. While Allstate often uses in house and commissioned data sources to drive content, the company Intuit also used data to illustrate in an infographic how millennials have less debt than their Gen X counterparts, but worry about it more.
When it comes to data and content marketing, key strategies that apply include using internal data. By using original data, there is more value to the story and it captures the attention of the target audience. Additionally, according to an infographic by MDG Advertising, articles with images get 94 per cent more total views while a photo and video in a press release increases views by over 45 per cent. Further, 60 per cent of consumers are more likely to consider or contact a business when an image shows up in local search results. But, in a recent report about photos on web content, viewers strongly prefer real people who actually work at the company and tend to ignore stock photos of 'generic people.'
It is also important to include an angle that look for trends by using multiple sources of data, both internal and external. Trends are great content assists, working well as blog posts info graphics and reports.