{"id":142049,"date":"2020-09-22T08:40:49","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T08:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=142049"},"modified":"2020-09-22T08:40:49","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T08:40:49","slug":"how-to-create-compelling-content-based-on-existing-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/09\/22\/how-to-create-compelling-content-based-on-existing-data\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create compelling content based on existing data"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"well\">\n<h3>30-second summary:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data-driven content lends credibility and authority to your brand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Existing public data sources offer a great starting point for implementing a data-driven content strategy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While they may initially require more heavy-lifting to find and parse through, public data sets offer endless content possibilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fractl&#8217;s Project Manager Claire Cole shares strategies for creating original, compelling content from data available to anyone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key to creating newsworthy content that captures the attention of audiences is to focus on data collection, analysis, and illustration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/01\/13\/pillars-behind-successful-content-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">content strategy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> allows you to take something convoluted and present it to readers in a compelling manner in a way that hasn\u2019t been done before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While data can be an intimidating medium to work with, it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, I\u2019ll explain how you can use data that\u2019s already out there to create your own <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.frac.tl\/newsworthy-content\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">newsworthy content<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and drive engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Where to find public data<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What can deter marketers and content creators from working with existing data is not knowing where to find the data they want. It\u2019s true that few organizations and entities broadcast the existence of the data they release, so you need to know where to look.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To start, here are some government agency sources we\u2019ve relied on:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Environmental Protection Agency<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/data-research\/consumer-complaints\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumer Complaint Database from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Census Bureau<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/brfss\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from the CDC<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ipums.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Integrated Public Use Microdata Series<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-142054\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image4.png\" alt=\"US data census\" width=\"728\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image4.png 728w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image4-300x264.png 300w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image4-768x675.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of these sources include a multitude of variables to dissect in many different ways. Don\u2019t settle for just looking at the top-level data. Consider how you can explore particular angles to reveal new, specific insights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take the American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, for example. Beyond standard demographics you\u2019d expect from a nationwide survey like gender, age, employment status, and earnings, this existing data set features less obvious subjects like fertility, usage of food stamps\/SNAP, and health insurance coverage, among many others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If an entity that might already have public data on the subject you\u2019re interested in doesn\u2019t come immediately to mind, there are other general sources that can be worth a look.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The website <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FiveThirtyEight<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while an outlet built on creating original works of data journalism, often makes the existing data they use in their pieces open to the public, meaning you could find a new angle to explore that they didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.googleadservices.com\/pagead\/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=DChcSEwi68f6fmMTrAhXIRdUKHVyrAPoYABABGgJpbQ&amp;ohost=www.google.com&amp;cid=CAESQOD2AdQRBr5kpTfnugmALrzLbbZVoLF9UIA3rig3A2GmqbqTecMHl1vpN84und1ay0EePdeGSoMAUgSBRyOfbiI&amp;sig=AOD64_0hDX401PLGX7PBi-PRkYg2rxWvNg&amp;q&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjHzfWfmMTrAhVPA6wKHbfHADEQ0Qx6BAgjEAE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaggle<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/research.google\/tools\/datasets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Public Datasets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are other good platforms for finding a variety of data for use.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Top three ways to create content from existing data<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve found a public data source. It involves a lot of data, so you have many angles and stats to explore, and the topic can be tied back to your brand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, you\u2019re having trouble creating a narrative around all the numbers and decimals and demographics. Here are three strategies to consider when trying to tell a story with data.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>1. Consider the implications of time<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the simplest ways to find interesting takeaways within a data set and create a narrative arc is to compare how variables change (or don\u2019t) over time. Nathan Yau created a project for Flowing Data looking at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/flowingdata.com\/2016\/05\/17\/the-changing-american-diet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how the American diet has changed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over the years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-142051\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image1-1024x391.png\" alt=\"Data - How American diet has changed\" width=\"640\" height=\"244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image1-1024x391.png 1024w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image1-300x115.png 300w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image1-768x294.png 768w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image1-1536x587.png 1536w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image1.png 728w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project uses data from the Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food Availability Data System, which keeps numbers on food production as well as American consumption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While insights can be derived from a single year of this data, the power of the project comes from looking at trends over a long period of time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding a time element to data content may not seem groundbreaking, but it can be overlooked when hunting for takeaways. Data doesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum, so putting it into context with a time element can make for a compelling story.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>2. Look for interesting demographics to drive the narrative<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes finding an interesting or unusual demographic to build content around can help focus data from an existing source. We did this with a project for our client FundRocket, which was about small businesses, a very common topic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What set the project apart, though, was that it compared small businesses owned by US-born citizens and naturalized citizens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-142052\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image2-1024x609.png\" alt=\"American Community Survey\" width=\"640\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image2-1024x609.png 1024w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image2-300x178.png 300w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image2-768x457.png 768w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image2.png 728w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using data from the American Community Survey, we compared the two demographics across a number of variables: top industries, fastest-growing industries, metropolitan areas with the most businesses owned by naturalized citizens, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The use of this unique demographic comparison makes the project stand out among other content produced around small businesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at how <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessnewsdaily.com\/15208-naturalized-citizens-starting-small-businesses.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business News Daily<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> not only covered the project but included key takeaways at the top of the article.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-142050\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image5.png\" alt=\"Use of data to create content - American Community Survey\" width=\"728\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image5.png 728w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image5-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image5-768x448.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When analyzing your data, always visualize what insights a publisher might take away from the project. If you\u2019re able to come up with a few key points, that means you\u2019re on the right track to creating a compelling project. (It also helps you maintain focus as you continue working on it.)<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>3. Consider a common topic from an uncommon angle<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2017\/08\/28\/how-to-ensure-you-ask-the-right-questions-of-your-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asking the right questions of your data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can lead to compelling findings. A great way to create unique data-focused content is to explore a common topic from an uncommon angle or point of view.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, perhaps there\u2019s a topic in your niche that is discussed a lot but never in conjunction with data. Or perhaps a topic generally framed with data could have new life breathed into it by tapping a different data source or metric.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We took this approach for our client The Interview Guys with a project that looked at the occupations that require the most and least work experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work experience is an incredibly common topic in the career and HR spheres. There are articles on everything from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wgntv.com\/news\/back-to-work\/one-page-resume-only-outdated-advice-could-be-hurting-your-job-search\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how to framework experience on a resume<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to whether <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theladders.com\/career-advice\/survey-61-of-entry-level-jobs-require-3-years-of-experience\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">companies are expecting too much of entry-level candidates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> these days. With all of that competing content, it can be difficult to breakthrough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thankfully, data can give us a leg up over other content. In the case of The Interview Guys, their project was differentiated because we took that topic and married it with public data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics\u2019 Occupational Requirement Survey and Wage Estimates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-142053\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image3.png\" alt=\"Using data like wage estimates to create content\" width=\"595\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image3.png 595w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image3-174x300.png 174w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This gave the project the added authority of government data while still answering practical questions job seekers and people considering a job change may have, and it was compelling enough to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/11\/14\/jobs-with-highest-pay-right-out-of-school-can-earn-up-to-six-figures.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">earn media coverage on CNBC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Building a data-driven content strategy<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating content around data doesn\u2019t have to be intimidating. There are plenty of publicly available data sources that can be tapped and used to great effect in a diverse content strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering data trends over time, seeking out unique demographics to examine, and brainstorming how data can create new angles to a common topic are easy ways to get started building content around data that already exists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Claire Cole is Project Manager at Fractl, creating data-driven campaigns in a variety of verticals to meet client goals. When she\u2019s not poring over spreadsheets and data visualizations, she\u2019s reading the latest bestseller while snuggled up with her rescue pup, Penny. She can be found on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Claire_Cole18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@claire_cole18<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data-focused content doesn\u2019t require as much heavy lifting as people assume. Existing public data sources can translate to compelling content for your brand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":142055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,8],"tags":[75,118,27897,166,980,369,16879],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-142049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analytics","category-content","tag-content-2","tag-content-marketing","tag-content-marketing-best-practices","tag-data","tag-data-analysis","tag-evergreen-content","tag-media-coverage"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":false,"tad_content_format":false},"post_info":{"name":"idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/How-to-create-compelling-content-based-on-existing-data.png","category":"Analytics","timeago":"5y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142049"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=142049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}