Letter #81: Finding stories in data

Use this ex-CMI expert’s framework

Hello hello 👋

*she says as though she’s standing on a podium* 

How have you been? 

Me? I think I may have cracked the code to healthy procrastination. 

And it is… drum rolls please: drinking water. 

So can you guess what exactly I’m doing right now? 🥤*slurps for added effect* 🤣

Because c’mon, making sure these first few lines are worth your time is VERY important to me!

Anyway, enough dilly-dallying, let’s introduce you to today’s guest: 

Michele Linn, founder of Mantis Research who was previously with the Content Marketing Institute as their editorial lead). 

As a survey research maestro, Michelle has tons to share on conducting research, asking the right survey questions, and whatnot (just check her LinkedIn). 

Today though, she'll answer a challenging question: how can you find stories in your* research data? 

*her insights apply to finding stories in other industry-leading research reports too that you haven't conducted yourself. 

The answer, it turns out, is pretty simple: 

“Think about the stories you want to tell from the start of the project.”  

This is a 2-step approach, really.

👉 First, identify the best (net-new) topic for your research — you’ll want something that:

• “Is meaningful to the audience

• Aligns with your brand story

• Uncovers something new “

👉 Second, “document the big picture questions (BPQs) you want your research to focus on.

“BPQs are a list of 5 - 7 high-level questions you want your survey to answer. These questions are different than the actual survey questions and instead are the top-level insights you want to gather.”

Then, as you draft your survey questions, run each one by your BPQs to “craft one or more survey questions that will give you the answers you need,” Michele explains. 

But there are ways you can go wrong here and ways you can maximize using this BPQ-for-finding-stories-in-data framework. 

Which is exactly why I asked Michele the 3 questions we ask all guests every alternate Tuesday:

• A mistake Michele made when finding stories in data

• An actionable tip to unearth hidden stories from research

• And a secret tip to quickly come up with stories 

Here’s what she shared:

👉 Learn from a mistake Michele noted: Keep bias at bay.

Michele shares she once worked with a client who “was asking questions to get a certain answer. Said another way: they conducted the survey to show why someone should invest in a product just like theirs.”

Such an approach to research fails for two reasons:

“First, your survey may not give you the results you expect so you’ll be scrambling to craft a compelling story.

“And, second, even if the data you get back does reinforce what you believe, the results won’t feel credible to your readers if the punchline is, ‘look, we have the perfect solution for you.’”

So the right approach here?

“Think about how you can explore a topic with curiosity. Think about the questions your audience has and answer those with data.” 

“For instance, I work with CMX on their annual community trends report. Their goal is to understand things such as how communities are managed, what types of programs they are running, and what value they are delivering to the business,” explains Michele.

“The findings are used to help community pros understand what their peers are doing and give them ideas on how to improve their own communities. (They aren’t trying to sell anything.)”

Side note: all that talk about collecting data to prove you’ve got the perfect product is reminding me of how important it is to be vulnerable in your content.

👉 Do this today:

“While it’s useful to look at the data overall, some of the best stories come from uncovering how segments of data answer questions differently.”

“For instance, do you see differences by age/generation? Or what differences exist between industries? Or between small and large companies?”

Another twist to this:

“Ask survey respondents how effective they are with something and then show what the effective respondents are doing differently.”

“Even though this is self-report effectiveness, I always find interesting stories,” Michele adds.

👉 The secret tip to finding engaging stories in research data: Ask Oxford comma questions.

“If you’re a marketer or a writer, you’ve likely participated in the debate: are you for or against the Oxford comma? It’s something that 1) people have a stance on and 2) there is disagreement.

So ask yourself:

“Do you have an Oxford comma debate in your industry? Is there anything controversial related to your topic that people have an opinion on?”

“Oxford comma questions work well because you can share the survey results on social media and ask people to weigh in. Not only are you telling an interesting story, but you’re also starting a conversation around your report.”

In short, to find stories in data:

• Think about the stories you want to tell before you put on your research cap

• Approach data with curiosity — instead of finding stories to back your product’s perfection, looking for answers to questions your target audience has

• Review how different groups of survey participants answer questions (particularly helpful here: ask winners what they’re doing differently and share their story)  

• Find answers to Oxford comma or debated questions in your industry

Phew, did I just write a whole email to you? Thanks, brain — and Michele, of course *bows and gets out fast*