Data storytelling is the practice of using facts, statistics, and quantitative information to build a compelling narrative that an audience can understand and act on. In other words, it uses real numbers to support an engaging story and authenticate the story’s message.

“Using data to tell stories from a brand’s point of view can be very effective, as it bridges that place between logic and emotion and lets a brand connect with a reader on a deeper level,” says Leeann Froese, Digital Marketing Manager at Town Hall Brands.

Data can “prove” the validity of a story (for example, sheep are smart: Research shows they can remember the visual identities of up to 50 individual faces) and help sell a brand or product (Ie: When “four out of five dentists” recommend a specific toothpaste).

That brings us to another important part of data storytelling: the numbers need to be true, unaltered, and preferably provided by a trusted third party. Making up numbers or bending statistics to suit your own needs is a dangerous game, especially on social media.

Every good data story rests on three things working together: the data itself, the narrative around it, and the visuals that carry it.

The three pillars of data storytelling are data, narrative, and visualization. Drop any one of them and the story falls flat: data alone is dry, narrative alone is unproven, and visuals alone are decoration.

The foundation is accurate, relevant, and verifiable information. That might be third-party research, platform data, or your own first-party numbers from sales, surveys, or social analytics.

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