--- title: "Wednesday Buzz: Turn Your Data Into a Story" id: "28801" type: "post" slug: "wednesday-buzz-turn-your-data-into-a-story" published_at: "2015-06-03T21:10:10+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T17:51:29+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/06/03/wednesday-buzz-turn-your-data-into-a-story/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/06/03/wednesday-buzz-turn-your-data-into-a-story.md" excerpt: "Don’t count on your data to tell its own story. Craft a narrative around its insights! Plus: The risks of recording your history in obsolete formats." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "B2B media" - "Big Data" - "storytelling" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Wednesday Buzz: Turn Your Data Into a Story Let’s say your organization has a brilliant new study that provides a bounty of insight about your area of expertise. So you prep a press release, line up some internal experts who are ready to field some interviews, and think that the ensuing press campaign would be a roaring success. “But as someone who has worked the beat as a reporter and sat in an editor’s chair, I can say that most nonprofits (and businesses, too) have a difficult time pitching stories about their data and research,” [Panepento Strategies (opens in a new tab)](http://www.panepento.com/) principal Peter Panepento writes. “And as someone who has done a lot of storytelling with data, I can see why.” [In a guest post on Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2015/06/03/getting-the-media-to-care-about-your-data/) , Panepento makes the case for finding the narrative within the data you’ve collected and then pitching that to the media, instead of just overwhelming them with statistics. “It all starts with asking the right questions. In the same way a reporter interviews a source or a detective interviews a witness, you need to interview your data—asking questions that will help draw the conclusions you need to go forward,” he writes. For some specific examples of how organizations have succeeded by tying their data to a narrative, [read Panepento’s full post here (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2015/06/03/getting-the-media-to-care-about-your-data/) . ### Twitter Chat Preview of the Day > This week’s [#innochat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/innochat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > tomorrow is on “Developing Innovation Capabilities” Initial framing post: [http://t.co/t7XrCvOHAs (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/t7XrCvOHAs) > > — John W Lewis (@JohnWLewis) [June 3, 2015 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/JohnWLewis/status/606093046963441664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Looking to get a little more utility** out of your Twitter feed? Then tune in to [#innochat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23innochat&src=typd) tomorrow at noon EST for a discussion on how to develop capabilities for innovation. ### Other Good Reads **[Digital preservation](http://associationsnow.com/2015/05/digital-preservation-enough-prevent-link-rot/) is a subject your association should always keep in mind**, and John Palfrey, head of school at the Phillips Andover Academy, takes an intriguing look at the risks of “trapping history in obsolete formats,” [in a story on Salon (opens in a new tab)](http://www.salon.com/2015/05/30/google_is_not_the_answer_how_the_digital_age_imperils_history/) . **Current and future event speakers**, heed [these five must-do’s (opens in a new tab)](http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/conference-speaker-must-dos) from *Event Manager Blog* contributor [Christina Smith (opens in a new tab)](http://www.christinargreen.com/) . And be sure to check out some of the highlights from [Sekou Andrews (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/sekouandrews) ‘ [spirited delivery during the Closing General Session at ASAE’s 2015 Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference](http://associationsnow.com/2015/06/worthy-takeaways-mmcc-2015/) . **Looking to make a compromise more favorable?** *Inc*. columnist Kevin Daum went around his office and drew five insights on how to “[successfully negotiate anything (opens in a new tab)](http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/5-ways-to-successfully-negotiate-anything.html) .” (Luis Llerena/StockSnap) [Morgan Little](https://associationsnow.com/author/morgan-little/) Morgan Little is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/morgan-little/) Tags: [#B2B media](https://associationsnow.com/tag/b2b-media/) [#Big Data](https://associationsnow.com/tag/big-data/) [#storytelling](https://associationsnow.com/tag/storytelling/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoResearch for Impact: Using Data and CommunicationsMay 26, 2021](https://associationsnow.com/2021/05/26/research-for-impact-using-data-and-communications/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [VideoIntro to ASAE’s Online Benchmarking Platform.August 2, 2021](https://associationsnow.com/2021/08/02/intro-to-asaes-online-benchmarking-platform/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: More Than Marketing: The Power of Strategic CommunicationsJuly 30, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/30/associations-now-presents-more-than-marketing-the-power-of-strategic-communications/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F06%2F03%2Fwednesday-buzz-turn-your-data-into-a-story%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !