{
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    "title" : "The Content Corner: Creating Engaging Content with Data |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The Content Corner: Creating Engaging Content with Data",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/06/15/the-content-corner-creating-engaging-content-with-data/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The Content Corner: Creating Engaging Content with Data","summary" : "Over the last several years, continuing advances in computer processing power and storage have brought about the growth of what some call big data. Mobile and wearable devices now also generate large amounts of data via our","date" : "2015-06-15T11:10:42-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"tyrus-manuel" : "Tyrus Manuel"},"topics" : {
        
            "analytics" : "Analytics",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "open-data" : "Open data"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-06-15-the-content-corner-creating-engaging-content-with-data.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/06/2015-06-15-the-content-corner-creating-engaging-content-with-data.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/06/2015-06-15-the-content-corner-creating-engaging-content-with-data.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/06/2015-06-15-the-content-corner-creating-engaging-content-with-data.md","slug" : "the-content-corner-creating-engaging-content-with-data","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/06/15/the-content-corner-creating-engaging-content-with-data/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/04/600-x-556-192579-users-analytics-usa-gov-tax-time.jpg\"\n    alt=\"A screen capture showing that there were 192,579 people visiting government websites at that moment.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver the last several years, continuing advances in computer processing power and storage have brought about the growth of what some call \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/analytics/\"\u003ebig data\u003c/a\u003e. Mobile and wearable devices now also generate large amounts of data via our interaction with various apps and our geographic location. This endless stream of information is being harnessed to create extremely informative dashboards like \u003ca href=\"https://analytics.usa.gov/\"\u003eanalytics.usa.gov\u003c/a\u003e and helping make advances in \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/03/19/hhs-uses-crowdsourcing-in-booming-mhealth-industry/\"\u003emedicine\u003c/a\u003e and even \u003ca href=\"http://www.wired.com/2015/05/farmers-business-network/\"\u003efarming\u003c/a\u003e possible. And while big data holds the power to shift our technological age into an even higher gear, it also needs to be mined for the great stories and content that live among the statistics and percentages.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"letting-it-all-hang-out-hahahugoshortcode2501s3hbhb\"\u003eLetting it All Hang Out \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/06/600-x-400-Social-alexskopje-iStock-Thinkstock-177106293.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Social data concept graphic; the word social on a card that is surrounded by binary ones and zeroes\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor most Web or digital media professionals, we have viewed usage data and analytics as something that we study internally and use to make decisions regarding content or features that we may highlight on our website. In the age of social media, we also use data to review how popular a post was, whether via likes or favorites or sharing. Again, these data points are used for strategic, internal decisions and inform our editorial and marketing efforts. But innovative organizations have discovered that data isn’t just for internal use anymore. It is content worth sharing and is part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/open\"\u003eongoing initiative\u003c/a\u003e to be as open as possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStartups like \u003ca href=\"http://blog.hubstaff.com/grow/\"\u003eHubstaff\u003c/a\u003e and others have made transparency a central part of their marketing and communication efforts, sharing any relevant data regarding their successes or failures and allowing us to learn along with them. Another transparency adherent, \u003ca href=\"https://www.groovehq.com/blog/transparent-blogs\"\u003eAlex Turnbull of Groove\u003c/a\u003e, pointed out that transparency is important, but it alone isn’t enough.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"mobile-app-or-sociologist\"\u003eMobile App or Sociologist?\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlong with using internal data to help share a story and build a sense of community among your agency’s customers, anonymous user data can also be mined for content that can reveal interesting trends or patterns.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReal estate company Zillow is a good example of taking straight-forward information and remixing it in a creative way to create content that is interesting and shareable. By taking data from the Census Bureau (\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/08/14/census-pop-quiz-mobile-app-challenges-knowledge-of-state-statistics/\"\u003ewho develops native apps to showcase their APIs\u003c/a\u003e for third parties like Zillow) and combining it with their own demographic information, they created a \u003ca href=\"http://www.zillow.com/blog/10-best-cities-for-love-2015-169490/\"\u003eValentine’s Day themed post\u003c/a\u003e showing the best cities for love based on number of single residents, disposable income and “potential date spots.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a shaky change in business model, Foursquare has also worked hard on turning their data into content that is revealing about our tastes. Once again showing that with a little creativity, streams of numbers can be turned into fun content, Foursquare combined user data with \u003ca href=\"https://www.mapbox.com/\"\u003eMapbox\u003c/a\u003e to show \u003ca href=\"https://www.mapbox.com/labs/foursquare/statetastes/\"\u003eAmerica’s Most Popular Tastes\u003c/a\u003e (I never knew New Mexicans loved sopapillas and actually never knew what a sopapilla was; thanks, Foursquare!).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/06/600-x-355-Data-on-US-Map-for-The-Content-Corner-Creating-Engaging-Content-with-Data.jpg\"\n    alt=\"A screen capture of the right half of a map of the United States, from The Foursquare State-By-State Guide to America\u0026#39;s Most Popular Tastes. The map displays which food or drink is most popular in each state.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch1 id=\"turning-data-into-content\"\u003eTurning Data into Content\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn fact, data-based content seems to be a new strategy for Foursquare based on the last two emails I received from them this week alone. The first was a comparison of meats or vegetables based upon searches and tastes that people have registered via their app. The second of their “Trending Tastes” emails informed me that people are currently searching for swimming pools and encouraged me to do the same.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese examples really drive home how various data points can be directly turned into engaging content. Not sure what next week’s blog post should be about? Find a data point that would be of interest to your audience. Its pretty clear that Foursquare has a set place on their editorial calendar for regular data-derived posts and content marketing efforts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGovernment agencies are also using data to create visuals that can improve the public’s understanding of complex topics: the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/06/05/visualizing-bls-data-to-improve-understanding/\"\u003eBureau of Labor Statistics includes data visualizations in nearly all of their publications\u003c/a\u003e. They specifically designed two of their publications to showcase visualizations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe popularity of \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/03/14/customize-your-own-amazing-social-media-report-infographic/\"\u003einfographics\u003c/a\u003e and digital dashboards are based partially on \u003ca href=\"http://contently.com/strategist/2015/04/29/infographic-why-your-brain-and-your-readers-love-infographics\"\u003eour brain’s love of visual information\u003c/a\u003e, but just like listicles and quizzes, statistics even in text form can grab a user’s attention (I actually read those two marketing emails from Foursquare, for example).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn our constant struggle to feed the content beast, data can provide one more method to generate content. During your next content or editorial meeting, take a look at all the data that your agency generates and ask yourself: \u003cstrong\u003ewhat stories should and could we be telling?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou’ve just finished reading the latest article from our Monday column, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/content-strategy/\"\u003eThe Content Corner\u003c/a\u003e. This column focuses on helping solve the main content issues facing federal digital professionals, including producing enough content and making that content engaging.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}