In this article originally published in What's New in Publishing, Tickaroo's CEO Naomi Owusu...
Need some inspiration writing your first liveblog? Don't worry - we're here to help! In our new blogpost series, we'll share tips to help you create a liveblog that will boost your reach and engage your readers.
Sports reporters have been using the "liveblog" medium in Germany for a long time. Known as livetickers within the sports industry, liveblogs have now also firmly established themselves as a popular medium within the broader news landscape. The practice of liveblogging has evolved into a dynamic form of digital storytelling that is experiencing a surge in popularity. Its benefits, especially regarding SEO, engagement rates, revenue diversification, and audience retention, ensure this format will be around for a while.
Creating your first liveblog might be challenging if you're new to liveblogging. That's why we've created a four-part series to guide you through the process of crafting an engaging liveblog that captures and holds your readers' attention. In this first blogpost, we provide essential tips for preparing your debut liveblog.
Creating your first liveblog might be challenging if you're new to liveblogging. That's why we've created a four-part series to guide you through the process of crafting an engaging liveblog that captures and holds your readers' attention. In this first blogpost, we provide essential tips for preparing your debut liveblog.
DEFINE YOUR GOALS
First of all, before you begin liveblogging, it is essential to clarify your objectives: What is your ultimate goal? Are you aiming at expanded reach, enhanced engagement, more subscriptions, or increased revenue? Take a moment to define your goals, and based on that, choose the metrics that will effectively gauge your liveblog's performance during and after the coverage.
Having well-defined goals will keep you motivated and focused on your tasks. It will help you to objectively assess your liveblog's performance and make data-driven decisions based on your conclusions.
FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE EVENT BEFOREHAND
Step 1: Get to know every aspect of the event you will cover. Before you start liveblogging, do your research to understand the event's purpose, flow, and objectives. Scrutinize the event's agenda, schedule, and planned activities - this will help you anticipate the essential moments to cover.
Look up relevant hashtags or social media accounts related to the event so you can quickly find them while creating your live coverage and incorporate relevant external content into your reporting. This will make your content more diverse and engaging for the readers.
KNOW YOUR READERS
To create a personalized and unique experience for your readers, you need to get to know them as well as possible. Who are the people who follow your live blog? What are their demographics, interests, and goals? What do they expect from your coverage and how do they interact with it? The more you know about your target audience, the easier it will be for you to create compelling content that resonates, engages, and delivers value.
ESTABLISH A CLEAR STRUCTURE
Like any story, a liveblog should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. You can prepare your introduction and conclusion in advance to save valuable time during the event and make your reporting more structured.
In the introduction, you can welcome your readers, briefly introduce yourself and tell them what to expect in the liveblog. Let the readers know the structure of your liveblog, so it will be easier and more interesting for them to follow what's going on.
At the end, you can summarise and draw conclusions about the event or ask readers one final question, such as how they felt about the event, to increase reader engagement further. Use features like highlighting and pinning to make these posts more prominent and make it easier for readers to keep track of your content.
If you need more help preparing your liveblog, we recommend reading our free whitepaper "Live is Life: How Liveblogs Tell Stories in Real Time." Here you'll learn, among other things, for which occasions liveblogs are particularly suitable and which target groups they attract.
PREPARE SOME POSTS IN ADVANCE
Covering events rapidly while generating compelling and engaging content might get tricky. That's why it's better to be as prepared as possible before the event begins.
First, outline the events you know will take place. Will speaker X be talking about topic Y? Write a post about it in advance so you can release it when the time comes, or tweak it the moment before publishing.
Second, as is the case with any event, there are moments when nothing of interest is happening. Yet, continuing to hold your readers' attention and keeping them interested is essential. Prepare several posts that can be used to "fill the void" - biographies of participants, interesting facts, and information about previous events. During this "dead time", this is a great opportunity to share visualizations of event facts and figures.
Second, as is the case with any event, there are moments when nothing of interest is happening. Yet, continuing to hold your readers' attention and keeping them interested is essential. Prepare several posts that can be used to "fill the void" - biographies of participants, interesting facts, and information about previous events. During this "dead time", this is a great opportunity to share visualizations of event facts and figures.
CONCLUSION
As you embark on your liveblogging journey, setting the stage with thorough preparation can make all the difference. Establishing a coherent structure not only simplifies the liveblogging process but also ensures a smooth narrative that resonates with your readers. Always keep your audience at the forefront of your thoughts, and consider questions like, "What topics intrigue my readers?" and "What information is important to them?" as you compose your content.
In the next part of the series, we'll look at a wide range of content that will make your liveblog more interesting and engaging for your readers!
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