Powerful digital storytelling – leveraging cutting-edge formats to engage and inform your audiences
Content creators are under immense pressure in the current digital era, characterised by intense competition and an overflow of information. On a mission to push the boundaries of creativity, they constantly seek to not only achieve a connection with their target audiences but to resonate and engage in meaningful ways. Usually, this is achieved via carefully crafted narratives, attractive visuals, or even thought-provoking points of discussion – anything that can appeal to the audience’s interests.
But it is not just about creativity in the content itself; it’s also about the delivery and using the right platform to distribute the content. One potential answer to this challenge is liveblogs. As a format, liveblogs offer real-time engagement and an interactive medium that only a few other platforms can match. They provide the opportunity to create suspense, share updated news, instantly interact with the audience, and even adapt content based on live feedback and questions – all without being at the mercy of platform algorithms.
Shining like never before in their 25th year, liveblogs could be the key publishers are missing to grab audience interest. Yet, surprisingly, many organisations overlook this powerful tool that can foster an engaged community and set themselves apart in today’s crowded digital landscape.
Redefining content consumption
Engagement is not simply an industry buzzword; it is the heartbeat that breathes life into your liveblog. With today’s rapid technological advancements and the need to prioritise entertainment, efficiency, and convenience, consumers want easily understandable and readily available content. In fact, 26% of 18-34-year-olds now prefer news updates in short, bite-sized segments making liveblogs the perfect tool for engaging with your audience.
Specifically, liveblogs offer a quick, organised method for your readers to stay informed about current events – rather than scanning multiple articles or bouncing among different sites, users can access all relevant information consolidated in a single place. For example, as the OceanGate submersible captured headlines across the globe, New Zealand-based publisher Stuff ran a live blog featuring chronological updates and varied expert insight around the event from its beginning to its tragic end, providing readers with a comprehensive overview of information while enabling audiences to see the whole picture.
Moreover, audiences can participate in ongoing dialogues, ask questions, or share viewpoints in real time. Stuff covered the FIFA Woman’s World Cup and featured comment opportunities for followers to chime in after significant milestones such as goals and wins. Other publishers use these interactive features to engage experts to discuss topics like the cost of living crisis or pandemic in the form of Q&As. Readers can ask their questions directly in the comments, and the featured expert can answer the audience’s concerns directly.
In a similar vein, World Rowing often interviews athletes before and after races – not just about how the race went but also about pre race rituals and other more personal information keeping readers engaged by giving them exclusive content.
However, the advantages of liveblogs extend beyond user engagement and have significant implications for editorial teams as well. As liveblogs undergo continuous updates, journalists can react more promptly to unfolding events and dynamically adjust their coverage, even incorporating external content. With the rise of misinformation and fake news, it’s more important than ever to foster authenticity in journalism and content sharing, therefore, audiences demand proof that the content they consume is accurate. Whilst this might be challenging with traditional ways of reporting, publications can actively use liveblogs to ensure they deliver content directly from the horse’s mouth.
For example, Süddeutsche Zeitung uses a liveblog to cover the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The editors consolidate the most recent developments daily to keep their readers updated. The outcome is a systematised and easy to access news chronicle providing readers with a comprehensive synopsis of all the developments related to the conflict. As a result, liveblogs serve as a highly versatile and interactive tool for both publishers and audiences alike.
Furthermore, liveblogging can co-exist with social media rather than being viewed as a replacement. Social media channels can transform into valuable resources of information that can be smoothly integrated into live blogs. After undergoing a thorough process of curation by journalists, content from social media can be embedded into live blogs, enriching the comprehensive storyline. Given the high reach and user engagement offered by social media platforms, media outlets can wield one of the most powerful storytelling tools without compromising authenticity.
Adapting to the needs of digital natives
Liveblogs allow publishers and content creators to meet the needs of the modern consumer by offering important news updates in a format that keeps them entertained and engaged. Gen Zs in particular have become accustomed to accessing content globally, regardless of geographical limitations. Their smartphones are the primary gateway to digital media, with visual content tending to garner more attention. In fact, 26% of younger consumers now prefer their news updates in short segments, gravitating towards brief, candid, and engaging content, as they have little tolerance for boredom.
Moreover, they value meaningfulness and authenticity in both the content and its creators. If they notice discrepancies between the publishers’ narrative and their projected persona, they are not afraid to publicly question, or even cancel, the organisation. Liveblogs allow publishers to be completely transparent and correct any information on the spot, which helps to build trust among audiences.
As digital natives, Gen Zs expect captivating narratives and relatable subject matters. Therefore, information and articles must be easily and immediately accessible, straightforward, transparent and omnipresent. In a market with more young users, such strategies will attract consumers primarily to content that highlights authenticity and personalisation. Publishers must keep this in mind when thinking about content creation, and liveblogging can help them appeal to digital natives much more efficiently and precisely than any other digital storytelling tool.
A powerful tool for storytelling
As the number of users turning to social media platforms for news consumption grows, it is vital for publishing houses and content creators to replicate the social media experience by presenting bite-sized yet captivating content. Liveblogging is an exceptional news broadcasting tool for editorial teams, with the capacity for swift content creation, uploading, and distribution while sustaining impeccable accuracy. With its limited exposure to public propaganda machines and unreliable news aggregators, the scope for misinformation or disinformation is significantly minimised. Deployed strategically, liveblogging can function as a vital communication channel for journalists and their audiences.
