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“Liveblogs have a 8.6x higher retention rate than conventional articles”: Tickaroo interview

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In advance of Mx3 Barcelona (12-13th March 2024), an off-the-record international summit focusing on innovation in and across media verticals (B2C & B2B), we talk to one of the event’s key partners, Tickaroo. TL;DR: Readers crave authenticity, brevity, and digestible content, all key features of liveblogging.

Liveblogs have emerged as a critical communication tool for news publishers covering the world’s most significant, rolling events be they major sports tournaments, regional wars or national elections. The genre isn’t new – the Guardians Daily Politics liveblog has been around for more than 25 years, and what started on real-time platforms like Twitter, where individuals would live-tweet updates to breaking news, has shifted to a format hosted on news providers’ own websites.

Fast forward to 2024 and liveblogs are increasingly satisfying the needs of global audiences whose attentions spans are becoming ever narrower, and whose preferences are leaning into more engaging, digestible, and authentic formats. Indeed, research has shown 26% of 18-34-year-olds now prefer news updates in short, bite-sized segments.

Yet despite their name, successful liveblogs are not purely spontaneous. High quality liveblogs require careful planning, especially in terms of reporting style and engagement (e.g. in-feed polls), and choosing the right format and template is key. In advance of Mx3 Barcelona, we talked with Tickaroo’s CEO and Co-Founder, Naomi Owusu, whose company is a global leader in liveblogging solutions.

We started by asking Naomi the background to Tickaroo, from its humble beginnings to its status as one of the world’s leading liveblogging solutions.

Mx3 HQ: How did Tickaroo start?

Naomi Owusu: Having worked at a software agency from 2005 to 2012, I played a pivotal role in guiding major corporations in the sports and news sectors through digital transformation. My expertise involved conceptualizing and launching News, Sports, and Lifestyle apps, overseeing project management, team building, and developing business models. Leveraging this experience, my co-founders and I established Tickaroo with a specific mission—to create a live reporting tool that delivers fast and reliable live data.

Starting with a focus on sports, we swiftly expanded our reach into the news industry. Our overarching goal was to optimize the user experience, empowering publishers to thrive by enhancing audience engagement.

At Tickaroo, we are committed to shaping the future of live reporting and transforming how information is delivered and consumed.

Naomi Owusu, CEO and Co-Founder, Tickaroo

Mx3 HQ: How does your software work?

Naomi Owusu: Tickaroo Live Blog is more than just an editor—it’s a dynamic software for creating live event updates complete with photos and videos. Tailored widgets cater to different user needs, allowing news organizations to invite their editorial staff, experts, or external voices to enrich the digital live storytelling experience.

Collaborating with content providers such as international news agencies, image services, audience engagement tools, and sports data providers simplifies the liveblogging process, saving time for editors and making content creation an enjoyable experience. Audiences can actively participate through comments and various sharing options, fostering a dynamic and interactive storytelling environment.

Mx3 HQ: Why should publishers incorporate liveblogging within their strategies?

Naomi Owusu: As highlighted by the Opinium study we conducted in the UK this year, there is a preference for authenticity, brevity, and digestible content. Liveblogs inherently embody these characteristics, providing audiences with real-time updates sourced from various channels the journalist can access also via the tool.

By incorporating liveblogging, publishers and journalists can cater to the evolving preferences of their audiences, delivering a more authentic, transparent, and engaging news consumption experience.

Mx3 HQ: Can the increase in retention rates, engagement, trust, etc, be proven?

Naomi Owusu: According to our own client data liveblogs have a 8.6x higher retention rate than conventional articles. Also the number of page impressions has shown to be significantly higher than page impressions in other formats.

Due to the structure of content, journalists can include polls, image galleries, videos, interviews, in-depth articles to enhance storytelling. Based on the topic, audiences can engage more than with “just text” over a longer period of time, because they are provided with constant updates.

At Süddeutsche Zeitung, as just one example, live blogs have performed extremely well: 7 out of 10 of the most-read articles in 2023 are live blogs about the war on Ukraine. Its top live blog on Ukraine, between 22 February and 1 March 2022, hit 4.3M users.

Mx3 HQ: Specifically, how does live blogging build trust and credibility among audiences?

Naomi Owusu: Live blogging facilitates authentic storytelling. Journalists reporting from the scene can provide firsthand accounts, mentioning sources and validating information. The inclusion of imagery, videos, and user-generated content fosters direct contact with audiences, nurturing dialogue and engagement. This approach ensures audiences receive a comprehensive view of the situation, empowering them to form their own opinions. Followers appreciate the transparency, feeling less controlled and avoiding any perceived spin in the news.

Because journalists report while the story unfolds, audiences can watch them while news is made. This makes the liveblog a highly authentic reporting tool.

Naomi Owusu, CEO and Co-Founder, Tickaroo

Mx3 HQ: How can liveblogs help stop the spread of misinformation & disinformation?

Naomi Owusu: Unlike random updates in a news stream, liveblogs are curated by trusted news sites and qualified journalists, ensuring a reliable source of information. This format, consumed over a longer period, contributes to rebuilding trust in news sites.

Additionally, journalists can incorporate audience comments, reaching out for diverse voices and adjusting storytelling based on real-time follower feedback, further strengthening the credibility of the information presented.

Consumers benefit from curated news, ensuring that the journalist and publication prioritize accurate information over misinformation, further solidifying their loyalty.

Naomi Owusu, CEO and Co-Founder, Tickaroo

Mx3HQ: Who is a best in class example of a publisher using live blogging – and what do they specifically do that makes it ‘best in class’?

Naomi Owusu: Our New Zealand client, Stuff, uses liveblogs extensively to cover key events – for example, the Taylor Swift Ticket Sales and Super Moon – and in the process, caters to and meets the needs of its diverse audience. Stuff liveblogs are not only created to inform the user but also to inspire, amuse or educate.

The Austrian Press Agency used Tickaroo to cover the Ukraine war. Its liveblog lasted four months, accumulating 3.3M users across seven media websites, totalling 9m page views and keeping people engaged for about six minutes.

Mx3HQ: What advice would you give publishers who don’t currently implement liveblogging? What are the common mistakes?

Naomi Owusu: Publishers should consider what the focus of the liveblog is and what kind of audience they want to target to make it resonate.  Also choosing the right format and template is key. There are various occasions such as  elections, sporting events, book releases, breaking news and audience reactions – that all require a certain selection of content.

For example, a liveblog of an election should include poll data, background information on parties and candidates, forecasts, insight articles and updates. The editorial team needs to ensure in advance that they have all this kind of information ready at their fingertips when the situation unfolds.  A common mistake is to assume that a liveblog does not need preparation in advance.

Similarly, we recommend implementing a liveblog strategy to ensure a seamless process. Stears used liveblogs to cover the Nigerian elections and it took time to create a strategy that would help support their brand. Having a strategy in place – that includes SEO optimization – means we can tailor our product to suit the needs of the organization.

You can meet Tickaroo at Mx3 Barcelona 12-13th March 2024. The event is an off-the-record international summit focusing on innovation in and across media verticals (Consumer & B2B). Mx3 Barcelona also offers opportunities to meet 1-on-1 with industry experts as part of our Mx3 Huddles concept, as well as time for social interaction. Come and join us!