Digital Innovation
Making the magic of match day digital
Shortly after beginning work at the Liverpool ECHO I learnt how important match days were to the newsroom and our audience.
It seemed like everyone in the city had their own special memory of match days and were more than happy to share these with us and on social media.
The magic that comes out across Liverpool on derby days from LFC and Everton fans alike, or the atmosphere that builds around a big European match is incomparable to anything I had ever experienced.
One thing I couldn't get my head around though was just how to capture these moments on the website.
During Liverpool Football Club's campaign for the Champions League title in 2018, the suspense grew and I knew we need to do something to make the magic of match day digital.
Not only for the benefit of our site, but so those feelings could be archived forever through us.
Capturing fan atmosphere
When thousands of PSG fans landed in the city for the Anfield leg of the Champions League draw that year, it was clear we had to find a way to cover it.
I suggested that we should run a live blog throughout the entire day to cover the colourful behaviour of the visiting supporters and when that worked exceptionally well from the get go, I then suggested that I go out to meet them.
Filling the blog with video and pictures of fans as they met together in Liverpool city centre resonated with thousands of our readers who commented that we were "bringing the atmosphere to life".
Wanting to follow the feeling through until the end, I decided to walk to Anfield with the visitors.
This decision helped us to produce spine-tingling digital coverage that was the envy of all our rivals who were also covering the match.
As the fans sang and chanted, I made the decision to go live on our brand Facebook page and used the comment section to direct viewers back to the live updates on our blog.
This not only helped catch the atmosphere but also increased traffic to the blog.
Branching out to provide more content
As the PSG fans approached Anfield, I captured a video of the moment the supporters met with Liverpool fans.
I quickly pulled together copy to go alongside the video and sent it back to the newsroom.
The headline, social sell and incredible images/video we had were the perfect storm to create one of the most clicked through tweets the ECHO has ever had.
Replicating the results
This series of decisions created such a successful day for the ECHO online that it was impossible to not attempt to recreate as often as possible.
Now, the format I created is used on almost every match day, home and abroad.
The system works so well that we are consistently the go-to platform for any pre-match information and build up.
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| Jenny Kirkham in Naples to digitally cover Liverpool's Champions League clash with Napoli |
I used the digital system I had created and utilised while travelling with Liverpool fans to Naples in October 2018.
Our success previously meant that often other outlets have now begun to follow our lead but starting the process early meant that we are trusted by fans and are often the first to hear when things don't quite go to plan on match days.
While in Naples, after hearing the concerns of fans about hostility from Italian supporters, I was the first point of contact when a number of people were injured during the trip.
It quickly transpired that LFC supporters had been attacked while visiting Naples for the match.
We were able to provide people at home with accurate reporting quickly due to being so digitally connected to the fans.
And we were also able to instantly provide reassurance to supporters via our live blog from the relevant authorities.
All these things would not have been possible without the idea to make match days work for a digital audience.
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