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As important a tool in today's modern newsroom as a notepad and pen
November 19, 2020

As important a tool in today's modern newsroom as a notepad and pen

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Chartbeat

Chartbeat is used across our company as a key analytical tool to monitor audience for our online news platforms. We use it at a national, regional and local level for in excess of 50 news media sites. In my own role I use it across a number of news platforms for which I am responsible. We allow all key editorial staff access to Chartbeat to monitor audience levels. It plays a key role in gauging immediate audience reaction to content and allows is to make operational and strategic decisions based on this information
  • Instant 'real time' analytics
  • Audience sourcing data
  • Flags to indicate important trends
  • Access to historic and individual author data
  • Historic data is limited to three months
  • Chartbeat cannot differentiate between site and app results
  • There is always a suspicion of a 'lag' in data as day closes
  • I do not have access to the financial arrangements in place, but I would view Chartbeat as a key tool for the company with significant advantages over other analytical software.
  • Continued enhancement of the product, for instance picture previewer, would provide additional value to the service.
Previously our company relied on Adobe for audience data and we had to accommodate an hour or two long lag before seeing the relevant data. In a rolling news operation this did not allow is to respond quickly to audience trends.
Since Chartbeat was made available it is used as a constant tool by our senior editorial team to judge what coverage is attracting audience and this influences further decisions over immediate editorial and strategic planning. Chartbeat is built into our hour-by-hour editorial operation and supported by daily, more granular briefings using Google Analytics.
Generally very easy to use and navigate and the limit of options, compared to say a full Google Analytics suite, actually aids functionality and access, making it more useful as a tool which can be used across the staff. The mobile app does not have the same functionality as the online platform and this could be improved.
Simpler, more effective, real-time tool with broader accessibility for team
Support seems to be solid although there does not appear to be regional (ie. UK) support. One support enquiry I requested asking for an improvement to the interface was however, dealt with promptly and very helpfully and this surprised me a little as it was a UK request to a US support service

Do you think Chartbeat delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Chartbeat's feature set?

Yes

Did Chartbeat live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Chartbeat go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Chartbeat again?

Yes

An excellent tool for analysing and recording audience data for providers of online news and information. It is a solid, east to navigate platform which allows staff with little training to access key data almost immediately. Enhancements such as heads up display provide an extra level of insight into our news websites

Using Chartbeat

ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • The Real Time audience page
  • History
  • Specific author data
  • HUD
  • Search functionality
  • Bundling multiple sites
Yes - Well although it is more limited than the desktop site. A useful app but could do with improved functionality