BuzzFeed Success Story- so much buzz
Today I had the great pleasure of meeting Keith Hernandez, Vice President of International Advertising for BuzzFeed at nextMedia 2014 in Toronto. He shared their best practices from the newly established BuzzFeed Motion Pictures studio and talked a little about their content, structure and pillars.
BuzzFeed is an internet news media company with the hottest, most social content on the web. They create and curate content, featuring breaking buzz and the kinds of things you want to pass along to your friends. Founded in 2006 in New York City by Jonah Peretti, the company has grown into a global media and technology company.
As a big fan of all the dog content on BuzzFeed, I was relieved to hear that dogs and cats will remain a core area of focus as they continue to expand. I actually submitted our pic to their #TongueOutTuesday collection this morning before the conference by coincidence. I enjoy their videos, quizzes and lists along with many millions of others each month.
I watched the newest fabulous video in the Dear Kitten series – Dear Kitten : Regarding the Dog. I think the series is a brilliant example of creative. insightful branded entertainment for Nestle.
Keith explained that the Advertising/Branded Entertainment group and the Editorial group are kept separate but operate with similar mandates to create sharable, relevant, entertaining content. The share ratios he quoted on content from his division were very very high (jealous), but BuzzFeed spend a lot creating testing and sharing content daily. He did say Cats are challenging to film LOL.
There is no magic recipe for creating shareable content but the 3 main pillars of content are apparently as follows:
Identity (does the content help define your identity eg supporting rescues, smart, funny), Information (timely or great information or news), Emotional Gift (heartwarming, smile, laugh, kind)
We try to follow very similar on Talent Hounds so it made a lot of sense. They have hired the incredibly talented Ze Frank to run the studio. I love the original Sad Dog Diary.
I wish we had their budgets and talent, but Keith said they went through the same struggles trying to generate $ and attract sponsors we all do before they got scale. BuzzFeed generates its advertising revenue through native advertising that matches the content of the articles and does not rely on banner ads according to online sources.
I am very inspired and entertained. Happy Wordless Wednesday.
Emma says
Buzzfeed seems to be the buzz, but we just don’t get how it works. Maybe one day. There is just so much out there to learn about. Great photo!
Talent Hounds says
I know- so much out there and changing everyday. Also met with specialists on Vine, SnapChat, SEO, YouTube, Twitter- really interesting, lots data and info but all takes time and talent to do well. Have a good week. X Susie
Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady says
I have never heard of this either!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Rachele Baker, DVM says
Love the info on “shareable content.” The Sad Dog Diary made me laugh!
Talent Hounds says
Me too LOL. Have a great week XS
Sand Spring Chesapeakes says
Cute videos, thanks for sharing the information about them.
Athena and Marie says
Great info and pic!
Purrs xx
Athena and Marie
Taryn says
My Jimmy made it to BuzzFeed one time. It was great fun to see him there!
Talent Hounds says
Wow that’s so cool! Have a great week XS
Sharon S. says
Buzzfeed certainly knows what they are doing to get readers and branding themselves. It was nice Keith shared this helpful information. It’s always good to know what the big guys are doing to succeed.
Talent Hounds says
Yes Keith seemed like a nice smart guy and I agree- great to know how to grow. XS
Chelsea Price says
Buzzfeed is kind of my guilty pleasure read. I check it almost every day. I love the fun lists they do – especially when they involve dog photos! 😀
Talent Hounds says
LOL like me. I love their dog lists, photos and videos and some of their TV quizzes.
MyDogLikes says
Very interesting!! Loved the shared videos! Sounds like you learned so much….It can be kind of overwhelming.
Groovy Goldendoodles says
Thanks for helping me grasp a better understanding about Buzzfeed. So much out there, so much to learn!
Golden Woofs: Sugar says
Very Interesting … makes us wonder more. Golden Thanks for sharing. Golden Woofs
Jackie Bouchard says
Interesting post. BuzzFeed always has such funny stuff. And I LOVE Ze Frank!
hilary says
Great post! It is so hard to keep up with everything…