SXSW Blog 1

By: Jenna Wigman

BuzzFeed is known for providing a wide range of media content to audiences with a continually shrinking attention span. They have dug their way into the feeds of your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, e-mails and countless other platforms not only because they post incredibly adorable and funny cats, but also because of their nimble approach to media.

Summer Burton is the Editorial Director of BuzzFeed’s emerging Distributed division, BFF. Through data analytics and continual experimentation with an exceptionally creative team, they began to see that their audience wasn’t generally finding their content by actually visiting their site. 75% of their traffic is from social referrals. The platforms on which this content is being consumed are in flux as well – 50% of their traffic now comes from mobile. This is where BFF was born.

Screen Shot 2015-03-16 at 10.33.19 AMThis brand-new team (only 7 months old) is building original content that is created to be native to the platform that it is being developed for. Rather than having BuzzFeed content hosted on the site with the functionality to be shared on social platforms, this content is originating on their platform where they are seeking to engage an audience. From social heavy hitters as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Vine and Instagram to emerging platforms such as Line, they are building a dynamic culture of experimentation and “leaning into success.” The approach allows them to reach their audience with engaging media content that is custom-tailored for the parameters of the individual social platform. Not only does this allow for new creative possibilities, but it also provides their audience with media content in the places where they are already seeking that type of content.

Buzzfeed has gotten more serious about monetization over the past year, hiring HuffPo’s Director of Native Advertising Tessa Gould and stepping up its tactics to make money off content. This fiscal approach – along with its commitment to distributed content – is what makes the site’s buzz-friendly formula wildly successful.

 

Who to follow:

@PressKitcheners
@PressKitchenSF
@buzzfeed
@YrBFF
@summeranne
@TessaG_Tweets