Here at Mindscape, we often get contacted by people who find us online by looking for “creating an online buzz.” Yes, we can help you do that. I love having these conversations because it gives us an opportunity to talk to lots of really unique organizations, from musical artists to technology start-ups.
Speaking of online buzz, one of my current obsessions is buzztastic. Chances are you’ve not only heard of Buzzfeed but have been sucked into its vortex of never-ending must read content. Such as “32 Signs You’re Addicted to HGTV”, “23 Dogs Who Are Too Adorably Stupid For Their Own Good”, and “7 Key Metrics To Judge Marissa Mayer’s First Year as Yahoo CEO”.
With more than 60 million monthly unique visitors, Buzzfeed “powers the social distribution of content, detects what is trending on the web, and connects people in realtime with the hottest content of the moment.” The content is typically short on text, long on photos and GIFs. Snarky writing guaranteed to make you smirk and even LOL. Perfect for quick scrolling, and lovely mobile user-experience to boot, with a diverse range of topics from business to entertainment to fashion to books.
Advertisers can get in on this action with “sponsored posts” opportunities, such as the Verizon sponsored “10 People Who Went To Extreme Lengths To Charge Their Phones.”
Now why is this a good idea? Well, according to a study on their website, Buzzfeed users look for content to share via social media 75% of the time, which is the essence of something going viral. Brands that use Buzzfeed advertising simply aren’t buying banner ads. They are working with Buzzfeed staff to create content that is relevant, shareable and buzzworthy. Brands like Kraft, Target, Geico, and Taco Bell have done it because beyond what they pay for, they get a huge amount of “earned” views of their content from sharing – up to 30% more.
As with any new way of advertising, there are detractors, but you can bet we’ll be watching as Buzzfeed continues to grow.
