With 150 million unique monthly visitors, BuzzFeed has skyrocketed in popularity since 2011. In our quest to better understand what makes BuzzFeed tick, we read hundreds of articles, interviews, presentations, and blog posts about the company. Research for this presentation was compiled using NoteShow, a social knowledge network that allows companies to share their insights in real-time.

1. 52 Things
You Didn’t
Know About

2. Vital Stats
Began as “BuzzFeed Labs” in 2006 while
founder Jonah Peretti was at Huffington Post.
Peretti left Huffington Post in 2011 to work on
BuzzFeed full-time.
The site has roughly 150 million unique visitors
each month and is projecting $120M in revenue.
USA Today

3. Humble Beginnings

4. The Independent
1
In 2001, Jonah Peretti tried
to buy shoes with the word
“sweatshop” embroidered
on them. Nike rejected the
order and their email
response went viral. This
experience made Peretti
interested in learning how
things go viral online.

5. "There wasn't Facebook or YouTube
or Twitter, but I was able to reach
millions of people purely by making
something that spread through this
decentralized network, where there
was no gatekeeper -- it just spread on
its own.”
Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO
Wired UK
2

6. In 2005, Jonah Peretti co-
founded The Huffington Post
where he was responsible for
spreading content on the web.
Using rudimentary analytics
tools he could see which
headlines weren't working and
had another staffer - Andrew
Breitbart - rewrite them.
Wired UK
3

7. New York Magazine
Jonah Peretti piloted elements of BuzzFeed's
growth strategy while at The Huffington Post.
His "mullet strategy" involves junky, high
traffic content in the back to drive page
views, with more serious, less-trafficked
content on the site's front page.
4

8. Thanks in large part to Peretti’s traffic
wizardry, The Huffington Post had 30
million monthly unique visitors when it
was sold in 2011. These days, Huff Po
sees about 50 million visitors a month,
only 1/3 of BuzzFeed’s traffic.
5
USA Today

9. "It was interesting, but not as satisfying
to make content for search… Instead of
making content that the robots like, it
was more satisfying to make content
that humans want to share.”
Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO
Wired UK
6

10. BuzzFeed got its start summarizing trends on
the web, posting only four times a day. Today,
they publish four hundred items daily,
originating much of the content from their
own correspondents.
Venture Village
7

11. BuzzFeed’s
Viral Philosophy

12. Chris Dixon Blog
8
BuzzFeed has taken a non-traditional
approach to content distribution that
almost exclusively relies upon social
sharing instead of print or broadcast
channels.

13. Scribd
9Jonah Peretti realized that the number
of people bored at work is far larger
than any traditional media company's
audience. This “Bored at Work Network”
(BWN) is a top target for BuzzFeed’s
content.

14. AllThingsD
10
BuzzFeed relies on passionate
“maniacs” as keys to viral sharing.
If you can tap into an audience
of "crazy people" it will help you
spread your content.

15. Content is more viral if it lets
people express their personality
disorders. BuzzFeed finds that
narcissistic items do well on
Facebook, blogs, and Twitter.
People with OCD tendencies
enjoy Wikipedia, online games,
and comments.
Scribd
11

16. BuzzFeed data scientists take
cues from the study of biology -
specifically how quickly viruses
replicate. They can tell what's
working within an hour and use
that info to promote on social
channels or feature on the front
page.
Contently
12

17. New York Magazine
Contrary to some
theories that celebrities
and super influencers
are the reason why
content goes viral,
BuzzFeed believes
content becomes most
popular when shared
among small groups.
13

18. New York Magazine
14
BuzzFeed sees that readers will
share content with their friends if
the content “helps them promote
their own identity,” even if that
content is in the form of a native
advertisement for a brand.

19. SlideShare
15
BuzzFeed uses a formula called “ViralRank” to
determine in real time what content is being
shared. By charting the “Viral Multiplier Effect,”
BuzzFeed’s technology can optimize promotion
of content that is spreading most rapidly.

20. SlideShare
16
Jonah Peretti says
content producers
should be more like
Mormons (in green)
than Jews. Evangelism
is a core piece of
Mormonism. Focusing
on how an idea
spreads can be more
important than the
idea itself.

21. BuzzFeed’s
Technology

22. New York Magazine
17In BuzzFeed's early days, editorial was
partially driven by tracking pixels that were
placed on dozens of sites. These pixels
determined which articles had the greatest
likelihood of virality and the most popular of
these articles were then featured on BuzzFeed.

23. Chris Dixon’s Blog
18
BuzzFeed has built their entire
technology stack from scratch including
their own content management system,
analytics and servers. They believe this
investment provides a measurable
performance advantage compared to off-
the-shelf solutions.

24. SlideShare
In redesigning their public
dashboard, BuzzFeed followed "Six
S's" to focus on the user. Now the
platform is faster, less effort to
interact with and easier to share.
19
The Six S’s
Simplicity - reduce complexity
Satisfy - create excitement around BuzzFeed
Speedify - make app feel fast and realtime
Solidify - make app feel more solid and stable
Sharify - bookmarkable/linkable pages
Superiorify - iterate UI with testing & metrics

25. BuzzFeed uses data from
social APIs to determine
what people care about and
how much coverage a
subject receives. They use
that info to determine what
content to post.
20
Contently

26. Chris Dixon’s Blog
Despite their heavy investment in
technology, BuzzFeed also
employs an editorial team that
writes, produces, and curates
content around different verticals.
This hybrid technology +
editorial business model is rare
within venture-backed startups.
21

27. Reuters
BuzzFeed's CMS is
specifically optimized for
the BuzzFeed network
and would likely not be
as useful on other sites.
22

28. Poynter
BuzzFeed's technology teams
work hand-in-hand with editorial
staff to make tweaks that optimize
the reach of their content.
Cheering is heard from the weekly
meetings between the product and
content teams.
23

29. BuzzFeed
Tech Editor Charlie Warzel notes that
BuzzFeed’s CMS has "changed
substantively nearly every week"
since he's started working there.
24

30. Distribution

31. “Sharing will continue to be the
primary distribution mechanism of
content online. So if you are a digital
publisher, and you're looking to reach
a bigger audience, ask yourself if the
content you're creating is designed to
be shared. If not, welcome to the
world of Sisyphus.”
Will Hayward, VP Advertising
iMedia Connection
25

32. The Drum
BuzzFeed's creative director says
the model of creating content in
traditional media is too heavily
focused on creation and doesn't
consider how content is distributed.
BuzzFeed splits time 50/50
between what the content says vs.
how and where to say it.
26

33. Chris Dixon’s Blog
At Peretti’s previous employer, The Huffington
Post, article summaries often generated more
page views than the article themselves as they
provided enough information to satisfy a user
without requiring them to read the entire article.
27

34. The Independent
BuzzFeed is designed to avoid the
standard "front page" of a newspaper
where the news is neatly presented.
Instead, BuzzFeed creates content
that purposely resonates with select
audiences, versus trying to be
everything to everyone.
28

35. The Drum
BuzzFeed intentionally uses
nostalgia to activate users. Creative
Director Philip Byrne says it's a great
way to tell a story about yourself via
your online presence.
29

36. The Independent
BuzzFeed's lists are
designed to be mobile-
friendly and social-
friendly. 50% of traffic
comes from mobile
devices and 75% of clicks
come from social sharing.
30

37. New York Times
BuzzFeed has hired several
notable journalists, including
Ben Smith from Politico as
Editor-in-Chief. This
investment in journalistic
talent is designed to
produce breaking news
stories that are shared by
millions.
31

38. Content
Beyond
Kittens

39. Nieman Lab
Quizzes were identified as a
potential new media type for
BuzzFeed after they conducted a
year-end analysis of what content
drove the most shares and it ended
up being a quiz entitled, "Which
Grease Pink Lady Are You?"
32

40. Nieman Lab
"What City Should You Actually Live
In?" became one of BuzzFeed's most
popular quizzes with more than 20
million views.
33

41. Techcrunch
Not unlike other media
produced by BuzzFeed,
quizzes are available for
sponsorship by brands like
HBO. The "How Would You
Die in Game of Thrones"?
quiz generated more than 1
million views and 75,000
Facebook shares for HBO.
34

42. NiemanLab
Nearly 70% of all of BuzzFeed’s quiz traffic
comes from mobile devices. Managing Editorial
Director Summer Anne Burton thinks this might
be because people pass their phones around -
transforming the quiz from digital to real-world
social content.
35

43. Summer Anne Burton, Managing Editorial Director
Nieman Lab
“The quiz is kind of like the broken-down-
to-its-core of what BuzzFeed is — it gives
someone something that they can relate to
well enough that they can share it with
others.”
36

44. Techcrunch
In addition to quizzes,
BuzzFeed has created a new
team dedicated to the
creation of games. Instead of
competing with large game
franchises like Grand Theft
Auto, the team will partner with
BuzzFeed's editorial group to
"pursue cool ideas".
37

45. VentureBeat
BuzzFeed's VP of Product, Chris
Johanesen, explained the company's
rationale for pursuing games is to shift
the audience's relationship with
content from consumption to
engagement - similar to how readers
currently engage with BuzzFeed's
quizzes.
38

46. Fortune
BuzzFeed recently announced the creation
of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, a video-
specific team that will create highly shareable
video content. This team of 100 employees
has produced nearly 2,000 videos with 27%
eclipsing 1 million views each.
39

47. Fortune
Beyond the shorter videos that BuzzFeed
Motion Pictures has produced, they are now
starting to explore "serializing content and
creating mid-range series for release on the
Web broadly".
40

48. Fortune
BuzzFeed is also
experimenting with more
direct collaborations with
artists - including Jordan
Peele (from Key & Peele) -
by applying their data-
driven approach to more
"traditional" media.
41

49. Hollywood Reporter
BuzzFeed says it will not engage in the
traditional ways of Hollywood where
new ideas are pitched by writers and
rejected by BuzzFeed. They want to
encourage people to bring them ideas
without fear of rejection like typical
studios operate.
42

50. Hollywood Reporter
BuzzFeed's Michael Shamberg
explains their video team will
encourage experimentation
with different types of shows
or scripts that wouldn't
normally get green-lit in
Hollywood.
43

51. Hollywood Reporter
BuzzFeed's video team has
three divisions focused on
different content types:
44
Video
(short-form content)
Live Development
(mid-length serialized content)
Future of Fiction
(long-form film, tv or transmedia content)

52. BuzzFeed's impressive technology and
existing expertise in producing lifestyle and
entertainment content will help accelerate the
growth of their new video team by using data
and viewer feedback to optimize future
content.
45
Hollywood Reporter

53. Jonathan Perelman, VP of Agency Strategy
Fortune
"We understand our audience and
shareable, creative video; and the brand
understands the brand and brand
message, and when you combine those
two together is really great shareable
content.”
46

54. Agency of the
Future?

55. New York Magazine
Instead of depending on
advertising agencies to
create campaigns designed
for social sharing, Jonah
Peretti says they are
building "the agency of the
future for a social world.”
47

56. Chris Dixon’s Blog
Instead of banner ads or optimizing for search
enginges, BuzzFeed monetizes their traffic
through native advertising that drives users to
a single article.
48

57. New York Magazine
On average, BuzzFeed's
native advertising posts are
receiving three shares for
every ten paid views.
49

58. Advertisers only pay for views created by
BuzzFeed itself through promoted posts. Views
generated from the virality of the content are
free to the advertiser.
New York Magazine
50

59. New York Magazine
Jon Steinberg, BuzzFeed’s former President,
said that their production of branded, native
advertising content is analogous to the early
days of television where networks would
produce branded shows partially because ad
agencies were incapable of understanding
television as a new medium.
51

60. New York Magazine
Even with all of BuzzFeed’s success, some
advertising agencies are highly skeptical of
the branded content that BuzzFeed produces
because it's not "ownable by the brand.”
52

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Research for this presentation was compiled using
NoteShow, a social knowledge network that allows
companies to share their insights in real-time.
Information in this presentation
was organized using canva.com