Let’s take a look at the range of content you’ll find on Buzzfeed, as it’s wider than the listicals for which it is best known.
A piece of content can appear under more than one category.
News is written in a conventional style, but there is much less of it than on a traditional news website. Just a handful of stories per day.
Serious news is something Buzzfeed seems committed to doing more of.
It has staff news reporters, political staff and other specialists.
For example, Emily Ashton is a political reporter. See what she writes here.
Idea: follow a big political story for a few days and compare how Buzzfeed, a major news website such as the BBC or CNN, and/or a site with a newspaper legacy covers it.
This is where the viral stuff appears.
Alex Finnis is a staff writer who creates regular content under the Buzz category. Check Alex out here.
Here are a couple of examples of his work:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexfinnis/what-should-your-signature-british-swear-word-be#.nozJD39jr
http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexfinnis/the-draw#.av1BZP1D8
Life includes a mix of serious and lifestyle issues, plus home, food, health etc
Here’s an example of a light item: http://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/29-pairs-of-perfect-wedding-shoes-thatll-keep-your-feet-look#.maWxMQLq0
Here’s an example of a more serious item: http://www.buzzfeed.com/amberdorsey/moms-of-color-what-was-your-postpartum-mental-health#.wwGqEGpm9
This is another popular category content.
Here are a couple of examples:
How well do you know New York? http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexnaidus/new-york-trivia#.tg2M7rvwG
Can we guess what kind of person you are? http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexfinnis/can-we-guess-what-kind-of-person-you-are#.heLQnwgmX
How to make a Buzzfeed quiz
Here’s their guide: http://www.buzzfeed.com/catesish/how-to-make-a-buzzfeed-quiz#.bcJDO76ak
Like a lot of the ideas in the Buzz and Quizzes section, many of the videos cover familiar topics but they are sharp and fresh.
When I was researching this, the featured video of the day was:
Video intern Alex Choi got over half a million views within days for this:
Bacon Lovers Meet Tiny Piglets For The First Time video
It’s a vox pop, a string of people initially raving about bacon, and then their reaction when a cure piglet is put in their hands instead of the plate of fried bacon they were expecting.
If tattoo artists were honest
The sell in the post containing this video has the strap line: “Another drunk guy’s bare arse cheek? Is it my birthday!?”
And this further explanatory text: “Everyone who has a tattoo knows the artists are incredibly hard to read, so here’s a guide on what they’re actually thinking: Getting a tattoo is a very personal decision, but that doesn’t mean that your artist won’t judge what you want.”
It works because the video maker has found a number of tattoo artists prepared to share the annoying things customers ask them, and the main frustrations of the job, and who are capable of being really funny about it.
And its not just presented as a video. Each great quote is added to a still picture, making it easy to enjoy and instantly share any particular bit you thought was really good.
More
There are loads of subcategories under this one, from celebrity to tech and other serious and trivial categories.
NEXT: ANALYSING HOW ONE TOP-RANKING BUZZFEED POST WAS RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN
