{"id":22556,"date":"2018-07-17T06:07:27","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T10:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/?p=22556"},"modified":"2024-06-26T02:28:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T06:28:59","slug":"the-story-behind-buzzfeeds-exponential-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study","title":{"rendered":"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"BuzzFeed_Case_Study_The_Buzzfeed_Story_Beyond_Cute_Cats_and_Memes\"><\/span><strong>BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (Beyond Cute Cats and Memes)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_62 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69dbf860a7a55\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69dbf860a7a55\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#BuzzFeed_Case_Study_The_Buzzfeed_Story_Beyond_Cute_Cats_and_Memes\" title=\"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (Beyond Cute Cats and Memes)\">BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (Beyond Cute Cats and Memes)<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Their_Humble_Beginning\" title=\"Their Humble Beginning\">Their Humble Beginning<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Then_Came_Ken_Lerer_Arianna_Huffington_John_Johnson_the_Famous_Buzzfeed_Lab\" title=\"Then Came Ken Lerer, Arianna Huffington, John Johnson &amp; the Famous Buzzfeed Lab\">Then Came Ken Lerer, Arianna Huffington, John Johnson &amp; the Famous Buzzfeed Lab<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#But_nobody_wanted_to_invest_in_Buzzfeed\" title=\"But nobody wanted to invest in Buzzfeed.\">But nobody wanted to invest in Buzzfeed.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#The_Much-awaited_Big_Break\" title=\"The Much-awaited, Big Break\">The Much-awaited, Big Break<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#BuzzFeeds_First_Ever_Viral_Meme\" title=\"BuzzFeed\u2019s First Ever Viral Meme\">BuzzFeed\u2019s First Ever Viral Meme<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#But_BuzzFeed_was_not_only_about_memes_humor_Or_cute_kitties\" title=\"But, BuzzFeed was not only about memes, humor, Or cute kitties\">But, BuzzFeed was not only about memes, humor, Or cute kitties<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Joining_The_YouTube_Party\" title=\"Joining The YouTube Party\">Joining The YouTube Party<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Never_Without_Hiccups\" title=\"Never Without Hiccups\">Never Without Hiccups<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Making_the_Right_Noise\" title=\"Making the Right Noise\">Making the Right Noise<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Found_Success_with_Tasty_and_the_Spin-off_Appliances\" title=\"Found Success with Tasty and the Spin-off Appliances\">Found Success with Tasty and the Spin-off Appliances<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Riding_the_Wave_of_Viral_Quizzes\" title=\"Riding the Wave of Viral Quizzes\">Riding the Wave of Viral Quizzes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#How_about_Launching_with_BuzzFeed\" title=\"How about Launching with BuzzFeed?\">How about Launching with BuzzFeed?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#The_Latest_Buzz\" title=\"The Latest Buzz\">The Latest Buzz<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#Final_Words\" title=\"Final Words\">Final Words<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Any Westworld fans out here? Alright, don\u2019t get us wrong. We didn\u2019t use Buzzfeed as bait to get you to read this blog. We ARE, in fact, going to discuss Buzzfeed case study and how they disrupted the media landscape but first, we\u2019ll shift focus to their backstory.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Their_Humble_Beginning\"><\/span><b>Their Humble Beginning<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Like every host has a backstory in Westworld, Buzzfeed too has one. If you\u2019re thinking it\u2019s a total rag to riches story, let us warn you it is anything but that. It all started in 2001 when Jonah Peretti, the co-founder and CEO of BuzzFeed was pursuing a master&#8217;s at MIT\u2019s media lab. Like most students, instead of finishing off his thesis (hello procrastinators!), he was busy killing time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2001\/feb\/19\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">exchanging emails with Nike<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Yeah! He heard about Nike\u2019s shoe customizing scheme and so sent them a request over an email. In the National Public Radio podcast, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/one.npr.org\/?sharedMediaId=539523369:555388442\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">How I Built This<\/a>\u201d, he said, &#8220;I first tried a four-letter word and it rejected it, and so I was trying to figure out how the system worked. They had blacklisted a bunch of words&#8230; And then I put the word &#8216;sweatshop&#8217; in, and it went through.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Thud! Little did he expect that the word \u2018sweatshop\u2019 would be rejected too because according to Nike it was an \u201cinappropriate slang\u201d. Was Peretti going to give up? Nope! He said, \u201cNo, it&#8217;s in the dictionary. It means a shop or factory where workers toil around in unhealthy conditions. Now can you send me the shoes?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Guess what followed next? Nike rejected the request. And that&#8217;s when Peretti put together his correspondence with them and forwarded it to a few of his friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22571 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7538746267.png\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"925\" height=\"1472\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7538746267.png 925w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7538746267-189x300.png 189w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7538746267-768x1222.png 768w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7538746267-643x1024.png 643w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px\" \/>Source<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">A few days later, thanks to email forwards, he received emails from thousands of strangers and activist communities (3,655 emails between January 15th and April 5th, 2001). Within three months he was on NBC\u2019s The Today Show debating labor practices. Apparently, \u201cfollowing the broadcast of the debate, Nike\u2019s Manager released a <a href=\"http:\/\/knowyourmeme.com\/memes\/events\/nike-id-sweatshop-e-mail-controversy\" rel=\"nofollow\">statement<\/a> reporting that custom shoe sales on the Nike iD site reached their third-highest in a single day on Wednesday.\u201d Good on them, eh?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Coming back to Peretti, this whole episode got him thinking as to \u201chow a student, with no contacts in media, reached billions of people\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Then_Came_Ken_Lerer_Arianna_Huffington_John_Johnson_the_Famous_Buzzfeed_Lab\"><\/span><b>Then Came Ken Lerer, Arianna Huffington, John Johnson &amp; the Famous Buzzfeed Lab<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Amidst all this brouhaha, he came in contact with Ken Lerer and Arianna Huffington, with whom he started the Huffington Post in 2005. Around the same time, he started Buzzfeed as a side project\/lab with John Johnson. Both John and Ken Lerer invested money in this. What really got John and Peretti together was their growing fascination about why people share content, what gets them excited and how it affects the media industry, and politics, what value people get when they share, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">BuzzFeed Lab\u2019s first product was an instant messaging client, Buzzbot. Its IMs ran on algorithms that would scour for popular, trending links and forward them to people. Unfortunately, they couldn\u2019t scale it so they created a website and later recruited editors who would write about the links Buzzbot discovered. This seemed to have worked and once they started to attract visitors they decided to raise funding.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"But_nobody_wanted_to_invest_in_Buzzfeed\"><\/span><b>But nobody wanted to invest in Buzzfeed.<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/matter\/buzzfeeds-jonah-peretti-goes-long-e98cf13160e7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">one of the interviews<\/a>, Peretti said that \u201cIt was always, \u2018Is there any way you can do this without having any writers or content creators or journalists? Can you make this automatic? Could you detect what was trending and then grab stuff from other places and turn it into an article synthetically where the cost of content creation would be zero?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22572 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_3165125709.png\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"637\" height=\"485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_3165125709.png 637w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_3165125709-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/>Screenshot of their\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/135575039\/BuzzFeed-April-2013?secret_password=50cjwxoyrm1tlkdhjbj#from_embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">pitch to investors circa 2008<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Much-awaited_Big_Break\"><\/span><b>The Much-awaited, Big Break<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Luckily, SoftBank pumped in money at the right time. But, was it ever going to be easy to divide time between The Huffington Post and BuzzFeed? Nah!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Then in 2011, AOL purchased The Huffington Post, which meant Peretti could immerse himself, head-to-toe in his pet project. Apparently, 2011 was also a good time for them to start. Facebook and Twitter finally caught people\u2019s attention and so did BuzzFeed.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"BuzzFeeds_First_Ever_Viral_Meme\"><\/span><b>BuzzFeed\u2019s First Ever Viral Meme<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">It was titled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/scott\/disaster-girl?utm_term=.si7PLK3VW#.tprEogdPX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">The Disaster Girl<\/a>\u201d. What\u2019s incredible is that 8 years after its creation someone actually took the time to reveal the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.refinery29.com\/2016\/07\/116732\/who-is-disaster-girl-meme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">true story behind it<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22573 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5697495907.jpg\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"619\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5697495907.jpg 619w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5697495907-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5697495907-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Meme after meme, they struck gold with one of their other make-content-go-viral tactic: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/copyranter\/the-best-of-first-world-cat-problems?utm_term=.eggzWROAQ#.lmQdvNoGY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nopfollow noopener noreferrer\">cute kittens<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22574 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7743061173.jpg\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"667\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7743061173.jpg 667w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7743061173-300x194.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"But_BuzzFeed_was_not_only_about_memes_humor_Or_cute_kitties\"><\/span><b>But, BuzzFeed was not only about memes, humor, Or cute kitties<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">In the previously mentioned NPR podcast, Peretti said that humor and animals worked for BuzzFeed because they bring people together. This shared emotion, not the actual \u201cthing\u201d that triggered it, is what makes them happy. However, that was not what BuzzFeed could be reduced to. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">To prove their point, in January 2012, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/bensmith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Ben Smith<\/a> was hired as the editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed\u2019s news division. Then, in October 2013, Pulitzer winner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/buzzfeedpress\/buzzfeed-hires-mark-schoofs-to-lead-investigative-reporting?utm_term=.xm5n9mOqX#.ljAQBWGxE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Mark Schoofs<\/a> took over as the head of investigative reporting. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Within a year<\/a>, the team grew to 11 members (now 20) \u201cproducing stories \u2014 large and small \u2014 that exposed injustice, corruption, and wrongdoing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">They were really making a huge difference with the kind of content the team wrote. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">One of their investigative journalists, Alex Campbell <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/alexcampbell\/how-the-law-turns-battered-women-into-criminals?utm_term=.te8DKPkmd#.ma6LyjEP3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">wrote a story<\/a> on grotesque injustice towards women who were jailed for not being able to prevent their partners from harming their children. The story made a huge impact on the life of one of the imprisoned women, Arlena Lindley, and she was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/alexcampbell\/jailed-texas-woman-featured-in-buzzfeed-news-investigation-i#.pa4XdOKB4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">granted parole<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22575 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7368547238.png\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"788\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7368547238.png 788w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7368547238-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_7368547238-768x407.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">By 2016, Buzzfeed had grown to become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poynter.org\/tech-tools\/2016\/how-buzzfeed-built-an-investigative-team-from-the-ground-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">team of 20 investigative journalists<\/a> across two countries, the United States and Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Yet, what\u2019s also true is that no matter how hard-hitting investigative stories be, they still don\u2019t get the staggering amount of shares that lighter stuff gets. Despite that, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BuzzFeed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">BuzzFeed news \u201chas won<\/a> the National Magazine Award and the George Polk Award, and been a finalist for the Pulitzer and the Michael Kelly Award.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Also, Netflix has released a 20-episode behind-the-scenes documentary series, Follow This, that follows BuzzFeed News reporters as they develop their stories. Proves a point?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Joining_The_YouTube_Party\"><\/span><b>Joining The YouTube Party<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">This may seem off the timeline so far, but BuzzFeed diversified right at the beginning of 2011 and started their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BuzzFeedVideo\/videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">flagship YouTube channel<\/a>. Two years later, in 2013, they partnered with CNN to launch the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@CNN\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;&quot;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">CNN BuzzFeed<\/a>\u201d channel on YouTube for the millennials. This move of collaborating with a recognized journalism brand gave the youth-run site credibility. It also helped them get away from the meme-aggregator image.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Never_Without_Hiccups\"><\/span><b>Never Without Hiccups<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">In 2014, they got veteran movie producer Michael Shamberg of Pulp Fiction and Erin Brockovich fame onboard. The same year they renamed their channel to BuzzFeed Motion Pictures (BFMP). Unexpectedly, BuzzFeed continued with viral video production. Although it was good for business, still, it raised doubts about why they needed Hollywood biggies for making viral, short videos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">The wait was finally over in 2016. As they announced their partnership with Warner Bros for making a feature film, &#8220;Brother Orange&#8221;.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22577 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5608948562.jpg\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"583\" height=\"735\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5608948562.jpg 583w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5608948562-238x300.jpg 238w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Early rumors suggested that Jim Parsons was going to play the lead. As the story goes, the movie is based on a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">series of 2015 articles by Matt Stopera<\/a>, who spent more than a year tracking his stolen iPhone all the way to China! We got pretty excited about this on-screen adaptation of accidental friendship but guess we\u2019ll have to wait a little longer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7tIoGNKfhaU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Making_the_Right_Noise\"><\/span><b>Making the Right Noise<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">In September 2016, BuzzFeed announced that YouTube ordered full seasons of its scripted comedy series \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL5vtqDuUM1DmODGWPy7-eEn3VjJALGApT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Broke<\/a>\u201d as well as the competition show \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OW99ldK_Mh8&amp;list=PL5vtqDuUM1Dm9ZRgQkqj0cQjwi8w60CkN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Squad Wars<\/a>\u201d for its subscription service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/premium\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">YouTube Red<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">It was a good move by YouTube because they knew that BuzzFeed knows how to keep people entertained. Besides, the guys who feature in the \u201cSquad Wars\u201d were already famous, thanks to BuzzFeed\u2019s original series, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL5vtqDuUM1DmEDlQxKJi9i-j0wLWB-2zK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;Try Guys&#8221;<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XrnQiwYqKvQ\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Found_Success_with_Tasty_and_the_Spin-off_Appliances\"><\/span><b>Found Success with Tasty and the Spin-off Appliances<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Once again it\u2019s off the timeline but that\u2019s only because BuzzFeed does a lot of stuff simultaneously.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/buzzfeedtasty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Tasty<\/a> is BuzzFeed\u2019s single biggest video property\/channel that delivers <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2018\/digital\/news\/buzzfeed-65-billion-video-views-2017-advertising-1202704765\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">1 billion branded-content views<\/a> and which makes it no. 1 among Facebook branded-content partners. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">The launch of Tasty was actually one of the experiments to host content directly on a social network instead of sending people to their website. Why? Because around that time, Facebook\u2019s algorithm favored anything that kept people ON Facebook. Clearly, other than mastering how human psychology works (content going viral, etc. because people prefer it) they were also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.socialmediatoday.com\/social-business\/how-tasty-gets-billions-facebook-video-views-6-secrets-any-business-can-use\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">working on platform-specific content<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Earlier this year, BuzzFeed Commerce, the product-run lab expanded the business by creating its own line of Tasty cookware. Now, they sell it exclusively through Walmart, starting\u00a0 @ $4.44 and going as high as $149. It\u2019s an excellent pick-off from their customizable Tasty cookbook that sold enough to become a New York Times bestseller!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22578 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_8834511563.png\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"1004\" height=\"494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_8834511563.png 1004w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_8834511563-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_8834511563-768x378.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1004px) 100vw, 1004px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">But, why did this media brand decide to diversify?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">One of the reasons, besides reinventing themselves, is that they aren\u2019t really meeting their ad revenue targets from Facebook, etc. Peretti has even expressed his disappointment and took a dig at Facebook and Google in one of the interviews with Recode. According to him, Facebook and Google have distorted the media ecosystem by hoovering up most of the digital ad revenue and putting \u201chigh-quality creators at a financial disadvantage\u201d. Watch the whole video below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DTwa5RQDDdc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Riding_the_Wave_of_Viral_Quizzes\"><\/span><b>Riding the Wave of Viral Quizzes<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Remember the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/ashleyperez\/what-city-should-you-actually-live-in\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">What City Should You Actually Live In<\/a> quiz? As of today, it sits at 41.6 million views and counting. Such is the craze for quizzes. We still have our Facebook feeds plastered with them. Wonder why? That\u2019s because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/quizzes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">BuzzFeed quizzes<\/a> evoke all sorts of emotions, are fun, and always about \u201cYOU\u201d. Even if the results may lack depth or are considered frivolous, people still take them because they still believe in the \u2018unexpected\u2019 aspect of results.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">Even Rupert Murdoch couldn\u2019t resist taking the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/matthewzeitlin\/which-billionaire-tycoon-are-you\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Which Billionaire Tycoon Are You<\/a>? quiz.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22579\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_6835938185.png\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"1000\" height=\"613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_6835938185.png 1000w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_6835938185-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_6835938185-768x471.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Pro Tip<\/strong>: Perhaps, you too want to create BuzzFeed-like quizzes, but are missing the mark. Don\u2019t worry. We\u2019ve got you covered with this super-detailed guide.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_about_Launching_with_BuzzFeed\"><\/span><b>How about Launching with BuzzFeed?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">BuzzFeed has come a long way. They have a massive fan following (650 million global audiences, 9 billion content views) that they can leverage and give upcoming brands the exposure they can benefit from. And, this is exactly what led to <a href=\"https:\/\/expandedramblings.com\/index.php\/buzzfeed-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Launch with BuzzFeed<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22580\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5186958555.png\" alt=\"BuzzFeed Case Study\" width=\"1004\" height=\"842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5186958555.png 1004w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5186958555-300x252.png 300w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/imageedit_2_5186958555-768x644.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1004px) 100vw, 1004px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Latest_Buzz\"><\/span><b>The Latest Buzz<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">On 10 July this year, BuzzFeed News announced the launch of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profilebuzzfeednews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Profile by BuzzFeed News<\/a>. It&#8217;s a new, weekly interview show hosted by Audie Cornish of National Public Radio.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/buzzfeedpress\/buzzfeed-news-announces-profile-a-weekly-interview-show-for?utm_term=.ogKRqMgLK#.jbvDbZ5nm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a> released by BuzzFeed, \u201cWatch is the destination on Facebook where people come together around video. We&#8217;ve seen that people enjoy coming to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/buzzfeedpress\/buzzfeed-news-announces-profile-a-weekly-interview-show-for?utm_term=.ogKRqMgLK#.jbvDbZ5nm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Watch<\/a> to find timely, relevant content and to catch up with the publishers and creators they care about. We think that this is a great opportunity to test a viewing destination for high-quality news content within Watch and are excited about the possibilities here with the broader ecosystem of news publishers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Words\"><\/span><b>Final Words<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 14pt;\">If you didn\u2019t know the expanse of BuzzFeed\u2019s work, you won\u2019t surprise us. The good thing is that now you do know what it took a university student to create a buzz in the media world. The effect of his endeavors is something none of us can undo because whether you agree or not (for better or for worse), BuzzFeed did change the digital landscape. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/app.outgrow.co\/signup\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-50115\" src=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/outgrow-signup-final-300x62.png\" alt=\"outgrow signup\" width=\"967\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/outgrow-signup-final-300x62.png 300w, https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/outgrow-signup-final.png 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 967px) 100vw, 967px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (Beyond Cute Cats and Memes) Any Westworld fans out here? Alright, don\u2019t get us wrong. We didn\u2019t use Buzzfeed as bait to get you to read this blog. We ARE, in fact, going to discuss Buzzfeed case study and how they disrupted the media landscape but first, we\u2019ll shift&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":49018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[98,198,214],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This BuzzFeed case study will help you understand the humble beginning of a media brand that has altered the digital landscape for forever.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This BuzzFeed case study will help you understand the humble beginning of a media brand that has altered the digital landscape for forever.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Outgrow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OutgrowCo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-17T10:07:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-26T06:28:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blogs-min-1536x768-1-1-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"384\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Akshay Saluja\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@outgrowco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@outgrowco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Akshay Saluja\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Akshay Saluja\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5807bf34d04a0ec8a4ecebb71399e1d\"},\"headline\":\"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-17T10:07:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-26T06:28:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/\"},\"wordCount\":1927,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Content Marketing Strategy\",\"Marketing Strategies\",\"SaaS marketing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Case Studies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/\",\"name\":\"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-17T10:07:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-26T06:28:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"This BuzzFeed case study will help you understand the humble beginning of a media brand that has altered the digital landscape for forever.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Outgrow\",\"description\":\"Build Highly Converting Interactive Calculators\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Outgrow\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-vTrhdEqOTQC9sWqGhhKQ_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-vTrhdEqOTQC9sWqGhhKQ_logo.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":113,\"caption\":\"Outgrow\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OutgrowCo\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/outgrowco\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/outgrow.co\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/7966190\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5807bf34d04a0ec8a4ecebb71399e1d\",\"name\":\"Akshay Saluja\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/581b184a4cda6bcbba017e6af04d6d11?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/581b184a4cda6bcbba017e6af04d6d11?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Akshay Saluja\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/author\/akshay-saluja\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)","description":"This BuzzFeed case study will help you understand the humble beginning of a media brand that has altered the digital landscape for forever.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)","og_description":"This BuzzFeed case study will help you understand the humble beginning of a media brand that has altered the digital landscape for forever.","og_url":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556","og_site_name":"Outgrow","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OutgrowCo\/","article_published_time":"2018-07-17T10:07:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-26T06:28:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":384,"url":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blogs-min-1536x768-1-1-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Akshay Saluja","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@outgrowco","twitter_site":"@outgrowco","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Akshay Saluja","Estimated reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/"},"author":{"name":"Akshay Saluja","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5807bf34d04a0ec8a4ecebb71399e1d"},"headline":"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)","datePublished":"2018-07-17T10:07:27+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-26T06:28:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/"},"wordCount":1927,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Content Marketing Strategy","Marketing Strategies","SaaS marketing"],"articleSection":["Case Studies"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/","url":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/","name":"BuzzFeed Case Study: The Buzzfeed Story (beyond cute cats and memes)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-07-17T10:07:27+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-26T06:28:59+00:00","description":"This BuzzFeed case study will help you understand the humble beginning of a media brand that has altered the digital landscape for forever.","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/buzzfeed-case-study\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/","name":"Outgrow","description":"Build Highly Converting Interactive Calculators","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#organization","name":"Outgrow","url":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-vTrhdEqOTQC9sWqGhhKQ_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-vTrhdEqOTQC9sWqGhhKQ_logo.png","width":512,"height":113,"caption":"Outgrow"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OutgrowCo\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/outgrowco","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/outgrow.co\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/7966190"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5807bf34d04a0ec8a4ecebb71399e1d","name":"Akshay Saluja","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/581b184a4cda6bcbba017e6af04d6d11?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/581b184a4cda6bcbba017e6af04d6d11?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Akshay Saluja"},"url":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/author\/akshay-saluja\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22556"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59494,"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556\/revisions\/59494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outgrow.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}