Why I Use BuzzSumo: A Data Journalist’s Perspective

1. Be inspired by great content

Yeah trends on social platforms are great. But why only rely on certain platforms which are isolated, when you can have access to all the trends online? From news, to Tiktok and the weirdest recesses of the net, BuzzSumo can show you the best content.

Which is great if you wanted to do a piece, you can already judge if it’ll even break the ice, likewise if you want to know more about viral trends, for example videos on TikTok (which you’ll struggle to access on other platforms) or if you simply want to laugh at the best cat videos on YouTube (that counts as work, right?)

Just click the content you like, to explore in its dedicated page to see how it’s performed so well, from its shares on social, to where it’s been shared online, they’ve got it all. There’s even bonus content, if you’re looking at a YouTube channel, for example, you can see how the channels subscribers are performing. Cool right?

2. Discover top content

BuzzSumo allows you to react and write quickly – thanks to access to every recess of the web – and allows you to search by trending, topics and questions.

This means you’ll never have to wonder if you have the best content. Trending lets you see the top content – of the day, week, month or even the year – on the web, certain platform or subject.

But Topics empowers you search by content which has already performed well, for inspiration. While Questions lets you find out what people are asking online, generally or on a specific platform so you can answer the questions your consumers want answered.

3. Stop wasting your time

If you’re a journalist, press manager or find yourself in a role when reading and sharing matters. Trust me, BuzzSumo is your new best friend, it’s got engagement covered. From time spent on page, shares of your page on every major social platform, and alerts about the sharing of your brand, BuzzSumo have your back.

Cast your mind back to #Megxit – i.e. when Price Harry and Meghan Markle stood down as senior royals, in early January – there was a lot of chat online that Meghan and Harry could no longer deal with the double standards of the royal press circuit.

BuzzSumo was able to support Brandwatch research, to investigate if press coverage for Meghan was more negative than Kate Middleton.

BuzzSumo found that Kate Middleton had more news coverage over a five year period. But Markle received the most attention since her marriage to Harry, from the press.

But most importantly it provided unique insight. In that the press should have been writing about Middleton who had the most engagement online.

It’s these insights that make BuzzSumo shine. This business is costly. So save yourself time, and some of your budget!

4. Investigate online trends

Say you wanted to know when ‘Ok, Boomer’ started. Pop the search term into the bar, and find the top stories, or trail back to the very start and see the explosion of shares, and how it became one of the sassiest burns of 2019 and 2020.

Or just like our Product Manager and marketing whiz Chris McCormick discovered, busting fake news at the source. Which makes for great content, or in a worst case scenario can help you solve a problem about your brand.

5. Easy Engagement Optimization

Ok maybe this fits in again with saving yourself, and business, a heap of time. But I think the engagement the platform encourages deserves its own section.

BuzzSumo specializes in optimizing your content for reader engagement in a few clicks. From making sure that headline pops on the web, to making sure your readers are informing themselves with clickable content, and shareable social content.

It even tracks social shares in a ticker unique to BuzzSumo so you know you’re nailing your market.

If you’re interested to know more about these nifty tricks check out Top-Link-Building Lessons from the Travel Industry: an analysis of 67 thousand pages.