Buzzfeed has generated a lot of its own buzz for an approach that blurs the lines between content and advertising, and combines pop culture listicles with longform journalism. Speaking at OMMA
Native on Tuesday, Eric Harris, EVP, business operations, at Buzzfeed, discussed how EQ (emotional quotient) is more important to what it does than IQ—think everything from amusing cat photos to
inspirational human stories.
He also highlighted Buzzfeed’s use of “identity posts” aimed at sub segments of the population. In that vein, he showed an image of a lecture
hall filled with right-handed desks that was aimed at left-handed readers. Buzzfeed also tries to promote social sharing through more typical means like humor, nostalgia and cute animal pictures.
All of the ads on Buzzfeed are native, using the listicle format, so they blend easily with the editorial content. Harris emphasizes, however, that ads are clearly marked as such and colored yellow
to distinguish from other material on the sites. Behind the scenes, Buzzfeed maintains the traditional “separation of church and state” between editorial and advertising, despite how
interchangeable they appear.
Harris also noted the key role mobile plays in social sharing, with social and mobile activity essentially merging among users. Ads on the mobile side also get
more clicks than on the desktop, he said. And no, there’s no “cute fatigue” yet from the surfeit of animal pictures, he assured.