This review originally appeared in the September 26, 2019 issue with the email subject line "Your content business is not a war" and an essay on "healthy competition" in media.
Truth: I’ve been enamored with Buzzsumo for years. If it provided half the information that it does, I would still be enamored.
Recently they redesigned (for better or worse, as with most redesigns) and I have a number of large market research projects looming, so it was an ideal time to dive back in.
If you create content, Buzzsumo should be the first place you visit to find out how audiences and thought leaders discuss and share your topic. It’s a super-powered search engine that does much of the work for you, refines your data into true relevance, and helps refine how you can fit into the ecosystem.
At a glance: Buzzsumo
With robust capabilities for topic research, social content analysis, influencer identification, and daily content monitoring, Buzzsumo could be the first and last stop for any strategic content process.
If I were developing a content engagement process using Buzzsumo, I would use the following sections of the tool:
- Topic analyzer - Recently I entered in a client-focused topic I’ve been deeply researching for weeks and immediately received core keywords and topic ideas I hadn’t come across before. This alone is worth my $100/month.
- Web content analysis - find the most publicly influential content within a specific period. You can filter for only B2B content, which is a godsend for me, because my clients are mostly B2B. You can also filter by lists, why queries, and more…
- Question analyzer - understand the most common questions about a specific topic that users are asking. Again, a great place to start!
- Influencers - Find the most relevant influencers creating and posting content about a topic on the web, Facebook or Google. Use them as resources, beacons, what have you. Buzzsumo turns up better data in this field than any other influencer research tool I’ve used recently.
After the content is created, I’d look at the following features:
- Brand monitoring - See how and when your brand is mentioned online.
- Content/keyword monitoring - Continue to access great ideas around new web and social content.
- Competitor monitoring - Discern what else you can learn from your competitors, especially since you’ve put your own knowledge out there.
Buzzsumo isn’t cheap, but it offers a wider variety of capabilities and a broader baseo information than tools that are far more expensive. It’s a worthy investment for content creators, market researchers, anyone reporting on breaking news, or SEO pros. There’s a ton of information on Buzzsumo… but abundance is a good thing.