Michelle Kempner, BuzzFeed 5 ways to crush on a platform presentation
1. How To Crush A Platform
In 5 Easy Steps
Michelle Kempner
Vice President, Publishing & Operations
@mikey_k
2. How To Crush A Platform
In 5 Easy Steps
Michelle Kempner
Vice President, Operations
@mikey_k
Hello! I’m Michelle! !
I do operations at BuzzFeed.
Not this kind. But this kind:
@mikey_k
3. 3
Jun ‘17 Tubular. Jun ‘17 FB Audiences.. Jan-Jun ‘17 SC edition snaps, :3s FB Video Views, YT Views, BuzzFeed.com articles. Q2 ‘17 Google Analytics Avg.Monthly UVs. Jun ‘17 Tubular FB views all Tasty pages@mikey_k
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We have small teams of autonomous
people focusing on specific goals, but
with the ability to experiment and make
content that they are interested in.
Teams are lean and experimental so
they can quickly test data hypotheses
fairly quickly. Flexibility is key.
How we’re setup
@mikey_k
7. In 2012, YouTube made the decision to
change their focus from views to watch
time.
Since then, YouTube has encouraged
creators to focus on having good watch
time as an indication of success.
Watchtime over views.
We realized that if we made the viewer
click that many times, it didn’t seem to be
a good estimate of how much value they
were deriving from YouTube. Instead, we
realized that if they didn't leave a video
and continued watching, that seemed like
a better estimate of the value they were
getting.
Cristos Goodrow speaking to
Business Insider
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@mikey_k
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● Views are hyper visible on a video
● Views are easy to understand
● Views are tied to pre-roll aka $$$
● Views are addictive!
When we look at our top content by
views, the titles include words like sex,
porn and partial nudity. Also, the
content doesn’t have the best watch
time, indicating it might not be what
the viewer was hoping for.
But views...
@mikey_k
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Keeping Up With The Updates.
In 2015, YouTube updated the
dashboard to show watchtime
by default and pushed views
down the page.
“Watch Time is the new black.”
@mikey_k
14. Snapchat Discover
Social media companies tell us what to
read based on what’s most recent or most
popular. We see it differently. We count
on editors and artists, not clicks and
shares, to determine what’s important.
Team Snapchat
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@mikey_k
15. Sharing is the clearest metric for showing that media is creating a social
connection between people. It is why we obsess about “share
statements,” or what people say when they share our content. It
explains why we carefully study the exchange of value that occurs when
sharing happens: What is the value for the person who shares? What is
the value for the person who receives? And what does the activity mean
for the bond they share with each other? Understanding the inherently
social nature of media is one of the biggest “digital advantages.”
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– Jonah Peretti, CEO
Sharing is so much more than caring!
@mikey_k
21. Native video
on Facebook Facebook introduced native
video to the platform.
They announced that videos would:
Auto-Play
No Sound
3–Second Views
@mikey_k
22. FB 40 initiative
BuzzFeed responded to the news by
thinking what type of content would
thrive in this environment.
It would have to be:
● Audio independent
● Very quick engagement
● Short ~40 seconds or less
● Quick to produce
@mikey_k
23. Tasty is born
BuzzFeed launched Tasty in
the summer of 2015.
The top down single recipe
videos took advantage of
the benefits of 3 second
autoplay and a newsfeed
discover mechanism.
@mikey_k
24. Tasty is about social
Tasty was started by social experts,
not seasoned chefs.
Andrew Gauthier
BuzzFeed
Executive Producer
Adam Bianchi
BuzzFeed
Senior Producer
@mikey_k
25. 68B+ lifetime video views across
Facebook, YouTube and Instagram
4.3B+ views and in 2017 Q1
108M+ engagements in 2017 Q1
1 in 4 Facebook users reached worldwide
50%+ of Facebook users reached in the
U.S. monthly
46% of US Facebook users (ages 18+)
have viewed a Tasty video in the past year
@mikey_k
29. Test Your Frames and Follow Up on Your Successes — Short
Girls
Buzzfeed.com
Published Sept 2014
YouTube
Published Dec 2014
@mikey_k
30. Test and Follow Up - ~Awkward~
1.5M
1.3M
594k
2.2M
563k
130k
@mikey_k
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We have a number of ways for
employees to look at data.
This is my favorite dashboard
because it shows performance
relative to where the content was
published. We can see if
something is trending on a page
no matter the size, location or
language of the content.
Data Culture
@mikey_k
32. Data & iteration in practice
For example, we built Worth It by listening to
audience signals and combining beloved frames.
@mikey_k
34. The only constant is change
@mikey_k
You can think of it as a more
sophisticated Best Friends
algorithm that makes it easier to
find the friends you want to talk to,
when you want to talk to them.
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The only constant is change
@mikey_k
At its best, Facebook has always
been about personal connections.
By focusing on bringing people
closer together -- whether it's with
family and friends, or around
important moments in the world --
we can help make sure that
Facebook is time well spent.
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36. The only constant is change
@mikey_k
We’re also making changes to
ensure that newer posts are more
likely to appear first in feed. With
these changes, your feed will feel
more fresh, and you won’t miss the
moments you care about.
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