Content discovery platform BuzzSumo continues to add new features, adding to it's utility as of the most versatile and insightful social research sources available on the web. Earlier this year, BuzzSumo added a Trending Content feature which tracks the most popular content across social networks by keyword, based on share velocity and interactions. Just last month they added a new Facebook Page analysis tool called 'SumoRank' which analyzes Facebook Page performance - for your Page or any Page you want more info on.
BuzzSumo's latest addition looks at the ever-more important area of Facebook content and what's trending amongst Facebook's vast user-base. And given Facebook's now the biggest source of referral traffic for a great many websites, this is info that all brands looking to maximize their Facebook engagement need to know, making it an important and valuable tool for publishers.
Here's how it works:
Staying on Trend
The aim of BuzzSumo's new tool is to help publishers discover what content is trending and generating engagement around specific topics on Facebook. To get started, you go to the Facebook Analyzer tool on BuzzSumo (the tool is currently available to free trial and Pro users, so anyone can try it out), then enter in your keyword topic of focus.
So let's say we sell basketball shoes - you'd enter 'basketball shoes' into the search field, set the date range (from the past 24 hours to the past 6 months), and BuzzSumo will highlight the most popular Facebook posts on that specific topic.
This provides great oversight on the types of content that's generating engagement on this topic, which can help give direction to your own content strategy.
But more than that, BuzzSumo's tool also analyzes the content, with detailed analytics on the most popular type of content, best performing content length and optimum time to post to generate engagement.
This is powerful info to have - while the example search I've used here is fairly broad, examining more topical information can be particularly useful, especially for brands trying to tag onto seasonal events and understand what's resonating best amongst Facebook audiences.
Content Analysis
But the tool actually goes deeper than this. For example, let's say you wanted to know more specific data about post types - maybe you want to know what questions are getting asked on Facebook around a specific topic. Questions are a great way to generate engagement, and thus, reach, but knowing the right questions to ask is crucial in maximizing this strategy. BuzzSumo's tool allows you to do this, with several filter options available on post type.
Using this, you can examine the questions that are generating the most engagement in your industry - what people are actually discussing on Facebook and seeking answers to - which can help inform your outreach efforts.
Filtering by giveaways too can also be a good one - giveaways are a great way to boost engagement, but which giveaways are working for your industry and how are they being presented. You tick the 'Giveaways' option, press 'Filter' and there's your answer.
The tool can also help you find relevant content to share on your Page by highlighting the posts in your industry which are generating the highest engagement - if you set the filter date to the last 24 hours, then search your topic of focus, BuzzSumo will give you a list of the most popular posts, which will likely also resonate with your audience. Here are the results for 'social media marketing' over the past day.
You can also get insights on what specific types of content are generating the most engagement for any topic - in this search, I've looked at all matches for 'social media marketing' over the past 6 months. Giveaways are generating the most engagement.
Trending Topics
BuzzSumo's tool also lets you search by hashtag - while hashtags are not as fundamental to the Facebook experience as they are to other platforms, they're still widely used and provide a great way to track trending conversations and topics. For example, 'The Apprentice' returned to TV this week, and the subsequent hashtag-linked Facebook conversation generated thousands of interactions.
As you can see from the chart, the topic is gaining traction, which may make it a good one to jump on, if you have a brand relevant angle to the trending conversation.
Competitor Data
Another helpful feature is the ability to analyze content by Page. In the main search listing, there's an option to switch to Page analysis, as opposed to topic:
You just tick the box and enter in the relevant Page ID and BuzzSumo will show you the full range of content posted by that Page. You can also switch the display to list view, which makes it easier to compare each post and its metrics.
This provides a clear and detailed overview of Page activity, great for analyzing competitor Pages and working out what content's resonating best with Page-specific audiences.
There's a range of ways to use the data and filter the information provided to gather insights into what's working on Facebook and how you can use that to your advantage - the possibilities are really only limited by your thinking and the parameters you enter into the various fields to narrow down your search results.
As noted earlier, the new tool is currently free for use at this link. You'll need to sign-up for a free trial account, but BuzzSumo is pretty useful, it's worth signing up to try it out either way.