Help and FAQ
How to Use BuzzFeed
- What is BuzzFeed?
- How do I post to BuzzFeed?
- What should I post to BuzzFeed?
- What should I avoid posting to BuzzFeed?
- What happens to the stuff I post to BuzzFeed?
- How do you decide what gets promoted?
- What is BuzzFeedâs editorial style?
- How does BuzzFeed handle timestamps?
- Something offended me. What do I do?
- How Do BuzzFeed editors moderate user posts?
- I posted something first but it didnât get featured. Why?
- How do badges and awards get assigned?
- What are Reactions?
- What are Special Reactions?
Going Viral
Technical Support
- Iâve forgotten my password! Can you please help me?
- I never got my validation email! Where is it?
- How do I edit or delete a post?
- Why canât I edit or delete my post?
- Can I edit or delete my contributions?
- How do I remove someone elseâs contribution from my post?
- How do I change my name, photo, or other details?
- How do I change my email address or password?
- How do I change my username?
- How do I customize my page?
- What are âsubmissionsâ and how do I get them?
- What are âaccount notifications and alertsâ?
- I already have a BuzzFeed account. Can I sign in with Facebook?
- What is âLog in with Facebook?â
- What is my âFacebook Fan Page IDâ?
Website Tracking
- Will BuzzFeedâs Viral Dashboard make my life awesome?
- Will BuzzFeedâs tracking code work on my site?
- Whatâs the difference between seed and viral traffic?
Advertising and Partnerships
How to Use BuzzFeed
What is BuzzFeed?
BuzzFeed is a place for you to discover, share, and track everything awesome that is happening on the Internet as soon as it happens.
How do I post to BuzzFeed?
Sign up for an account here, and then click âStart Postingâ to open up the BuzzFeed posting interface. You can post standalone items such as a video or an image, and you can also post lists of stuff - all using the same interface!
Here are some examples of finished posts:
Once youâve added your content, write a good headline and a description and add a thumbnail to the post. Doing this part well is essential if you want your post to succeed.
What should I post to BuzzFeed?
Post cool, funny, interesting stuff that youâve found online or made yourself that you think has a strong chance of going viral and being shared by other people. Better yet, post lists of things. Here are some examples of awesome lists that you can look at for inspiration. BuzzFeedâs editors will feature the best posts from BuzzFeedâs community on our front page every day.
What should I avoid posting to BuzzFeed?
Porn, spam, links to your blog. Donât post those things, as they will likely result in the removal of your account or curtailment of your posting privileges. :(
What happens to the stuff I post to BuzzFeed?
Your posts will automatically appear in the âJust Launchedâ section of BuzzFeed Community. Our community editors can then choose to promote them to different areas of the site.
How do you decide what gets promoted?
Our editors choose what gets posted to the homepage.
How does BuzzFeed handle timestamps?
Timestamps in our posts reflect the timezone where the reader is located. If an editor in New York publishes a post at 2:03 pm, a reader in Los Angeles will see the postâs publication time as 11:03 am.
Something offended me. What do I do?
Let us know using this form. DO NOT RESPOND TO THE PERSON WHO OFFENDED YOU. It only makes them worse.
I posted something first but it didnât get featured. Why?
Yikes. This oneâs a tough one. First of all: Itâs not personal. Buuuuut âŠ. here are 4 possible reasons why your thing didnât get featured:
- An editor wanted to frame the same content in a very specific way that was not covered in the original post
- The writeup for the post wasnât adequate or required too much editing
- The content of the post was something that was all over the web anyway and was posted multiple times by users and editors
- We just missed it - weâre not perfect!
How do badges get assigned?
Our main badges (LOL, Win, Cute, etc) are assigned by BuzzFeed algorithms which take the number of corresponding reactions a post gets, its viral traffic, and editorial merit into account. Other badges, such as gold stars, Fact Checker, etc, are purely at the fickle whim of BuzzFeedâs crew of heavy-drinking editors.
What are Reactions?
Reactions are a simple way for you to express your reaction to a post. We use these signals to help badge, categorize, and feature the best content. You only get three per post so use them wisely!
What are Special Reactions?
Special reactions are, well, special. Youâll win some when one of your posts wins a badge or when you win an award. If you win a special reaction youâll receive an email pointing you to a page where you can claim your reaction.
Sometimes a BuzzFeed partner sponsors a new, limited-time reaction. When this happens you can use as many as you want while theyâre there, but once theyâre gone theyâre gone.
Technical Support
Iâve forgotten my password! Can you please help me?
Take a deep breath, find your happy place, and then go to the sign-in page and click the âForgot Passwordâ link. Enter the email address you used when you registered; your password will be reset and a new one will be sent to you.
I never got my validation email! Where is it?
Unless you signed up with Facebook Connect (see below), you will need to validate your email address. If you never received the validation email try going to the sign-in page and click the âForgot Passwordâ link. Then enter the email address you used when you registered. A new validation email will be sent. If you still donât get that email please let us know.
How do I edit or delete a post?
If you hover with your mouse over a post on your Feed you should see two icons on the right-hand side of your post. Click the pencil icon to change your post or the Ă icon to delete. Please note: once your post has been featured on our front page or awarded a badge you will no longer be able to edit it.
Why canât I edit or delete my post?
It bears repeating, we guess: If your post has been promoted to the homepage or was awarded a badge you will no longer be able to edit it anymore. If you find a typo or want to change something at that point feel free to email our editors and they will do their best to accommodate your request.
Can I edit or delete my contributions?
At this time you cannot edit a contribution youâve made to another post.
How do I remove someone elseâs contribution from my post?
You cannot remove a contribution someone else has made to your post. Feel free to flag contributions if you feel they are spam or abusive. Our editors will try their best to remove inappropriate contributions.
How do I change my name, photo, or other details?
From your settings page (thereâs also a link next to your name in the top right of every page). From there you can change all your public profile information.
How do I change my email address or password?
From your settings page click the âAccount Settingsâ tab. From there you can enter a new email address and change your password.
How do I change my username?
While you can change how your username appears on the site (see 2 questions up from here), you cannot change your username. BuzzFeed is all about getting posts linked to from all over the web so we are very careful not to ever break links. Since your username is your url for all your posts (http://buzzfeed.com/username/post-name), doing so would break all links to your existing posts. That would make everyone sad. If you really, really need a different user name, you can always just create a new account.
How do I customize my page?
From your settings page (thereâs also a link next to your name in the top right of every page). From there you can update a fancy banner image, add links to your Twitter and Facebook pages, and more. In the future we may add more customization options.
What are âsubmissionsâ and how do I get them?
If you want, you can let other people submit posts to your Feed. To turn this feature on, go to the settings page and make sure youâve clicked the checkbox that allows submissions to be turned on. Then when other people visit your Feed, theyâll see a button that says "Submit." They can add anything â a link, a video, a list. If youâve turned on the alerts setting youâll get an email telling you that youâve got a new submission. If you like what theyâve written, you can approve their submission and it will be added to your page.
What are âaccount notifications and alertsâ?
If you opt in, weâll send you an alert when thereâs specific activity relating to your account, such as a post getting promoted to our front page, a post going viral, someone submitting a post to your Feed, or someone accepting one of your submissions. To change this setting go to your settings page, click the âAccount Settingsâ tab, and click the checkbox labeled âSend me account notifications and alertsâ.
I already have a BuzzFeed account. Can I sign in with Facebook?
Sure! First make sure you are signed out of BuzzFeed. Then go to our sign-in page and and click the âFacebook Connectâ button. You will be prompted to enter your BuzzFeed username and password. Once entered your accounts will be linked and you can sign in with either your username and password or simply by hitting the Facebook Connect button. Huzzah!
What is âLog in with Facebook?â
âLog in with Facebookâ is a service offered by Facebook so you can sign into your favorite sites using your Facebook username and password. Just click the âLog in with Facebookâ button anytime youâre presented with a sign-in prompt.
In addition to making it easier to sign into BuzzFeed,âLog in with Facebookâ also allows you to use your name, bio, and profile photo from your Facebook account on BuzzFeed and to share with your friends by easily posting your contributions, reactions, and buzz posts to your Facebook stream.
What is my âFacebook Fan Page IDâ?
If you add your Facebook Fan Page ID (from your settings page weâll stick a neat facebook widget in the sidebar of your page. You can see an example of this here. Note that this only works with Facebook fan pages, not regular user Facebook accounts (this is Facebookâs limitation, not ours). You can find your Fan Page ID by going to to your Fan Page, clicking on your image in the upper left, and grabbing the number in the URL.
Website Tracking
Will BuzzFeedâs Viral Dashboard make my life awesome?
Probably! If your site publishes content on a regular basis and your goal is to make that content as viral as possible, then BuzzFeedâs Dashboard â and the sweet, sweet stats it provides â are for you.
If your site is a brochureware site, a very personal site, or gets very little traffic then itâs probably not your cup of tea.
Will BuzzFeedâs tracking code work on my site?
Most likely! If you have access to your template files (usually HTML or PHP) and can add a simple script tag to them, you should be all set.
If you have a self-hosted site running WordPress, MovableType, or other such software you shouldnât have a problem. It also works great with Typepad, Tumblr, Squarespace and other hosted platforms that let you install Javascript code.
Some platforms, such as WordPress.com and Google Sites do not allow you to install 3rd party tracking code so in those cases it wonât work.
Whatâs the difference between seed and viral traffic?
Glad you asked! Seed traffic is internal traffic, or when visitors land on a page after following a link from another page on your site.
Viral traffic is traffic from visitors coming from elsewhere on the web such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, search engines, and direct traffic.
Advertising and Partnerships
How do I advertise on BuzzFeed?
If youâre a large brand or company looking to run a major viral advertising campaign, weâve got a very exciting platform for you; learn more here.
What does âpartnerâ mean?
The âpartnerâ designation you see on some posts and thumbnails on BuzzFeed means that the content is brought to you either by the editorial partnerships that make up the BuzzFeed Network or our advertising partners.
How can I apply to be an editorial partner?
You can submit an application using this form