Đoàn Lê Minh Anh
In content marketing, finding topics readers care about and knowing how to distribute your articles effectively are important advantages. BuzzSumo helps marketers discover widely shared content, monitor competitors’ activity, and find influencers in specific fields.
This article explains how to use BuzzSumo to research viral content, analyze competitor content, and assess influencers. While the tool cannot replace strategic thinking, its data can help businesses make decisions based on real-world signals rather than intuition alone.
What is BuzzSumo, and who is it for?
BuzzSumo is a content and influencer research platform that lets users find articles receiving a high number of shares on certain social networks and track content related to keywords, topics, or websites. Depending on the plan and when you use it, features may include Content Analyzer, influencer discovery, brand mention tracking, and alerts for new content.
The tool is useful for business owners, SEO specialists, content marketers, PR professionals, and social media teams. For example, a business can use its data to find angles for blog posts, identify popular content formats, monitor topics competitors are covering, or build a shortlist of creators for further evaluation.
Keep in mind that shares do not necessarily translate into search rankings, revenue, or subject-matter quality. BuzzSumo should be treated as one source of insight within a research process, alongside data from SEO tools, analytics, customer surveys, and product knowledge.
How to find viral content with BuzzSumo
1. Start with a specific topic or keyword
In the content analysis feature, enter a relevant topic, phrase, or domain. Instead of searching for just one broad keyword, try several phrases your customers might use. For example, a software provider might research terms such as “inventory management,” “optimize sales processes,” and “software for small businesses.” Each query can reveal a different group of content and perspectives.
For topics with multiple meanings, add related keywords to narrow your search. You can also try queries phrased as questions, industry names, or specific customer problems. Record the phrases that produce useful results to build an initial research keyword list.
2. Filter results by date and content type
Once you have results, use filters for date, language, country, format, or domain type if they are available in your account and current interface. A short time range can help you spot recently popular content, while a longer range shows which topics have sustained interest. When researching the Vietnamese market, consider how well the tool captures data by language and platform, as coverage may vary.
Do not focus only on the top result. Look at several articles on the same topic and note their headlines, formats, recency, publishing sources, and how they address readers’ needs. A high share count may reflect brand reach, publishing timing, or distribution activity—not just exceptional content.
3. Develop ideas you can put into practice
Once you have found prominent articles, look for common themes: step-by-step guides, tool lists, data studies, customer stories, or expert perspectives? If possible, review comments and reactions on the original platforms to understand what readers care about and which questions remain unanswered.
Use these insights to create a list of ideas rather than copying existing articles. A viral post about an industry trend might inspire a business to create a version focused on the Vietnamese market, add internal data, or offer practical guidance. Consider creating a table with the topic, reader need, potential format, reference sources, and your brand’s distinct angle.
Analyze competitor content to find gaps
To research competitors, enter their domain in the content analysis tool and review the articles with notable share counts. Comparing them by topic, format, and publication date can reveal the content that is attracting the target audience’s attention. Include both direct competitors and businesses that serve a similar customer base, even if they do not offer the same products.
As you review the results, ask practical questions: What problems do competitors typically address? Which content do they update regularly? Do they use research, data visualizations, videos, or how-to articles? Are there customer questions they have not answered in depth? This approach turns competitor monitoring into an opportunity to create distinctive content instead of simply chasing popular topics.
BuzzSumo can help uncover widely shared articles, but it does not provide a complete picture of a competitor’s SEO performance. To assess search opportunities, also review keywords, rankings, backlinks, page structure, and content quality using appropriate tools. An article with many shares may not generate qualified leads; one with fewer shares but a strong answer to a search query may deliver lasting business value.
The LilyTech team often recommends that businesses build a research process combining content data, SEO goals, and the customer journey. This way, each idea is evaluated not only for popularity but also for its relevance to the product, conversion potential, and the resources required to execute it.
Find and evaluate relevant influencers
The influencer discovery feature can help you find accounts, creators, or experts by keyword and field. Start with a topic related to your product, then review each person’s profile, recent content, and intended audience. A prominent account is not automatically the right fit for your brand.
When building a shortlist, assess several factors beyond follower count:
- Relevance: Does the person’s content and area of expertise align with your product and target customers?
- Engagement quality: Are the comments substantive, on-topic, and indicative of genuine audience interest?
- Style and credibility: Does the creator’s communication style fit your brand image, and are sponsored posts disclosed transparently?
- Practical fit: Do the platform, format, posting schedule, and budget align with your campaign goals?
Manually check promising candidates on the platforms where they are active, and review their collaboration history and community feedback. Before reaching out, define your goal: increase awareness, create reusable content, drive trials, or generate leads. Agreements should specify the scope of work, timeline, content usage rights, and measurement approach.
How to apply BuzzSumo to your content marketing strategy
To get value from BuzzSumo, businesses should incorporate it into a process with clear goals and validation steps. Here is one way to do that:
- Set an objective: Choose a research goal, such as finding blog topics, spotting trends, monitoring competitors, or discovering influencers.
- Build a query list: Compile keywords, customer problems, competitor names, and industry topics to monitor.
- Collect signals: Filter results by date, format, and market, then save relevant articles, publishing sources, and metrics.
- Evaluate opportunities: Compare audience interest with customer needs, competition, production capacity, and business goals.
- Test and measure: Publish content or run an influencer campaign, then track visits, engagement, leads, and conversions.
Businesses should also record the research date and data scope to make comparisons across reporting periods fair. Interest in a topic can change with the season or in response to events. Regular updates help teams spot changes early and avoid drawing conclusions from a single point in time.
Not every idea with a high share count deserves investment. Prioritize topics that show signs of demand, match your expertise, and can guide readers toward a relevant next step. Content should answer the right questions, demonstrate credible experience, and include an appropriate call to action—not just chase attention with sensational headlines.
Conclusion
BuzzSumo helps marketers find viral content, monitor competitor content, and discover potential influencers. The tool’s effectiveness depends on how you frame your queries, validate the data, and connect research findings to specific marketing goals. Treat share metrics as useful signals, not the sole measure of success.
If your business needs a content, SEO, website, or digital marketing strategy aligned with your business goals, contact LilyTech for advice. Our team can help assess your current situation, identify opportunities, and recommend an approach that fits your resources.
