26 Jul The Evolution of the Tasty Video
Within the last year, you may have noticed an explosion of recipe videos appearing on your Facebook News Feed. The short, simple videos that we drool over on a daily basis started with Tasty, a production of BuzzFeed Video. With 64 million page likes and counting, Tasty sees consistently high levels of engagement on each one of its videos, which are viewed millions of times and boast thousands of comments. We’re going to dive into what started the Tasty video trend, why it’s so successful, and which brands are adopting Tasty-like content on their own social channels.
Tasty Beginnings
According to the New Yorker, Tasty began as an experiment by the BuzzFeed team to see what kind of YouTube video content went viral on Facebook. The team noticed certain first-person how-to series (like the viral “6 Fruits You’re Eating Wrong” video) were performing exceptionally well, and went on to produce what would eventually become the Tasty videos we know and love today.
But it’s not as if food-focused content hasn’t been done before, right? What exactly has made Tasty so successful?
For starters, Tasty is treated as a standalone brand by BuzzFeed. None of the Tasty content originates on BuzzFeed.com, so it’s created specifically for the channel it lives on—Facebook. The introduction of the autoplay feature for Facebook videos was the icing on the cake: people were immediately captivated by Tasty’s 60-second recipes once the video started rolling. Facebook’s algorithm not only tends to favor video content, but also content that lives natively on Facebook and doesn’t redirect traffic to another website.
From a video content standpoint, Tasty’s videos are excellent in that they’re short enough to hold our attention, but just long enough to tell a story. Humans love a narrative arc, and seeing ingredients coming together and resulting in a beautifully finished product is undeniably satisfying. Over time, Tasty has improved the production quality of its fast-motion recipe videos and perfected them into snackable (pun intended!) pieces of content that users love to share. BuzzFeed has even created spinoffs that feature specific cuisines that niche audiences will enjoy, like Proper Tasty, Bien Tasty, and Tasty Demais.
Crazy for Tasty
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so it’s only natural that other brands and publishers would see Tasty’s success and attempt to emulate it. For example, the agency behind Krusteaz created self-described “kitchen hack videos” in a Tasty style format:
What’s smart about this particular video is that the branding is saved for the final frame, so it doesn’t feel too overly-promotional to users.
Our client, Daisy Sour Cream, has also used Tasty-style videos on Facebook to share recipes. It’s a great way to showcase a product in a useful way for consumers that still feels organic:
This particular recipe doesn’t include exact measurements, which prompts fans to visit Daisy’s website for complete details. This is also an easy, natural way to increase your click-through rate.
Are you a fan of the Tasty video phenomenon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
