Do you ever find yourself shocked at how long you’ve been watching BuzzFeed Tasty videos on loop? Whether at work or in class, while you’re lying in bed at night, or strangely enough, jogging on the treadmill, you’re like me and a lot of the people I know.
In the past year, videos just like this have blown up all over the web, becoming some of the most viewed videos on Facebook and even Youtube. Just when I thought I couldn’t waste any more time scrolling through fairly meaningless social media posts, these beautiful videos were popping up regularly as recommended posts. I found the mesmerizing quality of these videos so intriguing, I just had to delve into research as to why oh why can’t anybody stop watching?
For a little history, these short food videos originated on the BuzzFeed Food Instagram account as 15-second videos of simple recipes. And, just like that, the standard style of these videos was born, with the basic setup of a birds eye view, hands involved in mixing, and a sped-up edit to fit within Instagram’s former 15-second limit.
The simple music and abbreviated subtitles were also part of the beginning of what would become a social media frenzy. Soon, these videos were blowing up on Facebook, with the help of Facebook’s autoplay setting. This means that while scrolling through your feed on your computer or mobile device, videos begin to play without you even having to stop and click on them.
This was very advantageous for Tasty, Tastemade, and other companies that were catching on, as Facebook users became hypnotized by these videos. As you may have noticed, these videos also omit all types of boring prep, speeding through to all the interesting parts, which appeals perfectly to our short attention spans.
This recipe—no pun intended—for the perfect food video has been so successful, it’s been transferred to a wholly unique medium, under another Buzzfeed subcategory, Nifty. On this page, the short, sped-up videos viewed from above feature different arts and crafts how-to’s.
Why food? Seems obvious, but there’s more behind it than you might think. Food will always remain a marketable product as everyone will continue to need and love food. It will also continue being something people can connect and bond over, which leads so many people to like, share, and tag their friends in these videos.
However, what’s especially interesting is that these videos appeal to everyone, not just the food-obsessed Spoon contributor like myself. According to LR Food Marketing, even those who have not had any previous interest in cooking find themselves becoming obsessed.
The extravagant mashups of everyone’s favorite junk foods draw attention from a crowd that’s not necessarily the same people watching Chopped marathons on Food Network. The theme of these videos comes off as fun and easy, which actually makes more people want to get in the kitchen.
On top of this, 59% of millenials are now using their phones in the kitchen, which makes these videos even more easily transferable to real cooking applications. Marketing companies have been keen to notice the blow-up in popularity of Facebook and Instagram accounts that feature these videos.
The Social Media Week website says that “they have become some of the most successful content tools for prompting consumers to stop their scroll and engage.” It’s clear that social media users are eating this up. “Tasty knows its audience, and Facebook as a platform, especially well,” according to Flip the Media.
“Facebook’s content needs to be a strong visual narrative that is engaging and evident in the first five seconds, or else it’s on to the next post.” Flip the Media gives specific steps to recreate the marketing magic that you can find here.
The most successful recipe that Buzzfeed has come up with is definitely not any of the foods they feature (even the most viewed, ‘Mozzarella-Stuffed Slow Cooker Meatballs’), but rather the template for these short videos. They have nailed down what is most aesthetically pleasing to the public eye, while conveniently inhabiting an industry that appeals to everyone
Although I may not have the scientific answer from a neurological perspective, you can now see how powerful precise marketing tactics can be. And if you think you’ve seen all the satisfying food videos the internet has to offer, check out this article, full of gifs and the infamous addicting videos that have taken then world by storm.