Social Animal Impressions – Content Marketing Data [BuzzSumo Alternative]

Introduction

In today’s digital landscape, content marketing has become an essential strategy for businesses looking to grow their online presence and engage with their target audience. However, creating content that resonates with your audience and performs well on social media platforms can be challenging. This is where tools like Social Animal come into play. In this article, we’ll dive deep into Social Animal, a content marketing platform that offers similar functionality to BuzzSumo but at a more affordable price point.

Social Animal is designed to provide insights about popular content and social media sharing trends, helping content creators and marketers make data-driven decisions. Throughout this review, we’ll explore the platform’s features, functionality, and potential benefits for businesses of all sizes. We’ll also compare it to its main competitor, BuzzSumo, to give you a clear understanding of how Social Animal stacks up in the content marketing tool landscape.

Whether you’re a seasoned content marketer or just starting to explore the world of data-driven content creation, this comprehensive review will help you determine if Social Animal is the right tool for your needs. Let’s dive in and explore what this platform has to offer.

Setting Up Social Animal

Getting started with Social Animal is a straightforward process. Upon signing up, the platform guides you through a series of steps to help tailor your experience to your specific needs and goals.

Initial Setup Questions

• Social Animal begins by asking users what they intend to use the platform for. This helps customize the experience and ensures you get the most relevant features and insights.
• Users can select multiple options, including researching content ideas, keeping track of competitors, finding influencers, tracking mentions, analyzing shared content, and curating relevant content.
• This personalized approach allows the platform to provide more targeted and valuable information based on your specific goals and needs.

Adding Keywords and Competitors

• Social Animal recommends adding at least three keywords and three competitors to receive alerts and stay updated on relevant content and trends.
• Users can input keywords related to their industry, niche, or specific topics they want to track.
• For competitors, you can add websites or blogs that you want to keep an eye on, allowing you to stay informed about their content performance and strategies.
• This feature helps users stay on top of industry trends and competitor activities, enabling them to make more informed decisions about their own content strategy.

Onboarding Tour

• After setting up keywords and competitors, Social Animal provides an onboarding tour to familiarize users with the platform’s interface and features.
• The tour showcases an example of how article results appear when performing a keyword search, highlighting key information such as shares by social media network and co-occurring keywords within articles.
• Users are introduced to various filtering options, including content type, deep search, domain, and top-level domain filters, allowing for more refined and targeted searches.
• The tour also covers features like the headline analyzer, article collection for comparison, and the ability to view who is sharing specific articles.

Interface Overview

• The main interface of Social Animal is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, with a clean layout that makes it easy to navigate through different features and sections.
• Users can quickly access search results, filtering options, and additional tools like the headline analyzer from the main dashboard.
• The platform provides options to export results as CSV or Excel files, making it easy to integrate Social Animal data into your existing workflows and reporting processes.

By guiding users through this initial setup process, Social Animal ensures that even those new to content marketing tools can quickly get up to speed and start leveraging the platform’s features to improve their content strategy.

Exploring Search Results

Once you’ve set up your account and familiarized yourself with the interface, it’s time to dive into the heart of Social Animal: the search results. This section is where you’ll find valuable insights about content performance, engagement, and trends related to your chosen keywords and topics.

Performing Keyword Searches

• Social Animal allows users to search for specific keywords or phrases to discover popular content related to their niche or industry.
• The platform provides options for both broad and exact match searches, allowing for more precise results depending on your needs.
• Users can refine their searches by adding quotation marks around phrases for exact matches or combining multiple keywords to narrow down results.

Analyzing Search Results

• Search results display a list of articles related to the chosen keyword, ranked by their performance on various social media platforms.
• Each result includes detailed information about the article’s engagement metrics, such as the number of shares on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Reddit.
• Users can quickly identify top-performing content and analyze what makes it successful, helping inform their own content creation strategies.
• The platform provides a total engagement score for each article, making it easy to compare overall performance across different pieces of content.

Refining Search Results

• Social Animal offers a range of filtering options to help users narrow down their search results and find the most relevant content:
• Date Range: Users can filter results by publication date or share date, allowing them to focus on recent trends or analyze historical data.
• Content Type: Filter results by specific content types, such as articles, videos, or infographics.
• Deep Search: This feature allows users to search within the body copy of articles, not just headlines, for more comprehensive results.
• Domain and Top-Level Domain: Users can focus on specific websites or types of websites (e.g., .edu, .gov) for more targeted research.
• Word Count: Filter results by article length to find short-form or long-form content.
• Language: Narrow down results to specific languages to focus on particular markets or regions.
• Sentiment: A beta feature that attempts to categorize content as positive, negative, or neutral based on its tone and messaging.

Domain-Specific Searches

• Social Animal allows users to search for content from specific domains, making it easy to analyze the performance of a particular website or competitor.
• This feature is particularly useful for competitor analysis, as it provides insights into which types of content are performing well for other brands in your industry.
• Users can identify trending topics, popular formats, and engagement patterns specific to individual websites, helping inform their own content strategy and competitive positioning.

By thoroughly exploring and analyzing search results, users can gain valuable insights into content trends, audience preferences, and successful strategies within their niche. This data-driven approach to content research can significantly improve the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts and help you stay ahead of the competition.

Headline Analyzer

One of the standout features of Social Animal is its Headline Analyzer tool. This feature is designed to help content creators craft more effective and engaging headlines, which can significantly impact the performance of their content across various platforms.

Accessing the Headline Analyzer

• The Headline Analyzer can be found within the search results interface, allowing users to quickly analyze headlines of top-performing content or their own draft headlines.
• To use the tool, simply click on the “Headline Analyzer” button next to any search result or enter your own headline for analysis.

Headline Length Analysis

• The tool provides insights into the optimal length for headlines, both in terms of characters and words.
• Social Animal suggests that headlines around 55 characters long tend to earn the highest number of clicks, although this may vary depending on the platform and audience.
• The analyzer also provides information on the ideal number of words, suggesting that headlines with approximately 6-9 words tend to perform well.

Word Analysis

• The Headline Analyzer breaks down the words used in the headline into different categories:
• Common Words: These are everyday words that are easily understood but may not grab attention.
• Uncommon Words: Less frequently used words that can make a headline more intriguing or specific.
• Emotional Words: Words that evoke an emotional response, which can increase engagement.
• Users can see the percentage breakdown of these word types in their headline, helping them strike a balance between clarity and impact.

Sentiment Analysis

• The tool attempts to determine the overall sentiment of the headline, categorizing it as positive, negative, or neutral.
• This feature can help content creators align their headline’s tone with their intended message and target audience preferences.

Visual Representation

• Social Animal provides a visual representation of the headline analysis, including a “mind map” that shows connections between words and related concepts.
• While some users may find this visualization complex, it can offer insights into potential associations and interpretations of the headline.

Synonym Suggestions

• To help users refine their headlines, the tool offers synonym suggestions for various words used in the headline.
• This feature can be particularly useful for avoiding repetition, enhancing clarity, or finding more impactful alternatives to common words.

Practical Applications

• Content creators can use the Headline Analyzer to:
• Compare different headline variations and choose the most effective one.
• Improve existing headlines by identifying areas for improvement.
• Learn from high-performing headlines in their niche and adapt successful elements.
• Develop a better understanding of what makes headlines engaging and clickable.

While the Headline Analyzer provides valuable insights, it’s important to remember that it should be used as a guide rather than a strict rulebook. The effectiveness of a headline can vary depending on factors such as the target audience, platform, and overall content strategy. Users should combine the tool’s suggestions with their own expertise and understanding of their audience to create compelling headlines that drive engagement and clicks.

Comparing Articles

Social Animal’s article comparison feature is a powerful tool that allows users to analyze and contrast different pieces of content side by side. This functionality can provide valuable insights into what makes certain articles perform better than others and help content creators refine their strategies.

Accessing the Comparison Feature

• Users can select articles for comparison directly from the search results page by clicking on the “Compare” button next to each article.
• The platform allows for the comparison of two articles at a time, providing a focused analysis of their differences and similarities.

Metrics Compared

• Word Count: See how article length compares between the selected pieces and how it might impact engagement.
• Total Shares: Compare the overall social media performance of the articles across various platforms.
• Platform-Specific Shares: Analyze how each article performed on individual social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Reddit.
• Keywords: Identify the main keywords and topics covered in each article, helping to understand what themes resonate with audiences.

Analyzing Comparison Results

• Content Length Impact: Observe how article length correlates with social shares and engagement. This can help determine the ideal content length for your audience.
• Platform Performance: Identify which social media platforms are most effective for different types of content or topics in your niche.
• Topic Relevance: Compare the keywords and themes of high-performing articles to understand what subjects are most engaging for your target audience.
• Content Structure: Look for patterns in how successful articles are structured, such as the use of subheadings, lists, or multimedia elements.

Practical Applications of Article Comparison

• Competitor Analysis: Compare your content with that of your competitors to identify areas for improvement and opportunities to differentiate your approach.
• Content Optimization: Use insights from high-performing articles to optimize your existing content or plan future pieces.
• Topic Selection: Identify trending topics and themes that resonate with your audience by comparing successful articles in your niche.
• Content Strategy Refinement: Adjust your content strategy based on patterns observed in successful articles, such as ideal length, tone, or format.

Viewing Sharers

• Social Animal also offers a “View Sharers” option, allowing users to see some of the individuals who have shared a particular article.
• This feature can be useful for:
• Identifying potential influencers or thought leaders in your niche.
• Understanding the demographics and interests of people engaging with specific content.
• Finding opportunities for outreach and collaboration with active sharers in your industry.

By leveraging the article comparison feature, content creators and marketers can gain a deeper understanding of what makes content successful in their niche. This data-driven approach to content analysis can lead to more informed decisions about content creation, optimization, and promotion strategies, ultimately resulting in better-performing content and increased engagement with your target audience.

Insights and Analytics

The Insights section of Social Animal provides users with a comprehensive overview of content performance, trends, and recommendations based on their keyword searches and monitored topics. This powerful analytics feature helps content creators and marketers make data-driven decisions to improve their content strategy.

Accessing the Insights Section

• Users can navigate to the Insights tab from the main dashboard to access a wealth of analytical data related to their chosen keywords and topics.
• The platform provides an intuitive interface that allows for easy exploration of various metrics and trends.

Overview of Key Metrics

• Best Posting Time: Social Animal analyzes engagement patterns to suggest the optimal day and time to post content for maximum reach and interaction.
• Ideal Title Length: The platform provides recommendations for the ideal number of words in a title based on high-performing content in your niche.
• Platform Preference: Insights into which social media platforms are most effective for your content, along with expected engagement levels.
• Engagement Trends: Visual representations of how engagement levels fluctuate over time for your chosen topics or keywords.

Domain and Author Analysis

• Top Performing Domains: Identify websites and blogs that consistently produce popular content in your niche.
• Author Insights: Discover influential authors and content creators in your industry, along with their average engagement rates and content output.

Content Analysis

• Day of Week Performance: Understand which days of the week tend to see the highest engagement levels for your type of content.
• Content Type Preferences: Gain insights into whether your audience prefers articles, videos, infographics, or other content formats.
• Trending Topics: Identify emerging trends and popular subjects within your niche to inform your content planning.

Practical Applications of Insights

• Content Calendar Optimization: Use the best posting time and day of week performance data to schedule your content for maximum impact.
• Content Format Selection: Align your content types with audience preferences to increase engagement and shares.
• Influencer Identification: Leverage author insights to find potential collaborators or influencers for content promotion.
• Competitive Analysis: Compare your performance against top-performing domains to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for differentiation.

Customizing Insights

• Users can filter insights based on specific date ranges, keywords, or domains to get more targeted analytics.
• The ability to export data allows for further analysis and integration with other marketing tools and reports.

Limitations and Considerations

• While Social Animal provides valuable insights, it’s important to note that the data is based on the platform’s crawled content and may not represent the entire internet.
• Users should combine these insights with their own audience data and industry knowledge for the most effective strategy.

By regularly reviewing and acting on the insights provided by Social Animal, content creators and marketers can continuously refine their approach, staying ahead of trends and delivering content that resonates with their target audience. The data-driven nature of these insights can lead to more efficient content creation processes, improved engagement rates, and ultimately, better ROI on content marketing efforts.

Influencer Search

Social Animal’s Influencer Search feature is a valuable tool for content marketers looking to identify key players in their niche, find potential collaborators, or discover new sources of inspiration. This functionality allows users to search for influential individuals based on various criteria and analyze their content performance.

Accessing Influencer Search

• Users can navigate to the Influencer tab in the main dashboard to access the search feature.
• The platform offers different modes of influencer search, including Twitter bio search, content share search, and top authors mode.

Search Modes Explained

• Twitter Bio Search: This mode allows users to find influencers based on keywords in their Twitter bios, helping to identify individuals who openly associate themselves with specific topics or industries.
• Content Share Search: This option helps users find influencers who frequently share content related to specific keywords or topics, regardless of their bio information.
• Top Authors Mode: This mode identifies influential content creators based on the performance of their published articles, helping users find potential collaborators or guest post opportunities.

Key Metrics for Influencer Evaluation

• Follower Count: The number of followers an influencer has on their social media platforms, indicating their potential reach.
• Tweet Count: For Twitter-based searches, this metric shows how active an influencer is on the platform.
• List Appearances: This metric indicates how many Twitter lists the influencer appears on, which can be a sign of their perceived authority in specific topics.
• Average Shares: For top authors, this metric shows the average number of social shares their content receives, indicating their ability to engage audiences.
• Article Count: The number of articles published by an author, helping to gauge their content output and consistency.

Analyzing Influencer Profiles

• Users can click on individual influencer profiles to view more detailed information, including:
• Recent tweets or shared content
• Top-performing articles
• Engagement rates across different platforms
• Common themes or topics in their content

Practical Applications of Influencer Search

• Collaboration Opportunities: Identify potential partners for co-created content, guest posting, or cross-promotion.
• Content Inspiration: Analyze successful content from top influencers to inform your own content strategy.
• Outreach Targets: Find relevant influencers to approach for content promotion or link-building efforts.
• Competitive Analysis: Identify influencers who are frequently sharing your competitors’ content and develop strategies to engage with them.

Limitations and Considerations

• The effectiveness of the influencer search can vary depending on the niche and the platform’s data coverage.
• Users should combine Social Animal’s influencer data with manual research and engagement to verify an influencer’s relevance and authenticity.
• It’s important to consider factors beyond just numbers, such as audience engagement and content quality, when evaluating potential influencers.

Best Practices for Influencer Outreach

• Personalize your approach: Use the insights gained from Social Animal to tailor your outreach messages to each influencer’s interests and content style.
• Offer value: When reaching out to influencers, focus on how collaboration can benefit them and their audience, not just your own goals.
• Start small: Begin with smaller-scale collaborations or interactions before proposing larger projects.
• Be authentic: Engage with influencers’ content genuinely before reaching out for collaboration opportunities.

By effectively utilizing the Influencer Search feature, content marketers can expand their network, discover new content opportunities, and increase the reach of their content through strategic collaborations. This data-driven approach to influencer identification can lead to more successful partnerships and a stronger presence within your industry niche.

Facebook Search and Analysis

Social Animal’s Facebook Search and Analysis feature provides users with valuable insights into content performance and engagement on the world’s largest social media platform. This tool allows marketers to understand what types of content resonate with Facebook audiences and how to optimize their Facebook marketing strategies.

Accessing Facebook Search

• Users can navigate to the Facebook Search tab in the main dashboard to access this feature.
• The platform offers two main modes of Facebook search: Posts and Pages.

Search Modes Explained

• Posts Mode: This allows users to search for specific content posted on Facebook, including status updates, links, and shared articles.
• Pages Mode: This mode helps users analyze the performance of Facebook Pages, providing insights into top-performing pages within a specific niche or industry.

Key Metrics for Facebook Analysis

• Post Engagement: The number of likes, comments, and shares a post receives, indicating its overall popularity and reach.
• Reaction Split: A breakdown of the different reactions (Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, Angry) a post receives, providing insight into audience sentiment.
• Best Posting Time: Analysis of when posts tend to receive the highest engagement, helping users optimize their posting schedule.
• Content Type Performance: Insights into which types of content (links, images, videos) perform best on Facebook for specific topics or industries.

Analyzing Facebook Search Results

• Users can view detailed information about individual posts, including:
• Full post content
• Engagement metrics
• Post type (link, image, video, etc.)
• Publishing date and time
• The platform also provides an overview of trends and patterns across multiple posts related to a specific keyword or topic.

Practical Applications of Facebook Search and Analysis

• Content Strategy Optimization: Use insights about top-performing content types and topics to inform your Facebook content strategy.
• Posting Schedule Refinement: Adjust your posting times based on when your target audience is most active and engaged.
• Competitor Analysis: Analyze the Facebook performance of competitors to identify opportunities and gaps in your own strategy.
• Audience Sentiment Analysis: Use reaction data to understand how your audience feels about certain topics or content types.

Limitations and Considerations

• The effectiveness of Facebook Search can vary depending on the privacy settings of pages and posts.
• Users should be aware that the data provided is based on publicly available information and may not represent the entire Facebook ecosystem.
• It’s important to combine these insights with your own page analytics for a comprehensive understanding of your Facebook performance.

Best Practices for Facebook Content Strategy

• Diversify Content Types: Experiment with different content formats (links, images, videos) based on performance insights.
• Engage with Trending Topics: Use the platform to identify popular subjects in your niche and create timely content around them.
• Monitor Competitor Activity: Regularly analyze competitor posts to stay informed about industry trends and audience preferences.
• Optimize for Engagement: Focus on creating content that encourages likes, comments, and shares to increase overall reach and visibility.

By leveraging the Facebook Search and Analysis feature, marketers can gain a deeper understanding of what works on the platform, allowing them to create more engaging content and build a stronger Facebook presence. This data-driven approach to Facebook marketing can lead to improved engagement rates, increased reach, and ultimately, better results from your social media efforts.

Comparison with BuzzSumo

While Social Animal offers a range of powerful features for content marketers, it’s important to understand how it compares to its main competitor, BuzzSumo. This comparison can help potential users make an informed decision about which tool best suits their needs and budget.

Feature Comparison

• Content Discovery:
• Both platforms offer robust content discovery features, allowing users to search for popular content based on keywords and topics.
• Social Animal provides a clean, user-friendly interface for content search, while BuzzSumo offers a more comprehensive set of filters and sorting options.
• Social Media Analysis:
• Social Animal focuses primarily on Facebook and Twitter data, with some insights from Pinterest and Reddit.
• BuzzSumo offers a broader range of social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Instagram, providing a more comprehensive view of content performance across various channels.
• Influencer Identification:
• Both tools offer influencer search capabilities, but BuzzSumo’s feature set is generally more advanced, with more detailed influencer profiles and filtering options.
• Social Animal’s influencer search is more straightforward and may be easier for beginners to navigate.
• Content Analysis:
• Social Animal provides a headline analyzer and content comparison feature, which can be particularly useful for optimizing content titles and understanding why certain pieces perform better than others.
• BuzzSumo offers more in-depth content analysis tools, including trending topics, question analyzer, and content formats that perform well in specific industries.
• Backlink Analysis:
• BuzzSumo includes backlink data in its content analysis, allowing users to see which websites are linking to popular content.
• Social Animal does not currently offer backlink analysis, focusing more on social media performance metrics.

Pricing and Accessibility

• Social Animal:
• Offers a more affordable entry point, with lifetime deals available through platforms like AppSumo.
• Provides a good range of features at a lower price point, making it accessible for small businesses and individual content creators.
• BuzzSumo:
• Generally more expensive, with monthly subscription plans that can run into hundreds of dollars.
• Offers a more comprehensive set of features and data, which may justify the higher price for larger organizations or agencies.

Data Coverage and Accuracy

• BuzzSumo is known for its extensive database and comprehensive coverage of content across the web, which can provide more accurate and representative results.
• Social Animal’s data coverage may be more limited, but it still offers valuable insights, especially for users focused on specific niches or industries.

User Experience and Learning Curve

• Social Animal presents a simpler, more streamlined interface that may be easier for beginners to navigate and understand.
• BuzzSumo offers more advanced features and customization options, which can be powerful but may require more time to master.

Integration and Export Options

• Both platforms offer options to export data for further analysis.
• BuzzSumo generally provides more integration options with other marketing tools and platforms.

Conclusion

While Social Animal offers a solid set of features at a more accessible price point, BuzzSumo remains the more comprehensive and data-rich option for content marketers. The choice between the two will largely depend on:

• Budget constraints
• The specific features needed for your content strategy
• The level of depth and breadth of data required
• Your team’s experience with content marketing tools

For small businesses, individual content creators, or those just starting with data-driven content marketing, Social Animal can provide valuable insights without breaking the bank. However, for larger organizations, agencies, or those requiring more advanced features and comprehensive data, BuzzSumo may be the better choice despite its higher price point.

Ultimately, both tools can significantly enhance your content marketing efforts by providing data-driven insights into content performance, audience preferences, and industry trends.

Key Takeaways and Summary

After a thorough exploration of Social Animal and its comparison with BuzzSumo, let’s summarize the key points and takeaways from this review:

Affordable Alternative to BuzzSumo:

• Social Animal offers similar functionality to BuzzSumo at a more accessible price point.
• It provides valuable insights for content marketers, especially those on a budget or just starting with data-driven content strategies.

Content Discovery and Analysis:

• The platform excels in helping users find popular content related to specific keywords and topics.
• Its search functionality allows for refined filtering, including options for content type, date range, and domain-specific searches.
• The headline analyzer feature provides useful insights for optimizing content titles and improving click-through rates.

Social Media Insights:

• Social Animal focuses primarily on Facebook and Twitter data, with some coverage of Pinterest and Reddit.
• It offers valuable insights into content performance across these platforms, helping users understand what types of content resonate with their audience.

Influencer Identification:

• The influencer search feature allows users to find relevant content creators and thought leaders in their niche.
• While not as comprehensive as BuzzSumo’s influencer tools, it provides a good starting point for influencer marketing efforts.

Facebook-Specific Analysis:

• Social Animal offers dedicated Facebook search and analysis tools, providing insights into post performance, engagement patterns, and optimal posting times.
• This feature can be particularly valuable for businesses focusing on Facebook as a primary marketing channel.

User-Friendly Interface:

• The platform presents a clean, intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, even for those new to content marketing tools.
• Its streamlined design focuses on essential features without overwhelming users with too many options.

Data Coverage and Limitations:

• While Social Animal provides valuable insights, its data coverage may not be as extensive as BuzzSumo’s.
• Users should be aware of potential limitations in data comprehensiveness, especially when researching very niche or obscure topics.

Content Comparison and Optimization:

• The ability to compare articles side-by-side helps users understand what makes certain pieces of content perform better than others.
• This feature, combined with the headline analyzer, can significantly aid in content optimization efforts.

Export and Integration Options:

• Social Animal allows for data export, enabling users to perform further analysis or integrate insights into their existing workflows.
• However, it may have fewer integration options compared to more established platforms like BuzzSumo.

Value Proposition:

For its price point, Social Animal offers a solid set of features that can significantly enhance content marketing efforts.

It’s particularly well-suited for small businesses, individual content creators, and those new to data-driven content marketing.

In conclusion, Social Animal presents itself as a capable and affordable alternative to more expensive content marketing tools. While it may not offer the same depth of features and data coverage as BuzzSumo, it provides sufficient functionality to inform and improve content strategies for many users.

The platform’s strengths lie in its user-friendly interface, content discovery capabilities, and social media insights, particularly for Facebook. Its headline analyzer and content comparison features offer practical tools for optimizing content performance.

However, users requiring more comprehensive data, advanced influencer marketing tools, or insights from a broader range of social platforms may find Social Animal’s offerings somewhat limited. In such cases, investing in a more robust tool like BuzzSumo might be justified.

Ultimately, Social Animal represents a valuable entry point into the world of data-driven content marketing. It allows users to make more informed decisions about their content strategy, understand audience preferences, and stay abreast of industry trends without a significant financial investment. As with any tool, its effectiveness will depend on how well it aligns with your specific needs, goals, and resources.

For those interested in exploring Social Animal further, it’s worth taking advantage of any trial periods or limited-time offers to test its capabilities firsthand. By doing so, you can determine whether it provides the insights and features necessary to elevate your content marketing efforts and achieve your business objectives.