What Is Content Seeding & How Does It Work? [Examples]

Every summer, I start a vegetable garden. I purchase seeds, plant them in various places in my backyard, tend to them, and with the help of the right weather conditions, help them grow. Why am I talking about gardening on a marketing blog?

Content seeding. But instead of planting zucchini seeds, marketers plant content to grow brand awareness and leads.

Let’s get into the specifics of what content seeding is and how it works.

Content seeding allows brands to highlight their content in places target audiences will see and engage with it. Influencers are a prime choice for content seeding because they usually have large audiences. These audiences have been proven to trust influencers more than their friends.

For instance, lifestyle subscription box FabFitFun has a target audience of women “ages 18-34, who love a good deal [and] want to hear about the latest and greatest trends in beauty, fitness, nutrition, and style.” When they work with influencers on content seeding, they choose platforms their target audience is interested in, like my favorite podcast, True Crime Obsessed (TCO).

When I heard ads for FabFitFun on TCO, I was immediately interested in the brand and what it offers, so I followed the link in the podcast subscription. The added bonus of hearing high praises from hosts I’ve come to connect with and trust solidified my interest and ultimately drove me to subscribe. That’s content seeding in motion.

When I heard ads for FabFitFun on TCO, I was immediately interested in the brand and what it offers, so I followed the link in the podcast subscription. The added bonus of hearing high praises from hosts I’ve come to connect with and trust solidified my interest and ultimately drove me to subscribe. That’s content seeding in motion.

Part of the reason content seeding is so successful is that the content shared by influencers or partners is relevant to the target audience. Market research shows brands, like FabFitFun, where their audience is and gives them clues as to where to seed content.

What is influencer seeding?

Often brands will give out products or services to influencers in the hopes that they will share favorable reviews or promote the product to their audience. This is referred to as influencer seeding. Like content seeding, utilizing influencers that align with the interests of your target audience will yield the best results.

Having industry leaders promote a brand through their social platforms or other networks increases the reach of the business, because they’ve built trust with their own audiences.

This doesn’t mean that you have to find the influencer with the most followers to do the job. Sure, someone with millions of followers will have a wide reach, but there is value in utilizing micro-influencers, too. Micro-influencers – those with roughly 10,000 to 50,000 followers – often serve more niche, but loyal audiences. This can be an advantage when you are looking to segment or narrow your target audience.

Micro-influencers also provide a level of authenticity influencers with higher follower counts lack due to their mass appeal. Social media platforms are inundated with marketing campaigns and ads. Make your product or service stand out by tapping into the networks of smaller influencers and take advantage of word-of-mouth cred.

However, influencers aren’t the only way to facilitate content seeding. You can also contact an agency that specializes in seeding, or reach out to thought leaders for a partnership on a blog post or email newsletter.

Where Content Seeding is Commonly Used

While blogging and editorial outlets previously served as the primary avenues for content seeding, social media platforms have become the dominant method of choice.

• TikTok
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Podcasts
• Pinterest

All of these platforms are useless if you don’t have a plan in place to utilize them. Next, we’ll dig into tips for creating an effective influencer seeding campaign.

Creating an Influencer Seeding Strategy

Creating a plan will help you conserve resources and focus your energy on what’s most important for your brand. Here are some best practices to follow:

• Set your end goal: What would you like to accomplish? Are you looking to build brand awareness or boost sales? Once your goals are established, you can assess which platform would make the most sense to use to achieve them.
• Research ideal influencers: By now you should have clear personas identifying who your target audience is. With that information in hand, look into the types of people they would follow and their interests. Look at trending hashtags or topics related to your brand, and the influencers who follow them.
• Send relevant content, services, and products: You’ll want to make sure what you’re sending the influencer to promote is actually relevant to their brand and audience. For example, if you sell artisan chocolates, you may want to reach out to influencers that have content dedicated to chocolate sweets and desserts, instead of just sending products out to foodies in general. This is where going niche pays off.
• Engage and comment: If an influencer posts anything regarding your brand, engage with it. This can include liking the post, commenting, or sharing. Even if the feedback is negative, you can thank them for their honest review and find out how you can make improvements.
• Measure the outcome: Examine the reach of influencer posts, traffic statistics, and engagement (shares, comments, brand mentions). For ecommerce, track any promo codes or affiliate links used during the campaign. Looking at these metrics will help you figure out what worked and what didn’t.

If you’re starting to think of ways you can get into content seeding, which platforms to use, and what content to share — don’t worry, we’re going to look at more great examples of content seeding next.

Content Seeding Examples

1. Claire Saffitz x Coveteur