How to Use Content Seeding?

Key Takeaways

• Seeding is a technique for distributing content on the Internet to strategically selected individuals or groups.
• With seeding, you show product or service content to viewers for whom it offers added value. This increases the attention of your target group on different platforms and channels.
• When seeding, factors such as choosing the right partners, a sophisticated communications strategy, and the right timing play an important role.

By integrating seeding into an influencer marketing campaign, brands can strategically distribute their content via influencers to maximize brand visibility, extend reach, and drive valuable customer action. In this article we clarify many of the questions circulating on the Internet about seeding and influencer marketing because, as the Bible so aptly puts it, “what you sow, you shall reap”.

Kolsquare’s tip: don’t confuse content seeding with product seeding.  In the first case, you’re bringing content to your audience; in the second,  brands generally send products free of charge to influencers who then feature them on their accounts and, in the best case, recommend them. Read about the ABCs of free gifting for influencers on the Kolsquare blog.

What is "seeding" as a marketing term, and what does it mean?

Seeding, derived from the word “to seed”, refers to the planned distribution of content on the Internet. In this process, brands intentionally reach out to relevant influencers to encourage them to share their content with their respective audiences. Influencers use their networks to disseminate content, thereby increasing brand awareness among a specific target group.

The main aim of seeding is to convince KOLs to distribute the content via their networks, such as social media, blogs, newsletters, etc. This approach helps to increase the creators’ reach and visibility. Ideally, the content goes viral, with many users voluntarily promoting and sharing the content, thus acting as additional multipliers.

There are two approaches to seeding: simple seeding and advanced seeding. Simple seeding involves sharing the content via the brand’s own channels and asking a few well-known influencers to spread it. While this method requires minimal effort and cost, the content must (as always) be of high quality and offer real added value to users to be truly fashionable online. Extended seeding offers a greater chance of viral success. Brands distribute their videos, texts, or images via a larger number of influencers and thus reach a wider audience on different social media platforms, blogs, or websites. The chances of reaching a critical mass of users and initiating a successful viral campaign are significantly higher with “Extended Seeding”, but it also requires more effort and entails higher costs.

Kolsquare-Insight: We’d like to draw your attention to the fact that seeding cannot replace good SEO content. A strong web presence is essential if you want to be found by search engines like Google. Seeding only serves as an additional step to improve link building and to generate more traffic.

Social seeding and influencers - What is social media seeding?

In the context of influencer marketing, seeding is the conscious distribution of branded content by influencers to stimulate organic exchange and engagement among their followers. Rather than relying exclusively on one’s own channels or on traditional advertising methods, seeding uses KOLs’ unique position and relationship with their audience to stimulate conversations, draw attention to the brand, and promote brand loyalty.

By integrating seeding into an influencer marketing campaign, brands can achieve several important objectives. Firstly, it increases brand visibility by leveraging the reach and influence of selected influencers. As they share the brand’s content with their followers, they reach a wider audience, beyond the brand’s immediate reach. This increased visibility can lead to increased brand awareness and recognition.

Secondly, seeding enables brands to leverage the trust and authenticity that influencers have developed with their audience. When they share branded content, their followers perceive it as a personal recommendation and not as traditional advertising, which can significantly influence their purchasing decisions. This authentic recommendation increases the brand’s credibility and trustworthiness and fosters a positive perception of the brand among the influencer audience.

Thirdly, seeding by creatives offers an opportunity to increase engagement and conversions. Influencers can create compelling, understandable content that resonates with their audience and increases the likelihood of active interaction, such as likes, comments, shares, and even direct purchases. This engagement not only increases brand reach, but also creates a deeper bond and loyalty with the target group.

How can primed content help brands?

Let’s start again: seeding is the strategic process of distributing content on the Internet in order to increase brand awareness and to reach a specific audience. This is achieved by approaching influencers who have a large number of followers or a high level of authority in certain fields. Content creators then contact the influencers with the aim of convincing them to share the content with their networks. As already mentioned, the benefits for brands are many:

• Greater reach
• Increased visibility
• Increased loyalty and credibility

In addition, primed content has viral potential and possibly a multiplier effect. If the content resonates with the target group, it has the potential to spread. If followers of influencers take an interest in the content and share it, it reaches new users who can in turn become multipliers, further increasing reach.

Seeding can take different forms and use different channels. It can involve sharing blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, or any other type of content relevant to the campaign objectives. Social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are often essential to seeding strategies, as they facilitate content sharing and engagement. In addition, influencer marketing platforms or agencies can help connect content creators with relevant influencers and simplify the seeding process.

To maximize the effectiveness of seeding, the content itself must be compelling, valuable, and tailored to the interests of the target group. The timing and frequency of seeding can also be decisive. Read about viral periods on TikTok, for example.

How does content seeding work?

Seeding involves using influencers and relevant influencer networks to increase the reach and visibility of content. The process generally involves the following steps:

1. Identifying influencers: As with any influencer marketing campaign, seeding generally starts with identifying the most relevant influencers that match your focus, your target group (and intended target group), and your pre-defined objectives. These influencers can be experts, industry leaders, celebrities, or even KOLs.
2. Making contact and establishing a relationship: you approach the identified influencers, often with personalized messages or emails, to create a link. Establishing a relationship and highlighting the value of the content are key to convincing influencers to participate in the seeding process. Also of interest: running an effective influencer marketing campaign!
3. Compelling content: Create quality content that offers added value to your target group. It should be informative, entertaining, visually appealing, and shareable. Then, present your content to influencers and highlight its relevance, quality, and potential value to their audience. You can create incentives or offer reciprocal benefits, such as cross-promotion or cooperation, to encourage influencers to willingly share content.
4. Influencer network distribution: once influencers have agreed to participate, they then share your content with their followers and networks via various platforms, such as social media, blogs, newsletters, or websites. The aim of this distribution is to reach a wider audience and generate engagement. When negotiating the collaboration, determine who you want to reach and which networks you have in mind.
5. Monitoring and optimization: throughout the seeding campaign, you must of course monitor the results of your efforts, i.e. the performance and engagement metrics of the content shared. Analyze the impact, identify effective strategies and, if necessary, make adjustments to optimize the seeding process for better results.

By harnessing the influence and reach of influencers, you leverage their credibility and trusted relationships with their audiences. This increases the likelihood of content being noticed and shared by a greater number of users, enabling you to reach a wider target group than with traditional marketing methods.Seeding differs from traditional advertising in that it relies on the voluntary participation and support of influencers. Instead of directly promoting content, seeding aims to create a “buzz” around content through authentic recommendations from influencers, thereby increasing its perceived value and credibility with the target group.

Successful seeding campaigns require a well-defined content strategy, careful selection of influencers, compelling and shareable content, and ongoing monitoring and optimization to maximize impact and achieve desired objectives such as brand awareness, engagement and audience growth.

What is a good seeding strategy?

A good seeding strategy requires careful planning and execution to maximize the effectiveness of the broadcast. Here are some key elements, in addition to those already mentioned above, to consider when developing a successful seeding strategy:

• Define clear objectives: Clearly define the objectives and desired results of the seeding campaign. Whether it’s to increase brand awareness, increase the number of visitors to your website, generate new leads, or promote a specific product or service, clearly defined objectives will guide the strategy and enable success to be measured.
• Target group research and targeting: Carry out in-depth research to understand your target group’s demographics, interests, behaviors, and preferred channels. This information helps identify key influencers who are strongly represented in your target group.
• Build relationships: Building authentic relationships with influencers is essential for successful seeding. Take the time to understand their interests, delve into their content and establish mutual trust and respect. A personal approach and networking can help foster these relationships.
• Set up incentives and offer added value: Offer KOLs exclusive incentives or benefits to encourage their participation in the seeding campaign. This could be exclusive access to new products or services, financial compensation, or the opportunity to participate in the design. By offering added value, you demonstrate a mutually beneficial collaboration.
• Diversify channels and formats: As we said, use different channels and formats to distribute your content. These can include social media platforms, blogs, podcasts, video sharing platforms, or industry-specific websites. Adapt the content to the platform concerned and make sure it’s easy to share and optimized for different (mobile) devices.

All in all, a good seeding strategy combines a thorough understanding of the target group, a thoughtful selection of influencers, the creation of compelling content, and ongoing optimization based on data and feedback.