5 things to focus on while designing an effective influencer product seeding campaign Share via

Influencer product seeding or product gifting is a concept where a brand sends out free products to a carefully selected group of influencers to make them try the products and post about the item on their social media channels in front of their large following. In other words, the brands send out these free products to the influencers to generate word-of-mouth referrals and get genuine, relatable organic content that resonates well with the followers of the content creator. For many brands who are undertaking the influencer marketing journey, product seeding is often the first step towards the endeavor as it is cost-efficient and highly effective at the same time. But just like any other marketing strategy, it is of supreme importance to chalk out the plan meticulously to see significant gains from your product seeding campaigns. Here are five things that brand marketers need to focus on while designing an effective influencer product seeding campaign.

Select right influencers

The first step while designing an influencer product seeding campaign is to select the influencers carefully to send the free products. Before sending your products to them, brands need to analyze and assess the influencer’s performance, content history, engagement rate, audience socio-demographics, and area of interest. Ensure that the influencer you are reaching out to has followers who resonate well with your product and add value to your campaign. Half the battle is won once you shortlist the right influencers for your product seeding campaign.

Packaging and personalization

As soon as your product reaches the influencer, they will start forming an opinion about your brand. So, it becomes crucial for brands to send out the products in a meticulously and aesthetically looking packaging that grabs the attention of the influencers and would make for an exciting picture for their social channel. Besides packaging, marketers should also send a personalized note to the influencers to stand apart from the many brands sending gifts to your prospect. These may look like little things, but they go a long way in forming a long-term relationship between the brands and the influencers. Remember, if the initial impression is right and the influencer likes your product, there are high chances that your product may appear on their social feed.

Send best-suited products

The whole point of undertaking a product seeding or influencer gifting campaign is to send the products that the influencer will try and write about. So, brands should thoroughly research what kind of products the influencer likes and frequently posts about on their social media platforms. For example, if an influencer’s historical feed suggests that they only talk about sportswear on their Instagram, it would be unwise to send traditional fashionwear with them, as it is highly likely that they would not talk about your product. Hence, research becomes the keyword here. The more you know about your influencer, the more accurate you are with your product seeding strategies. Besides, don’t get lured into sending cheaper or inexpensive products to the influencers, as it might negatively impact the brand’s image. Instead, send across your best-selling product or the hero product, and it may likely start a strong relationship.

Engage with influencer’s social media posts

As a brand marketer, you should always look at the influencer’s social media posts to see if they have mentioned your product. If you see your product on their social media posts, make sure you engage with those content. Even if there is a negative review or some feedback, brands should not shy away from interacting with those posts. In fact, you should thank the influencers for trying out the product and ask for detailed feedback over e-mail. These simple gestures will help you to create a long-lasting relationship with your customers.

Create partnership

Once the influencer has posted about your product on their social media posts, brand marketers should start partnering more with that content creator and find out different ways to collaborate with them in the future. This is where product seeding can become a full-blown influencer partnership, and both brands and the influencers can gain from the association.

Product seeding is one of the most used compensation methods for influencer marketing globally, which is what makes it one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to scale your campaign. In addition, the massive reach it can provide to your brand is phenomenal. If you are looking to start your influencer product seeding campaign, the influencer marketing platform of ArabyAds, iConnect, can help you to devise a successful and efficient strategy. iConnect enables you to streamline and align all your product seeding processes while you focus entirely on your campaigns. Reach out to the iConnect team for further assistance.