Most guides on content seeding open with a gardening metaphor. We’ll drop the cliche and get straight to business.
Are you publishing brilliant, SEO-optimized blogs and ads? Great!
Are you still seeing minimal interaction, perhaps as low as three reads in a month? Not great.
You do need to polish and perfect your website, blog, and sales pages. But focusing only on those won’t make you a household name.
Internet users are your bread and butter, and they’re social media users. Google isn’t the first place they’ll look for new products and services.
That’s why you should be seeding content. Get to dropping posts and endorsements across forums, social platforms, and other people’s blogs. Keep at it and see these seeds develop into fruitful business-customer relationships.
Sounds good, but what’s the truth behind the sales pitch?
Join us for a full overview of content seeding, complete with several actionable strategies to start planting promotional seeds today.
Key Takeaways
- Content seeding is a marketing strategy in which a brand shares its content on various internet platforms to increase brand awareness and reach target audiences.
- It can increase website traffic, improve search engine rankings, and lead to more conversions.
- Creating high-quality, relevant content that is shareable and specific to each platform is important for an effective content seeding strategy.
- Identifying the target audience and choosing the right platforms to seed the content on is also important.
- Measuring and analyzing the results of a content seeding campaign is essential to determine its effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.
What is content seeding?
As a business owner, you’re an expert in product development and employee management. Online advertising might not be your strong suit, though. So, let’s start with the basics and work our way up.
What is content seeding, and how does it work?
Content seeding is a marketing technique in which a brand plants its content across various internet platforms. The content receives exposure, interactions, and shares, endorsing the company in the process.
The goals include reaching target groups, increasing brand awareness, and encouraging viewers to visit the main website.
Okay, that sounds simple, but you’re not here for a seeding content definition. You want to understand this approach to its core.
Let’s break down the description into its constituent elements, adding content seeding examples to illustrate their meaning.
- Content seeding is a marketing strategy. You’re promoting your brand by sharing relevant information, pics, and fun posts across the internet.
A sports equipment manufacturer could post about new racing shoes on websites used by runners in their target group. An endorsement by a popular influencer doubles the advertising value.
- It involves posting across various internet platforms. You could be seeding content anywhere online, from other people’s blogs to your LinkedIn account. It’s a matter of what your target group of customers are most likely to scroll during their lunch break.
For instance, if you’re a beauty brand for teens, Instagram and TikTok are your go-to networks. Facebook content marketing and talk shows are a better bet if targeting middle-aged women.
- It aims for exposure and distribution. Content thus needs to be relevant, creative, shareable, and specific for each platform.
If you’re seeding content about your hair products on visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, chunks of text won’t do. Snap shots of the results. Long video tutorials work for YouTube, but TikTok needs snappy snippets.
Everything seems clear so far? Let’s add another layer.
Content seeding can take two main forms—simple and advanced.
The former is more old-fashioned and somewhat out-of-date. It includes spreading the content on your blog and perhaps through one renowned influencer. It’s cheaper and easier, but the return on investment is also less bombastic.
Advanced content seeding is what makes brands go viral.
You create posts, videos, articles, infographics, reels—you name it—and spread it to a massive number of platforms, websites, and influencers. The workload is larger and costlier, but your brand name spreads like wildfire, reaching every nook and cranny of the internet.
The benefits of content seeding
Let them come to you no longer works on the online marketplace. You need to put in the hours into cutting through the red tape and communicating with your customers. A content seeding marketing technique is a central piece of that puzzle.
Let’s talk practical benefits.
Increasing website traffic
Seeding content, especially the well-targeted and relevant kind, increases website traffic. And the more people see your site, the more customers you’ll have.
Social media platforms are the most visited sites on the internet, and the traffic is organic. People scroll, see your brand, and visit your site. They’re less likely to do the same from a search results page packed with countless competitors.
In fact, one in every three consumers uses social media to discover new brands.
If that doesn’t sell the relevance of content seeding platforms, nothing will!
As a bonus, content seeding produces engaged and relevant traffic. If somebody interested in veganism sees a post about your plant protein, they’re already a likely shopper. Longer sessions and lower bounce rates incoming!
Getting quality backlinks
Content seeding isn’t only a technique for reaching audiences. It’s also a technical website booster.
Backlinks are links from one internet page to another. You get one backlink for every post that mentions your website. And backlinks do wonders for SEO.
Seeding content on blogs, websites, and social platforms gets you tons of quality backlinks. These have a double purpose.
For one, they encourage people to enter your website without a relevant Google search. That’s the traffic boost we just discussed.
They also improve your standing on search engines, showing Google that other platforms see you as valuable. As a result, you rank higher on search results in the future, enjoying a cycle of positive exposure.
Boosting conversion rates
Content seeding often results in higher conversion rates.
This rate determines how many website visitors took the desired action upon seeing your ad or post. For instance, if your Twitter thread encourages people to check out your service, those who do are your conversions.
Higher conversions mean more visitors sign up, join your network, purchase products, and otherwise interact with your brand.
This benefit stems from the quality traffic you’re now receiving. If a YouTuber mentions your products to their wide audience, perhaps 5% of all viewers will follow the link and check out your website. Those who do are people who want to learn more.
They’ll also have heard about you from a trusted source while using a platform where they feel comfortable. And that’s the first step to gaining a loyal customer through seeding content.
Gaining new followers
As much as 78% of people are willing to buy from brands if they have a positive social media interaction. Seeding content across these platforms matters for business success.
What’s more, social networks are the best place for users to discover companies organically. Content seeding produces a snowball effect of business growth.
Your existing followers and influencer cooperation are only step number one. As time passes, you also get word-of-mouth endorsements from regular users. People share quality, witty, and informative content, and you reach an even greater number of potential customers.
Those people then become followers and the process repeats itself.
Choosing the right content seeding strategy
That’s quite a list of benefits for a reasonable amount of effort! How do you start?
The most suitable content seeding strategy depends on your brand type, size, and goals. It can be as small as answering questions on Reddit or as extensive as cooperation with PewDiePie.
We’ll leave the scope to your discretion and focus on systems. These three tactics bring positive results for most brands.
Cooperation with influencers
Influencer content seeding is perfect for new companies striving to establish a strong presence. It can also help big-name brands, especially those struggling to personalize and connect with audiences.
How does it work?
You send your product to an influencer or provide incentives to discuss it. It’s on them to share a favorable review with their target group. Seeding content through these big figures is most efficient when their demographics and style align with yours.
For example, you’d plant your insurance services to an influencer who focuses on practical life tips. The same content seeding marketing technique wouldn’t work with a video gamer.
Pro tip: You don’t have to find the biggest influencer in the niche for this to work. Sometimes, micro-influencers bring even greater results because they communicate authenticity.
Social media engagement
Social media content seeding is a modern marketing technique that works across the board. It’s especially valuable for business-to-customer companies, where you pitch a product or service to individuals looking to buy.
A 2020 study showed that 90% of people cooperate with brands they follow on social networks. If you don’t already have a well-established profile with tons of subscribers, it’s time to hop on the social media bandwagon.
Start with demographic research. Learn who your audience is, which platforms they frequent, and what content types they find engaging. Follow that up by making a profile and building up a presence on the platform.
Here are the tenants of a successful content seeding strategy on social networks:
- Post about relevant topics. Content seeding isn’t advertising only; it also includes generating discussions about your brand. Comment on the current events and share your opinions.
- Post regularly. Algorithms prefer profiles that regularly utilize the platform. Keep a consistent posting schedule to gain notice.
- Encourage participation. The more people engage with your brand, the better the results. Ask for likes and comments, organize quizzes, and award shares.
- Use relevant hashtags. Get platform-savvy and use its tools for greater visibility.
- Communicate with other users. Retweet good tweets, share Instagram stories, and comment on people’s posts. Social media isn’t one-sided, it’s social.
These steps form a solid content seeding strategy that involves only your platforms. It doubles in effectiveness if both you and your influencer of choice post and link between each other.
Email and newsletter content marketing
Email isn’t dead, nor is it outdated. It’s still one of the best ways to reach existing customers, especially for companies that see many one-time customers and want to increase engagement.
This approach seamlessly fits into your current promotion and blog posting schedule. The goal is simple—instead of hoping that a person visits your page to see what’s up, you’re bringing the content to them.
Plus, a Gmail inbox doesn’t have a stringent algorithm. Messages stand in temporal order, and it’s hard to miss them (provided that the recipient checks their email).
This content seeding strategy has the added benefit of never depending on third parties. People on your email list already expressed at least some level of interest in your brand. They’re likely to care about what you have to say.
Set up a weekly or monthly email newsletter that informs the user about content that’s gone live. There, you’re seeding content directly into your customer’s field of perception.
This marketing technique works in isolation and in combination with others. Use social platforms to attract new audiences and send emails to reach existing ones.
Pro tip: Why not combine the two content seeding avenues for double results? Use your social profiles to promote the newsletter. Invite those on the email list to follow you on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Seeding content, reaping exposure
Any modern online business needs exposure, and seeding content is an effective means to that end. This strategy supports brand growth, attracts followers, and gets people talking.
Don’t miss out on the benefits of social media and influencer content marketing. Put in the work and see your action reflected in customer numbers, word-of-mouth marketing, and revenue.
There’s only one more factor to handle—you need quality content. Find a writing agency to produce blogs, video scripts, descriptions, and infographics. Create a substantial content seeding library that matches your image and goals before you get planting.
Ready to get started? Schedule a consultation today. Let Grassroots Content create your content and promote growth on any platform.
Frequently asked questions
What is a functional example of content seeding?
A functional example of content seeding refers to using various channels for distribution. These diverse channels include Facebook and other social media platforms. Your home page and brand blog are also fantastic platforms.
What is content seed marketing?
Content seed marketing refers to the distribution of information for maximum exposure. Through strategic placement, relevant content is made available to a greater pool of the target group. In turn, this boosts interest in the brand.
Are there any benefits to content seeding?
Yes, there is. Some notable benefits of content seeding include reaching a larger audience and promoting relevant messages. It also increases traffic and SEO performance.
