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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Cooking magazine Bon Appetit has a wildly popular YouTube channel (4.7 million subscribers strong) due to their charismatic test kitchen chefs who produce recipe videos. Claire Saffitz, host of series "Gourmet Makes," has become a food influencer because of how much she connects with fans of the channel. Recently, Saffitz collaborated with magazine Coveteur on her Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

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I learned how to repost! Sharing this fun video from @coveteur that we shot in my kitchen. 💖 #repost

A post shared by Claire Saffitz (@csaffitz) on Aug 12, 2019 at 5:45pm PDT

This is a great example of content seeding because Coveteur's partnership with Saffitz brought recognition to their magazine. Her Q/A with the lifestyle magazine could closely appeal to Saffitz's fans: people who are interested in cooking and health. The closely running avenues of the publisher’s audiences mean a potential 400,000 new readers from Saffitz's Instagram.

2. Mandy McEwen x LinkedIn Marketing

Founder of marketing company Mod Girl Marketing, Many McEwen, recently partnered with LinkedIn Marketing's Thought Leadership campaign. This partnership aligns with McEwen's following — professionals who are interested in working with thought leaders — and LinkedIn's audience — professionals looking for workplace connections and advancements.

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted @withrepost • @linkedinmktg Experimenting and taking risks are key to Mandy McEwen's #MyMarketingStory: "I started my agency by offering free #SEO services to local businesses after I failed miserably at becoming a full-time affiliate marketer. After I got businesses ranked on the first page of Google they would pay me $500. That's how Mod Girl was born. I really took advantage of building relationships in-person with businesses owners when I first started Mod Girl. Even with the "free SEO" clients, I would meet them in person FIRST. Then, I would perform the work for free, get them on the first page of Google, and when that happened they would write me a check. Not once did a client never pay and I think that's because I built a relationship with them first and met them in person. I like to think I am a good judge of character and can tell when someone isn't genuine. Luckily, my first few clients were very nice, genuine business owners who were happy to pay me. And, after I got them on page one, they ended up hiring me for other monthly services, which was the start of my first "retainer" marketing clients." - @mandymodgirl, Founder of Mod Girl Marketing Stay tuned for more from Mandy over the next few weeks. #entrepreneurship #marketing #marketingtips #thoughtleader

A post shared by Mandy McEwen (@mandymodgirl) on Apr 30, 2019 at 3:50pm PDT

McEwen also gains new engagement from the partnership, while building her credibility as a marketer. This is a great example of how content seeding can work both ways to build brand awareness.

3. Lin-Manuel Miranda x Reddit

Social platform Reddit recently had actor Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights) run an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on the site. The thing about AMAs is that you must have an account to participate. Fans had to sign up for an account to ask Miranda a question, then notice social communities for Miranda's line of work, like Broadway and television.

Reddit, I'm coming over to your / of the woods tomorrow... https://t.co/JmSiBs7RmJ

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) November 18, 2019

Having Miranda post this on Twitter to three million followers is great exposure for Reddit. If the platform wanted to grow its theatre-based threads and community, this AMA was a perfect seed to plant.

4. Louis Tomlinson x Twitter

Musician Louis Tomlinson recently collaborated with Twitter to run a Q&A on YouTube. Tomlinson and Twitter each have incredibly large audiences, but most probably had no idea Twitter had a YouTube channel (myself included). However, with Tomlinson's 33 million followers, Twitter saw a way to grow their presence on the video platform.

Twitter partnering with Tomlinson to promote another channel of theirs is a smart way to attract potential subscribers. If fans find that more of their favorite artists have similar videos on Twitter's YouTube channel, they might tune in and share their finds to their own Twitter audience.

5. Sara Blakely x Masterclass

Founder and CEO of Spanx, Sara Blakely, worked with MasterClass on an entrepreneurship course. MasterClass is an online education platform offering courses in various industries. Learn tennis from 23-time title holder Serena Williams or get a crash course in fashion from Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour.

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ve been asked a ton of questions since I started @Spanx, but by far the most common one is… “so, how did you DO it?” Well guess what!? For the first time in 20 years, I’m sharing with YOU (in detail!) how I took $5,000 in personal savings and built a global brand. Welcome to my @MasterClass!!! MasterClass.com is a global platform that gives you a chance to take an online course directly from a “Master” in their respective field. Their teachers include Serena Williams (Tennis), Anna Wintour (Creativity and Leadership in Fashion), Ron Howard (Directing), Annie Leibovitz (Photography), Gordon Ramsay (Cooking), Shonda Rhimes (Writing for Television), Steve Martin (Comedy), Simone Biles (Gymnastics) and their newest teacher… me! I'm the first to teach entrepreneurship for MasterClass and I'm so honored. In my class I share things like how to find and connect with your purpose, how to develop and test the marketability of an idea, sales strategies and techniques to get your foot in the door, my personal checklist for innovation, and so much more! So, if you’re someone out there with a great idea but unsure how to pursue it, this class is for you! Or maybe you’re a small-business owner but want to take it to the next level… the class is also for you! Or maybe you’re just looking for some inspiration and motivation… this class is for you too. I had so much fun reflecting on my journey and I hope it will encourage you to make your dreams happen... no matter what they are! Here’s how it works. My course is 14 videos, all roughly 20 minutes long. An individual course is $90 and access to all the courses for 1 year is $180. It’s a cool opportunity to invest in yourself, and it also makes a cool gift to give away. Check out the link in my bio for more! See you in class! 👍#Entrepreneur #SelfMade #Spanx #Business #SelfEducation #MasterClass @serenawilliams @realronhoward @annieleibovitz @gordongram @shondarhimes @simonebiles

A post shared by Sara Blakely (@sarablakely) on Nov 7, 2019 at 5:30am PST

Blakely's partnership with MasterClass is an invitation for fans of the entrepreneur to get a look into how she built her empire. If 300,000 of Blakely's followers are interested in her story, the website could benefit greatly from dropping their branded content on her Instagram.

My vegetable garden thrives every year because of a combination of work from my end, the right soil, and favorable weather conditions. The same is true for content seeding. A perfect content seeding strategy is built from a combination of brands finding the right partners, a great platform, and a favorable product or service to promote.

You don't have to invest huge amounts of money into content seeding. Choosing micro-influencers or guest bloggers and podcast interviews are more cost-effective ways of content seeding as well.