Seeding

Seeding is part of content marketing, or more precisely content outreach, and describes the targeted placement of content on the internet in order to increase one’s own reach, awareness and trust. There are various strategies for reliably achieving these goals. The core of all strategies is to create added value for the target group.

This is particularly important for modern online marketing. A successful campaign not only generates a high reach across many channels, but also valuable backlinks. The name already contains the definition of seeding: your own content is sown (spread) over the internet. If the seed (own content) and the soil (external website) are of good quality, then the seed is scattered again and spreads further and further. The harvest does not even have to be collected, but comes by itself in the form of links, shares, comments and page visits.

Types of seeding in marketing

As usual in marketing, there are also different types, which sometimes fit better and sometimes worse, depending on the situation and industry. Overall, there are two types that work similarly and have the same goal. The difference lies above all in the effort expended. In the case of so-called simple seeding, the main focus is on publishing the content on one’s own channels and using one’s own reach. In the second type, extended seeding, you actively approach influencers and try to convince them of your content. This makes it much more likely that the content will go viral and reach a very large number of people.

When does simple seeding make sense?

There are different scenarios for successful simple seeding. For example, there is a higher chance of going viral if the content is excellently researched, prepared and written. In this case, you can already achieve a lot with few followers or page visitors through likes, shares and comments. Even with a very large number of followers, the possibility is high that they will often share the published content. Last but not least, probably the biggest factor in simple seeding is a portion of luck. Because it is often an interplay between many individual parts that are responsible for a viral post.

One thing is certain, however: you should always use the reach of your own channels. These reach users reliably and free of charge, even if the content does not go viral. In addition, an initial test by means of simple seeding makes sense to check the content. If the performance was not good, the content should be optimized before contacting the various influencers in extended seeding.

Extended seeding brings the extra boost in reach

With the help of extended seeding, the content created can be distributed more easily and widely. For this, targeted influencers and websites are picked out that match well with the defined target group. These influencers are then contacted and asked to publish the content or link to it. Depending on how well-known the influencer or website is, this can also cost a certain amount of money.

However, extended seeding is not only good for reach and awareness, but also for so-called social proof. This shows readers that a company is reputable and well versed in the subject. Therefore, for good content, this method is always a very good way to deliver real value not only to users, but also to your own marketing campaign.

Seeding strategies for a successful campaign

Besides simple and advanced seeding, there are other distinctions. For example, various strategies can be used to pursue different goals. How they achieve these goals, however, is clear from the outset: create added value for readers and users, thereby improving reach, awareness and trust. The two strategies differ in the placement of this added value and in how they achieve their goals.

Content seeding involves publishing content on thematically relevant websites and platforms. While social seeding, also called viral seeding, works with social media influencers to benefit from their reach. Social seeding is also a part of content seeding. However, in recent years, it has been able to form its own branch within marketing, due to a permanently increasing relevance.

Content Seeding

The definition of content seeding is also in the name: Content is selectively seeded. The goals are to generate and increase reach, trust and awareness. With the help of various channels, one’s own brand presence on the internet is improved. However, care must always be taken to ensure that the influencers and websites are thematically suitable for the target group.

In addition, valuable backlinks can be built up with the help of content seeding, which also improve the SEO performance of one’s own website in addition to the advantages mentioned. Especially valuable are backlinks from high-quality sites that have a high trust value with Google. This provides a holistic option of marketing.

Social Seeding

Social media seeding is particularly useful if the target group can be easily reached via social media. Here, you try to reach a critical mass of users with the help of multipliers before the content finally goes viral and becomes a self-runner. This minimum number of people reached varies greatly and changes constantly. That’s why it’s important to analyze the campaign’s performance closely and possibly readjust it if the planned success still fails to materialize.

Even influencers with a few followers can be very effective in getting the content to the right target group. In addition to good content, the thematic proximity between the influencer and the content is particularly important. Thus, a post is very likely to generate more success with a small influencer who deals with online marketing than with a large lifestyle influencer.

Importance of seeding for SEO

Seeding is very important especially for effective search engine optimization. This is because a good campaign often generates new backlinks for one’s own website. Google uses these to evaluate how trustworthy and relevant a website is. Often a good position in the search results correlates directly with the number and quality of backlinks. Seeding can be used to build not only new backlinks, but also backlinks from websites with a very high trust value. So seeding not only increases the reach, but also increases the performance of the entire website.

But not only backlinks are relevant for SEO. It already helps if the name of one’s own website or company can be found somewhere in the text on the foreign website. Therefore, it is advisable to offer users the opportunity to embed an infographic directly on their website. This ensures that the company name is in the alt and title tag, making it easier for Google to track where the infographic came from.