What is Seeding? How advantageous is Seeding in media advertising?

What does Seeding mean? How beneficial is Seeding in media advertising?

1. Understanding Seeding

Seeding is a term derived from English, translating to 'planting seeds' in Vietnamese. In the realm of digital marketing, seeding represents a strategic approach to disseminating content across the Internet. Content creators aim to spread their content to a wider audience through various platforms such as websites, blogs, social media, forums, etc., ensuring that the information captures the attention of diverse demographics.

Typically, content creators target individuals with influence in relevant fields, hoping they will utilize their personal networks to further distribute the content. This marketing method aims to enhance brand awareness by pushing content onto web spaces frequented by target groups.

For effective seeding, content creators must publish creatively relevant posts tailored to specific target audiences. For instance, posts authored by reputable administrators or members on forums often garner significant attention and engagement, whether the content is personal or experiential in nature.

Users are more likely to view content recommended by those they trust rather than advertisements or sponsored posts. This is why targeting in seeding is extremely crucial.

2. Advantages of Seeding in Advertising and Media

Clearly, seeding and traditional advertising have distinct differences. While traditional advertising receives more investment and often employs interesting content (text, images, videos) to immediately capture attention, seeding takes a 'slow and steady wins the race' approach, attracting target audiences over time.

However, both seeding and traditional advertising are crucial strategies in digital marketing, complementing each other continuously, aiming towards the common goal of increasing brand awareness, driving business activities, and consequently boosting revenue.

Most marketers categorize seeding into two types: Simple Seeding and Advanced Seeding. In simple seeding, content is spread across the brand's network and a few influencers are invited to amplify it. While the effort and cost for this type are relatively low, the content must be of high quality and offer genuine value to persuade users to share it.

With advanced seeding, the brand utilizes various forms such as videos, articles, and infographics to disseminate content across social media, blogs, forums, groups, and websites. This approach expands the reach of the content but requires more effort and investment.

Another effective seeding option is to engage external partners. However, there's no guarantee of success with this method, and it can't replace good SEO. Seeding merely serves as a supportive step in building links and driving more traffic.

4. Strategies for Effective Seeding

Seeding plays a crucial role in online marketing, thus requiring a structured strategy and solid plan. Here's a guide to successful seeding:

+ Establishing Networks: A strong network is vital for seeding and all marketing activities. Maintaining an online network through social media and an offline network through trade shows and conferences helps nurture relationships within the industry and with potential customers.

+ Setting Objectives: To create a successful seeding campaign, you'll need a precise definition of your target audience. Conduct comprehensive target audience analysis through company database research and pay attention to media usage. Focus on networks your target audience typically engages with like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

+ Content Creation: After completing initial research on the target audience, start creating practical content. Pay special attention to the type of content you produce - how videos, infographics, or influencer articles perform on each seeding platform. Which content resonates best for advertising, entertainment, or simply information? Consider how your target audience responds to the content you're seeding.

+ Find Influencers: Based on the target group and developed content, you can narrow down the pool of influential individuals. Don't forget to regularly update industry events and expert opinions to present the best content, based on trending topics.

+ Contact: To seed through influencers, approach them professionally and express your viewpoint accurately. They need to know precisely what your goal is and why you're reaching out to them to achieve it.

+ Persuade Call-to-Action: Ensure your proposal holds some value for the influencer. Why should they share your content? What benefits does that content bring to them?

+ Track and Analyze Seeding Results: Did seeding help increase your traffic? Did influencers accept and share your content? Did your content spread beyond internal networks and reach those you thought were inaccessible? Have you seeded to the right target group and have they responded? Monitor each part of the seeding campaign to improve your next attempt.

+ Maintain Connections: After successfully concluding a seeding campaign, don't overlook the importance of nurturing the connections you've diligently built.