5 Influencers Share Product Seeding Tactics For Free Marketing

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5 Influencers Share Product Seeding Tactics For Free Marketing

It’s a common practice in the influencer marketing industry to send products to an influencer hoping for free publicity. We call this tactic product seeding. When done right, gifting is a great relationship-building tool and can lead to free marketing for your brand. You’re sending a message that you value the influencer by giving them your newest products.

However, brands must understand that giving gifts by no means obligates influencers to post about them on social media. But if they genuinely like what they see, they will often share it with their audience voluntarily.

If you want product seeding to work for your brand, try to think about your products from an influencer’s perspective. The gift needs to be shareable. It needs to be social media worthy.

In many cases, the excitement of receiving gifts is not enough to make an influencer want to post about it. Remember, top influencers receive gifts on a weekly — sometimes daily — basis.

So what might convince them to post about your product?

Besides the product itself, packaging matters. While some brands understand the importance of appearance, most still don’t design product packaging that motivates people to share on social media.

PARKLU asked a handful of influencers if they were more likely to post photos of free gifts from brands if they liked the packaging. The answer was a resounding YES.

Several influencers said appearance and packaging was a deciding factor for free marketing product posts. The product must fit their aesthetic and be photogenic. 

Adidas and local Chinese fashion brand Dueplay

Unique product packaging also lets brands share their personality. The recent collaboration between Adidas and local Chinese fashion brand Dueplay is an excellent example of experiential product packaging design. The campaign created intrigue and demonstrated Adidas’ flair for modern design with the pod-like light-up cases their shoes came in.

Personalisation and customisation are also great ways to impress an influencer when product seeding. Taking the time and effort to embellish products with names or choosing colours to suit individual influencers’ styles goes a long way in creating loyalty — especially when a brand gets it right!

To learn more about product seeding tactics, PARKLU interviewed 5 fashion and beauty influencers. This is what we discovered about motivating influencers to give your brand free marketing:

 

Bada_C彦熹 China influencer

@bada_C彦熹

Is a product’s packaging important to you?

Packaging is part of the design — brands definitely need to put a little thought into it. But I do not like excessive packaging because it is not environmentally friendly.

influencer product seeding gift example

Example of a gift she shared

What kind of packaging appeals to you?

Clean and simple, but also unique.

Influencers product seeding gift post

Bada_C彦熹 even sends product gifts to her own fans

Has a brand ever sent you a product seeding gift and because you liked the packaging you shared it on social media, even though it wasn’t sponsored?

Yes, I have. Most of them I like because they are simple and elegant. I rarely see any creative packaging designs.

personalized influencer gift for free marketing

Personalised Chanel Pajamas

Have brands ever sent you a personalised gift?

Yes. For example, this is a photo of some beautifully personalised pajamas that Chanel sent me. I tend to share gifts from brands on my social media if I feel that the design and the product suit my style and if it’s actually something useful.

 

傅沛MelilimFu China beauty influencer

@傅沛MelilimFu

Is a product’s packaging important to you?

Yes! I think most women love beautiful packaging, at least me and my fans do. I often keep lipstick boxes just because I like the way they look.

When I review a product I always include a photo of the packaging and include my thoughts on it in the review.

influencer packaging appeals to fans

Melilim receives product seeding gifts every day

What kind of packaging appeals to you?

Futuristic — maybe a shape, colour or material I have never seen before. That will get me really excited and make me want to share it.

Has a brand ever sent you a gift and because you liked the packaging you shared it on social media, even though it wasn’t sponsored?

Honestly, I’m not impressed by a lot of the packaging on gifts from brands. It’s boring. But there are many times that I have bought a product for myself and I love the packaging and I will share it with my fans.

Have brands ever sent you a personalised gift?

Yes, they have. One that really stands out is when Bobbi Brown sent me makeup with my name printed on it, and they chose specific product colours for each influencer. I have always been a huge fan of Bobbi Brown products so to receive a gift like this was really meaningful and of course, I shared it with my fans.

personalized gift influencer by Make Up Forever

An old post image was used to make a personalized gift painting

Another really cool personalised gift was a painting of me sent by Make Up For Ever. The painting was all in red to match the launch of their newest line of red lipsticks. It was such a unique gift and I have it hanging up in my house.

 

汤牧 China influencer

@汤牧

Is a product’s packaging important to you?

Yes definitely, it’s my first impression of the brand and the product. I particularly like seasonal and holiday designs as well as limited edition special designs.

What kind of packaging appeals to you?

Something unique, that has real personality.

TRIWA product seeding gift packaging

Product seeding gift packaging

Has a brand ever sent you a gift and because the packaging looked cool you shared it on social media even though it wasn’t sponsored?

Yes, TRIWA always has nice packaging.

free influencer marketing post

Proper product seeding can result in organic brand promotion

Have brands ever sent you a personalised gift?

No, they haven’t. But I think personalised gifts are a really good idea, they make you feel closer to the brand. And when lots of other influencers share the same personalised gift on social media, it makes them look elite, like they are part of a special club.

 

Veee辣小姐 China Influencer

@Veee辣小姐

Is a product’s packaging important to you?

Packaging is very important to me, I’m a very visual person. When I receive a product from a brand, the packaging can tell me a lot about how much effort the brand put into this.

influencer product from a brand

Product seeding without expectation can have beautiful results

What kind of packaging appeals to you?

In general, I like clean and simple packaging, maybe something with a cool texture or a unique design. If it is customized, it will be more attractive.

Has a brand ever sent you a gift and because you liked the packaging you shared it on social media, even though it wasn’t sponsored?

Yes, definitely.

 

the木兰show China influencer

@the木兰show

Is a product’s packaging important to you?

Yes, because I like high-quality things, so to me the packing shows how detail-oriented the brand is and how thoughtful the marketing team is.

What kind of packaging appeals to you?

I think the material matters more to me than the color. For example, I love ceramic and silk. I also like personalisation.

Influencer marketing product seeding personalization

Influencer marketing product seeding should be fun and unique

Has a brand ever sent you a gift and because you liked the packaging you shared it on social media, even though it wasn’t sponsored?

Yes. Well, it wasn’t necessarily the packaging, but I was sent this lotion and the product’s name had something to do with being royal, so they also gave me this awesome crown. It reminds me a bit of a previous Dolce & Gabbana collection. I shared the lotion and the crown in one of my vlogs.

 

To influencers, packaging it the first impression they get of your brand and your product. It can make them curious and eager to share it on social media or bore them into putting it aside.

To them, beautiful packaging signifies that effort went into the product seeding gift. Personalisation, especially when the influencer has been a fan of your brand for a long time, can be very impactful, letting the influencer know that a brand that they love recognises and appreciates them.

To brands, often stressed and rushed with overwhelming amounts of work, packaging may seem like a side note, not something worth spending extra time and money on, an irrelevant detail. But as the old saying goes, “It’s all about the details”. And product seeding is the single best tactic to get free marketing from influencers.

 


 

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By |2020-11-12T13:45:48+08:00February 9th, 2018|Influencer Marketing, Marketing Strategy|0 Comments

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