The Evolution of Influencer Marketing: Seeding vs Pay-per-Post
Influencer Marketing evolves every single year. 90% of brands are using outdated tactics, and that’s why it’s not working for them.?
Bad influencer marketing tactics don’t just hurt brands, it burns influencers. It spoils the bunch.?
Most people think influencer marketing is a new thing that only came to be when Instagram was invented. It’s not. It’s been around since we started glorifying celebrities.
The first company to ever cut a deal with a celebrity was Adidas, in the 1950s. They were sending shoes to the best athletes in the world. Influencer marketing became more widely known in the 80s and 90s when the world’s best talent gained representation by agents.
Influencer marketing was simple back then. Big brands doing billions in revenue would call up a celebrity’s agent, they’d name a (7 figure) price, and then the celebrity would grumpily show up to a video shoot.
The celebrity would retake the same 30-second commercial script for HOURS until the brand representative was happy with the way it turned out. The commercial would turn out as a 7/10 product, and neither party would wanna do it again. Torture.
The tactics those companies used in the 90s are still being used today with small influencers, and it’s completely backward. Paying for a post, telling your talent precisely what to say, and taking all of the magic out of it. Here’s where you’re most likely getting mixed up.
As social media exploded in 2014, we gained never-before-seen access into the lives of people we deem “celebrities”. We went from Michael Jordan in a Nike commercial to mommy bloggers with 50k followers on Instagram or the Bachelorette winner on TikTok.
Social media platforms were made for human-to-human interaction. And its relationship with eCommerce hasn’t changed that one bit. The problem comes when brands rely on a pay-for-post model, which is not what social media was designed for.
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This is a hit-it-and-quit-it, one-night stand version of what marketing has come to be. What our agency preaches and teaches is building relationships with influencers, optimized for the long term. Instead of cold DMing them and paying $2500 for a post, you get this instead:
How do we do this?
We offer free products to influencers in our niche, with no strings attached. We customize their unboxing experience and make it unique to them. We treat them like a human from day one. And magically, they post about us on IG or TikTok. This is called “seeding”.
The term “seeding” is exactly what it sounds like. We plant the “seed” of a relationship and let it blossom. The difference? Gifting asks. Seeding gives. One is transactional. The other, relational.
Will this work on everyone? No. Celebrities like Charli D’Amelio, Drake, and Olivia Rodrigo get deals all day, every day. You need to pay for access to them. But for a mommy blogger with 50k followers? Lead with a relationship, because it’s rarer than you think.
Going relational instead of transactional is how you get influencers in your niche to go above and beyond for you and your brand. That’s what sells in this day and age. Generosity. Always.
If you’re looking to implement a system like this for your brand, my DMs are always open. If you want other tips like this weekly in your inbox, our intern Kendrick writes these weekly emails, and they’re great. Sign up here: kynship.co