In a survey of more than 300 marketers in the U.S. and Europe, Traackr’s 2023 State of Influencer Product Seeding report found that 92% of marketers at least somewhat agree that product seeding has increased brand awareness, and 76% say product seeding campaigns have driven sales for their business.

However, signs of influencer marketing’s inefficiencies and waste are still apparent. More than half (61%) of marketers said that less than 50% of influencers who receive gifted products actually post on social media. Not only are brands spending valuable time and money on seeding campaigns that don’t perform, but they also could be adding to product waste that is rampant in the industry. Being more targeted, organized, and personalized in product seeding programs can help prevent products from going directly from the warehouse into the trash.

To take a performance-driven approach to product seeding, marketers should:

  • Use data to find influencers: Find influencers by interest, demographics, and performance metrics, and then cross-reference with those who already have an affinity to your brand.
  • Get prior agreement from influencers: Ask influencers to opt-in to your campaign to avoid miscommunications and wasted product.
  • Allow influencers to select their own gifted products: Reduce waste and increase your chances of receiving love on social by providing a custom product catalog, so influencers can select exactly which products they want.
  • Track/engage with content in real time: Have a system set up so you can understand the influencer’s sentiment and their audience’s engagement.
  • Set campaign goals and KPIs: For gifting campaigns that power awareness, KPIs like the number of posts, engagements, video views, and engagement rates are commonly used to determine success. Conduct post-campaign spend efficiency analyses — how much does each “gift” cost to send and how does that translate to cost-per-view (CPV) and cost-per-engagement (CPE)? Also, evaluate the overall brand impact of these campaigns with metrics like Brand Vitality Score (VIT) to understand the total attention earned from influencers.

Read the full State of Influencer Product Seeding report here.