Influencer marketing platform Lefty has published a guide to building a strong product seeding strategy for the holiday season. According to Lefty, with digital ad costs rising and consumer inboxes overflowing, brands are shifting their budgets towards product seeding: sending free products to carefully selected creators without demanding guaranteed deliverables.

Product seeding vs. influencer gifting

• Influencer gifting - Often transactional, usually involving a contract and strict guidelines on what the creator must say and when they must post.
• Product seeding - Relationship-first, with zero obligations. As consumers experience holiday ad fatigue, seeded content results in authentic, unscripted enthusiasm.

The ideal seeding timeline for Black Friday and Christmas

• October: research, outreach and dispatch - Packages should be in the mail by mid-to-late October, avoiding November courier bottlenecks and giving creators time to test the product before the sales begin.
• Early November: follow-ups and exclusivity - Confirm delivery, ask for genuine feedback, and offer an exclusive perk for the creator’s audience, such as early access to a Black Friday sale or a custom discount code.
• Black Friday week and Cyber Monday: amplification - Creators who genuinely loved the product will start including it in their round-ups, gift guides and stories.

Last-minute tactics

• Use expedited shipping - Pay the premium so packages arrive within 48 hours.
• Pivot to digital gifting - Send high-value creators digital gift cards so they can choose their own products.
• Target local micro-influencers - Brands with physical stores can partner with micro-influencers nearby to bypass shipping delays altogether.

Three best practices

• Personalise the packaging - During the holidays, the unboxing experience is the marketing, so wrap products beautifully, use premium materials and include a handwritten note.
• Never demand content - According to Lefty, a pressure-free approach yields the highest rate of authentic, organic content.
• Give them an irresistible offer - Pairing a great product with a unique discount code gives creators a strong incentive to share it with their audience.

For more information, visit lefty.io.

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