Des Moines-Based Platform Hummingbirds Pollinates Society’s Goodness
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If Emily Steele was a bird, she’d be a hummingbird.
“You fly around and spread all your energy everywhere. And you kind of scatter everywhere,” Steele’s father-in-law, a bird lover, once said affectionately at a family dinner in Malo. I spoke to her with all my heart.
Steele readily agrees that winged animals fit her personality. But more importantly, it’s now the namesake behind Hummingbirds, Inc. It’s the inspiration behind.
Hummingbirds is a platform that matches Des Moines small businesses with a community of ultra-local content creators known as “hummingbirds” to drive brand awareness and sales. Through his business, Steele has connected over 500 local social media influencers with over 100 brands, including Hy-Vee, the Des Moines Botanical Gardens, and most recently, the new Cookies & Dreams store in Ankeny.
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Her company, launched in 2018, is at the intersection of economic development, small business marketing, and content creation, which she says was shaped by her childhood and years of work in the nonprofit and marketing industries.
Due to the lack of big box stores in his hometown of Pella, Steele said he grew up relying on local businesses and only visited Des Moines malls once or twice a year. Today, uptown shops such as Jaarsma Bakery and Smokey Row Coffee Co. hold a special place.
“There’s something in me that just fell in love with the world of small business,” she said. I feel like
Steele was the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a degree in marketing and public relations from Drake University in 2012. She began working in the nonprofit sector of Des Moines and helped launch a community revitalization campaign called Viva She East Bank. She started the project in 2014. Over the next few years, she experimented with small businesses, launched POP UP YOGA DSM, and expanded her group of women’s networks, FemCity Des Moines.
With influencer marketing and personal branding on the rise in 2018, Steele created DSMHummingbirds, a concept that works similarly to word-of-mouth marketing.
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If your neighbor tells you about a delicious new burger joint in town, you’re probably going to try it, Steele hypothesizes. 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over any form of advertising.
“People, especially younger consumers, look to their peers to help them make decisions,” says Steele. They are influenced by their neighbors and friends. they see everything “
But instead of reaching one or two people in your neighborhood, Hummingbirds offers an opportunity for local businesses to reach thousands by taking advantage of one person’s positive interactions with their brand. increase.
Businesses can use Hummingbird’s platform to create campaigns and select ‘Hummingbirds’ to help build buzz around their brand, including openings, events and new product launches. Share the experience with your brand by posting photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook.
“Hummingbirds are pollinators,” says Steele.
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Previously, Steele tracked all participants in a simple database, matching “hummingbirds” of interest to companies in-house. Recently, Hummingbirds launched a new iteration of its platform that allows potential “hummingbirds” to create a profile and opt-in if a company’s campaign looks appealing. Businesses can then recruit and select the content creators they deem best suited for their campaigns.
Companies pay Hummingbirds $50 per influencer. The selected “hummingbirds” will be paid by the company for benefits such as free admission, meals, and prizes.
Hummingbirds has overseen over 250 campaigns since 2018.
Multiple “Hummingbirds” participated in Christopher’s Fine Jewelery campaign in West Des Moines in August to raise awareness of Sparked!, a permanent gold chain bracelet line.
Erin Swisher, whose Instagram handle is @erinnotkaren_, shared a video of her store experience with her 2,200 followers. Captioned “obsessed is an understatement,” the video shows Swisher choosing and sizing one of her five bracelets.
“It’s so quick and so easy,” she said of the fitting process.
How a brand chooses a “hummingbird” is subjective, Steele said, but typically it’s based on the person’s gender (if they choose to share it), number of followers, whether they have children, etc. You will have the opportunity to view my profile. There are also links to the person’s Facebook and her Instagram platforms where companies can get a snapshot of the person’s personality.
“Hummingbird” doesn’t have to have thousands of followers. Steele said influencers don’t give the impression that he can’t participate because he doesn’t have 10,000 followers, or send false messages to companies that the people growing the brand are celebrities. I would like to avoid it.
“We’re really trying to level the playing field,” says Steele. “Everyone in our community has an influence. If we all use our influence to elevate notable people, companies and things happening in our communities, social media will not hang out. It will be a much better place for
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Most recently, Steele expanded its offerings to Omaha and Milwaukee, and hopes to continue delivering products to cities across the United States.
“I’m so proud of where we stand today. Hundreds of people in Des Moines are saying, ‘We want to celebrate our city,’ ‘Amplify the good things here, and my network will help me learn about it.’ I think you’re saying, ‘I want you to learn,’ and that’s really cool,” she said. I think it’s growing, but it’s really strong and it just keeps growing.”
If Virginia Barreda was a bird, I’d like to be Hedwig in the Harry Potter series. You can reach her at 503-399-6657 or her vbarreda@gannett.com. Follow her on her Twitter. @vbarreda2.
our des moines
Our Des Moines is a weekly feature about the interesting people, places, or events on the jewel of the Des Moines Metro that makes Central Iowa such a special place. Any ideas for this series? Please contact chunter@registermedia.com.
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