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Hummingbirds is a women-founded startup that connects hyper-local content creators with local brands that reward them for sharing products with their small, highly engaged communities across social media.
On Wednesday, the company announced its latest funding round of $5.4 million, bringing the total amount raised to $10 million. The new capital will support the platform’s expansion into 20 more cities by 2025, including Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Denver, Colorado.
Launched last year, the platform is betting on local and word-of-mouth marketing, as brands aim to build trust with local customers. Small business owners often have difficulty marketing locally, usually due to limited budgets or competition from established brands. Hummingbirds believes the solution lies in their own backyard, tapping “PTA moms” and other nearby content creators to help promote products.
“When (brands) are thinking about driving in-store behavior to these retailers, they need a new marketing tool, and that’s where Hummingbirds has really found that we can help those brands move quickly and build brand awareness, build a loyal following, In fact, “bringing them customers who come back to the store and buy their products again and again,” said Charisse Flynn, co-founder of TechCrunch.
Hummingbirds enables brands to launch targeted marketing campaigns targeting local residents, encouraging them to share products on social media with their engaged followers. There are currently over 300 partner brands, from well-known brands such as Chop Local, Cutwater, Goodles and Olipop to small businesses and local chains, such as AE Dairy, Century Farm Distilleryand Faraway Grocery.
To incentivize participation, companies offer rewards such as gift cards ranging from $50 to $250, as well as free experiences (such as massages at a spa), free merchandise, and other perks.
Although Hummingbirds takes a 0% commission from creators, brands are required to pay a fee to launch campaigns on the platform.
The platform focuses on casual creators who view social sharing as a hobby, with most of their followers being friends and local connections. He argues that “nano creators” — those with up to 10,000 followers — often achieve higher engagement rates because of their loyal followers. The company claims that its strategy of producing “city-specific content” can increase sales by up to 14 times and boost social engagement by 80%.
“Their engagement rate is much higher than traditional industry standards. We see, on average, 3-4% engagement…most influencers are at 7%,” Flynn said.
Several startups that are somewhat similar to Hummingbirds have popped up over the years, such as Franki, Mavely, Mavn, and Soci, but Hummingbirds differentiates itself by targeting creators primarily based in Central America. The platform operates in more than 20 cities, including Des Moines, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; Nashville, Tennessee; And Omaha, Nebraska.
This focus is strategic, as the company believes that this area is often overlooked and represents a challenge for many brands aiming to expand their reach.
“They don’t know how to market to Middle America. (Customers spend) a significant amount on groceries, so they’re able to activate our Hummingbird communities in order to build brand awareness and drive product velocity,” Flynn explained. Marketing is more challenging for them.
Co-founder Emily Steele is the visionary behind Hummingbirds. As a young content creator in Iowa, she saw the opportunity to help local brands in her community.
“Hummingbirds grew out of trying an oat milk latte in Des Moines, Iowa, sharing it on social media and getting others excited about small businesses in our city getting involved,” Steele told us. She also mentioned that the company’s name comes from her father-in-law’s nickname for her, as hummingbirds are “local pollinators” and are always “wandering around town.”
Recently, the company has experienced rapid growth. Last year, it claimed to have quadrupled its revenue and doubled the size of its community, now counting 11,000 creators.
Participants in the latest round include Allos Ventures, Ground Game, M25 Fund, InnoVenture Iowa Fund, ISA Ventures, Next Level Ventures, and Homegrown Capital.
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