How do birds get selected for campaigns?

The brands we work with have different criteria. Some are looking for 30 hummingbirds in a specific community. Others want hundreds of millennial moms in any location to try and share a product. It's important to note that you don't need a specific number of followers to participate. We recognize that everyone has influence.

When thinking about the hummingbird selection process & who gets selected, it can be helpful to consider the reasons most brands work with Hummingbirds to start with:

• New fans & loyalty: Brands want new people to try their products/services and (ideally) become long-term fans.

• Brand awareness: They want authentic “word-of-mouth” exposure when Hummingbirds share content with their own audiences.

• UGC (User-Generated Content): Brands love repurposing authentic, high-quality content created by real customers.

• Outsourced management: Many brands just don’t have the time to manage their own campaigns one-on-one, so they rely on Hummingbirds HQ to handle logistics and selection.

• One-week window: Most campaigns accept interest and complete selections over roughly one week.

• Campaign goes live: Usually on a Tuesday (when most new campaigns appear). Birds express interest immediately. That said, campaigns do go live occasionally through the week!

• Rolling selection: HBHQ often selects in batches (e.g., Wednesdays, Thursdays, Mondays). Brands may increase the number of Birds if interest in a given is high and they have budget.

• Early interest helps: Express interest as soon as possible—if enough qualified people opt in early, the campaign may close before you see it.

If you express interest in a campaign, there are several factors that are considered while selecting the best fit birds for a campaign:

• Brand fit: Are you actually a relevant consumer for the product (e.g., do you have kids for a kids’ product)? Are you likely to become a superfan of the brand?

• Content quality: Lighting, video clarity, voiceover, and whether you follow campaign instructions (e.g., including required hashtags). This is really important if Brands have prioritized UGC content

• Engagement: # of likes and comments - Gimme the reach!

• Engagement: # of likes and comments by follower – 50,000 followers and 5 comments is a lot less enticing than 500 followers with 50 comments.

• Engagement authenticity: Genuine comments vs. bot-like or purchased followers.

• Reel views – Especially if the goal is maximum exposure.

• Reliability & communication: On-time campaign completion, prompt replies, respectful, willingness to coordinate with HBHQ.

• Pitch or blurb: The optional “why I’d love this campaign” box can matter—especially if brands prioritize super-fans or highly motivated testers.

• Enhanced profile: Allows HBHQ and the brand to see live metrics (reach, engagement), which many brands find attractive.

• Portfolio & posting ratio: A feed that is 100% ads/sponsored content is less appealing; a healthy mix of organic + sponsored is preferred. Brands also like to see the other type of content you create!

And often, brands have so many great hummingbirds to choose from, but only have capacity to select a certain number for each campaign. So just because they don't pick you the first time, doesn't mean they won't in the future, so keep expressing interest! Also, it's best to apply to all campaigns that interest you while waiting for responses on if you're selected or not.

Mostly Hummingbirds HQ: HBHQ spends a LOT of time with brands while onboarding them into the platform and right before and after each campaign, providing us the confidence needed to pick approximately 80–90% of the time.

Occasional brand involvement: Some brands do their own selections, but it’s relatively rare because they typically rely on HBHQ’s expertise.