Master Influencer Gifting: 7 Non-Obvious Tips For Brands
๐ Abstract
The article discusses best practices for running effective influencer gifting programs, including tips on personalizing outreach, balancing no-strings-attached vs. barter deals, offering product choices, identifying the right influencers, leveraging influencer content, and managing the scale and frequency of gifting campaigns.
๐ Q&A
[01] Personalizing Influencer Outreach
1. What are the key tips for personalizing influencer outreach in gifting campaigns?
- Personalize the correspondence with the creator, rather than relying on automated messaging
- Focus on building quality relationships rather than sending gifts to a high quantity of influencers
- Tailor the gifted items to the influencer's interests and lifestyle, such as sending a personalized item related to their hobbies
2. How can brands stand out with personalized gifting?
- Send personalized items that show the brand has paid attention to the influencer, such as a custom item related to their interests
- Customize the packaging or products for special occasions relevant to the influencer
- Include thoughtful extras that the influencer might enjoy, beyond just the main gifted item
[02] No-Strings-Attached vs. Barter Deals
1. What are the key differences between no-strings-attached gifting and barter deal gifting?
- No-strings-attached gifting: The brand sends products with no expectations for the influencer to post about them. This is less transactional and may lead to more authentic content.
- Barter deals: The brand requests the influencer to post an honest review or share a discount code in exchange for the gifted product. This provides more guaranteed content but is more transactional.
2. What are the benefits of each approach? No-strings-attached:
- Influencers are more likely to try the product since there's no obligation to post
- It can be harder to track since there are no mandatory tags/hashtags
Barter deals:
- The brand guarantees influencer content in return for the cost of goods
- It provides more predictability for the brand's leadership and other teams
3. How can brands combine both approaches for the best results?
- Arrange a specific number of content units with some gifting partners, especially nano-influencers, to have more concrete content projections
- Also have campaigns with no-strings-attached gifting to seed products, build relationships, and find creators who truly love the products
[03] Offering Product Choices
1. What are the three main approaches brands can take when offering product choices to influencers? A) Offer the entire product catalog and let influencers choose B) Offer a specific product the brand wants to promote C) Offer a curated selection, not the full catalog
2. What is the benefit of approach C (curated selection)? Putting the brand's top product choices first on the selection page increases the chance those preferred products will be picked by influencers.
3. How does offering product choices help reduce wastefulness in influencer gifting? Giving creators control over what they receive ensures the products don't just sit unused, minimizing waste.
[04] Identifying the Right Influencers
1. What are some tips for finding the right influencers to target for gifting campaigns?
- Match the influencer's audience demographics and needs to the brand's ideal customer profile
- Search for influencers who have used relevant hashtags like #gifted in the past, indicating they've done gifting collaborations
- Ensure the influencer's audience will actually benefit from the brand's product
2. How important is follow-up in the outreach process? Follow-up is crucial, with Andreea Moise recommending following up 5-6 times per influencer. The focus should be on building trust and relationships, not just asking for content.
[05] Leveraging Influencer Content
1. How can brands leverage influencer content from gifting campaigns? Brands can repurpose the influencer-generated content as ads, on landing pages, for social media, etc. But they need to first obtain usage rights from the creators.
2. What should brands do to maximize the value of influencer content from gifting? Develop a partnership roadmap to drive value in multiple ways (content generation, sales, ambassador program growth, awareness, etc.) before shipping out products.
[06] Gifting for Long-Term Partnerships
1. When is it appropriate to use gifting campaigns as a way to assess potential long-term influencer partners? Gifting campaigns work well for short-term goals like generating content, testing creators, or running seasonal campaigns. But they can also be used as a litmus test to identify creators who perform well and could become long-term partners.
2. What is the benefit of starting with a free product send, even if the goal is a paid partnership? Sending a free product first allows brands to vet for authenticity and find creators who truly love the product, before committing to a paid collaboration.
[07] Managing Scale and Frequency
1. What are the risks of over-saturating the market with influencer gifting? Consumers can get annoyed and question the brand's authenticity if they see the same products featured by too many creators. It can also devalue a premium product if it seems ubiquitous.
2. How can brands strike a balance with their gifting volume and frequency? Brands should be intentional about who they gift to, focusing on niche creators in relevant verticals rather than blanketing the market. They should also space out activations with repeat influencers to avoid overwhelming their audience.