Influencer Gifting is a great method to develop your brand while also building community. Let's go over the how, what, and tools you'll need to succeed at gift-giving.
Everything you need to know about sending gifts to influencers
Influencer Gifting, also known as product seeding, is the practice of sending free products to a limited group of influencers. If you have a wonderful product, sending it to an influencer with a similar audience to your target audience might be a terrific approach to gain their attention.
Because it is a gift, this technique is known as influencer gifting. It is crucial to note, however, that gifting products do not always result in a post or share. There is no assurance you will be shared because you are not in a paid relationship or under any contract – but that doesn't mean it isn't worth a shot!
Gifting and affiliates, gifting and sponsored content, or gifting alone can be combined by marketing teams.
Gifting has the opportunity to introduce your brand to new clients. The typical influencer has a 2.39% engagement rate. Micro-influencers (those with fewer than 10,000 followers) had a slightly higher engagement rate of 3.86%. As the number of followers grows, so does this proportion.
As a result, if an influencer with 25k followers posts about your product, about 1000 individuals will engage with the article. If just 1% of those visit your website and complete a purchase, that's around ten new clients. As a consequence, you'll get more impressions and, eventually, purchases.
What four steps are necessary when you send products to influencers?
Do your research
Before you start shipping your products to random PO boxes, you should conduct an influencer study. All influencers must maintain a certain look and type of material to keep their following, so ensuring that your product and brand are matched is critical to a successful collaboration. You'll be able to tell quite fast if it will work by analyzing your creator's socials for comparable partnerships with products similar to yours.
It's also a good idea not to put all your eggs in one basket by sending your present to numerous makers (depending on the size and capacity of your products). This increases the likelihood of it being received and shared by their target audiences. However, avoid gifting your gift to a group of related influencers with comparable followings, and send subtle modifications if the product is the same—this might saturate the value of your product if it's shared by several authors, making the material appear dishonest or redundant.
Find address information
The most well-known and experienced influencers will generally have a PO Box listed on their YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram accounts, but you can also look into their Shopify Collabs. However, new or micro-influencers can interact with companies via DMs (direct messaging) or the Shopify Collabs app. Shopify Collabs offers many gifting options that keep address information anonymous and influencers' personal information hidden. Marketing teams may quickly send a gift, and the influencer can redeem it with the information maintained in their Shopify Collabs account.
In general, it is not advisable to deliver a gift without first receiving an email, DM, or other kinds of communication. Influencers (particularly prominent ones) have been known to get weird emails, therefore communication is essential.
Send your gift
Consider methods to make your present memorable before mailing it. Ideally, you want to make the package stand out so that people immediately recognize who sent it. It's also a good idea to monitor the shipment to guarantee it doesn't get lost and to obtain confirmation when it's delivered.
Bonus tip: Include a handwritten message with your gift. When it comes to product seeding, small details may go a long way in increasing the possibility that the influencer would share your product on their networks.
Be patient
Gifting out free products to influencers does not guarantee a return on investment, and it takes time to obtain any response or return – if any at all. Don't be discouraged if your selected influencer(s) do not share your passion for your business; there are hundreds more that will.
What 10 tips should you keep in mind when influencer gifting?
Many marketers and businesses have set up gifting campaigns, but here are a few easy strategies that have previously performed effectively for Shopify Collabs users. Use the methods that are most effective for your brand.
1. Send birthday gifts
Influencers may feel more connected to brands that conduct research and provide customized presents on their birthdays or other special occasions. Teams may utilize Shopify Collabs to identify an influencer's birthday, or if the creator has a large enough following, they can search online.
2. Offer a unique opportunity
Getting influencers involved with your business through events, product feedback sessions, and marketing campaigns are one of the finest methods to engage people in your business.
3. Show value
Understanding why a creator should be interested in your product is a critical step in the influencer gifting process. Breaking down the value proposition is crucial since some influencers receive hundreds of gifts every month and you must stand out. Incorporate some of these responses into your customized letter.
- How can my product benefit their brand?
- Why would we make a great partnership?
- What benefit will my product make to their content?
- Why would this person open my package over others?
- What kind of content could they make using my product?
4. Sending gifts to assistants or managers
Assistants are rarely recognized for their efforts. Sending a complimentary product to an influencer's assistant and asking them to request it on your behalf is one method to engage them. Finding an assistant's or manager's contact information might be tough, but one method is to look at the influencer's work email and cross-reference it on LinkedIn. You can also contact them via email first and get an address to ship your merchandise to.
5. Get an introduction
While introductions are a wonderful method to create a connection and start a collaboration, they are very difficult to obtain and typically require that you be moving in the appropriate circles. LinkedIn is useful for folks in the corporate sector since it allows you to see shared connections, but there isn't a corresponding platform for creativity. This means you may have to spend some time going through mutual friends on Instagram or reaching out to your network to see if any producers are already paired with complementary businesses.
6. Make a clear and simple ask
Most crucial, be specific about what you expect from your gift. If you don't ask to be featured, chances are you won't be. Influencers will not make such assumptions. Making a sincere request is one of the finest methods to achieve what you want, and if there is also evident value for the creator, your request is far more likely to be realized.
7. Run a competition
Simulating supply and demand through influencer-led competitions is an excellent method to build urgency and exclusivity. Incorporating gifting competitions is a terrific way to get started with user-generated content, and it also gives artists free content ideas and the chance of higher interaction – a win-win situation for you and your favorite producers.
8. Brag about your product
Remember that influencers will conduct their research on you before publishing anything on their socials – and they will seldom work with a product they don't know or that isn't on brand. Send proof that your present is a well-established brand that is already popular among other producers if feasible – this generates a manufactured demand and priority. Influencers will not want to miss out on the opportunity to be at the forefront of something hot and happening. As a consequence, they should write more frequently and feel unique about the presents they received.
9. Gifting an event
Everyone enjoys receiving a gift bag, and they are an excellent method for influencers and celebrities to obtain your products. People enjoy SWAG and freebies at events, especially if they are of excellent quality and shareable. Because most businesses will be fighting for attention, one great suggestion is to make your present bag or product stand out distinctively. Make your present as unique as possible.
10. Gifting is not a paid partnership
One thing to remember is that unless you clearly state otherwise, gifting is not a method of payment. Making expectations and requests clear from the beginning is the greatest approach to alleviate tensions and provide the basis for a healthy working relationship.
How do I know if it’s working?
As previously said, there is no assurance that this technique will bring in thousands of new consumers, but there are several ways to track the results of gifting.
- After you've given your presents, assess your UGC (user-generated content). If an influencer has mentioned you in a video or article, you should notice an increase in impressions or interaction. If you haven't seen an uptick in interaction after six weeks, think about researching and gifting a new set of influencers.
- Some marketers encourage influencers to regift outdated items or products that they are no longer interested in or use. This can result in increased organic traffic and word-of-mouth purchases.
- Many teams give discounts and affiliate codes as well as prizes for the influencer to distribute to their audience. This is an excellent tool to track sales and identify your most effective influencers.
Influencer Gifting is a successful, simple, and low-stress marketing strategy utilized by some of the world's largest corporations. When it succeeds, it may bring massive organic development to your small business or, at the very least, raise awareness and establish long-term partnerships that can benefit both you and the creators you admire.
Add the Shopify Collabs app if you're ready to expand your business and launch an influencer campaign.
Sending gifts to influencers FAQ
Do your homework. Making sure your products and the influencer's brand are complementary will improve the likelihood that they will mention your gift and lead to a fruitful collaboration.
Gifting products may or may not result in a post or social sharing. Because it is not a sponsored collaboration, there is no assurance you will be shared – but that doesn't mean it isn't worth a shot!
Every month, some influencers get hundreds of presents. In an included message to the influencer, break down the value proposition of your gift by asking yourself the following questions:
1. How can my product benefit their brand?
2. Why would we make a great partnership?
3. What benefit will my product make to their content?
4. Why would this person open my package over others?
5. What kind of content could they make using my product?
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