21 min read
| March 18, 2024
In a world where authenticity and real connections matter more than ever, influencer gifting is a smart way for brands to stand out. It’s about sharing your brand’s story in a way that feels genuine and relatable. When done right, this can turn casual followers into loyal fans and help build a community that truly gets what your brand is all about.
So, what’s the key to success? How can you create a gifting experience that stands out, feels personal, and excites influencers enough to make them want to share it with their audience?
Read on to find out everything you need to know about influencer gifting.
What Is Influencer Gifting?
Influencer gifting is when brands send free products to influencers with the hope that they’ll share their genuine feedback, reviews, or unboxing experiences with their followers. Unlike paid collaborations, influencer gifting typically comes with no strings attached, so influencers are free to decide if and how they want to share their experience of your brand. This makes any content that they do create feel more natural and convincing. It’s a great way to get your products in front of the right audience and build brand awareness.
How to Run an Effective Influencer Gifting Campaign
Influencer gifting can be a great way to build excitement, grow your brand, and connect with creators who genuinely love what you do. But you can’t just send out a few freebies and hope for the best. To make a real impact, you need a campaign strategy that feels personal, builds excitement, and leaves influencers wanting to share their experience.
This section will walk you through the steps you need to follow to launch a campaign that gets you noticed and delivers real results for your brand.
Step 1: Set Your Influencer Gifting Goals and Objectives
The first thing you need to do is take some time to think about what success means to you. What are you hoping to achieve? For example, do you want to increase brand awareness, launch a new product, or drive more traffic to your site? Try to be specific here. For example, instead of “boosting sales,” aim for something measurable like “a 20% increase in website traffic within a month.” Clear, specific goals will shape your strategy moving forward and give you something concrete to track once the campaign is over.
Step 2: Find the Right Influencers
The influencers you choose to work with can make or break your campaign, so finding the right ones is crucial. Start by thinking about your target audience. Who are they? What do they care about? What kind of content do they love? Then look for influencers who naturally connect those people.
It’s not just about how many followers an influencer has. Pay attention to things like engagement rates, audience demographics, and how real and relatable they seem in their content. It’s also important to find influencers who genuinely align with your brand’s values and vibe. When an influencer is genuinely excited about your products, it shines through their content and strikes a chord with their audience. If they already love your products or are passionate about your industry, it’s an even bigger advantage.
Ultimately, it’s all about finding the right fit. When an influencer genuinely connects with your brand, their recommendations feel real and honest. Their audience can sense it, and this authenticity builds trust and helps your campaign hit home in a way that really works.
Personalize Your Message and Gift
Personalization makes all the difference when it comes to influencer gifting. Instead of sending your product in a plain box, think about what would really stand out to the influencer. Think about their style, personality, and interests when you put their package together. A handwritten note explaining why you’re excited to work with them is also a nice touch.
Another great tip is to use branded packaging to make the unboxing feel exciting and memorable. You want the influencer to feel like they’re opening something special that’s worth sharing with their followers. Think about adding a few fun extras, like small surprises or complementary items, to make the experience even more shareable and enjoyable.
Reach Out to Influencers
When you reach out to influencers, keep things genuine and to the point. Let them know what you admire about their work and why you think they’d be a great match for your brand. Keep your message short and simple. Influencers are busy and will appreciate a clear and straightforward approach. Explain what you’re offering, and make sure they know there’s no pressure to post about it. This makes the gesture feel more authentic and leaves a better first impression. If you don’t hear back, follow up politely. Sometimes emails get overlooked, and a little nudge can go a long way. If you want to know what’s the perfect outreach email sequence to get influencers onboard, have a look at our article “10 Effective Paid Collaboration Email Examples for Influencer Outreach.”
Launch Your Influencer Gifting Campaign
Creating a seamless and enjoyable gifting experience is key for making a good impression. Double-check packaging and delivery to make sure that everything arrives in great condition. No one likes a damaged or delayed package. Think about how the influencer will feel when they open it. Does it reflect your brand’s personality and make them feel special? A little extra care goes a long way. When an influencer feels appreciated and excited about what they’ve received, they are much more likely to have a positive reaction to your brand.
Track Your Influencer Gifting Campaign
Once the gifts are out, it’s time to track your influencer gifting campaign to see how it’s performing. Regularly check things like social media mentions, hashtags, and influencer post engagement. Are people responding positively? Are they responding at all? You can use all this feedback to improve your next influencer gifting campaign.
Influencer Gifting Examples
Let’s take a look at a few recent examples of campaigns that took influencer gifting to the next level. From high-end luxury surprises to creative, event-themed packages these examples highlight how a thoughtful gift package can create a meaningful experience that drives real results.
Tarte Cosmetics’ Hermès Bracelet Gifting
Tarte Cosmetics made waves with their bold PR campaign, gifting influencers Hermès bracelets worth $700 along with their beauty products. The goal was to associate the brand with luxury and exclusivity while creating excitement among influencers and their followers. Many influencers were thrilled by the unexpected gift and shared their excitement, featuring Tarte’s products in their posts and stories.
However, the campaign faced criticism from some who felt there was a lack of diversity among the recipients. In response, Tarte publicly addressed the concerns, stating that 33% of the influencers selected were Black and 50% were BIPOC, emphasizing their commitment to inclusivity.
Despite the backlash, the influencer gifting campaign generated significant buzz and solidified Tarte’s position as a high-end beauty brand. It also opened up meaningful discussions about diversity and inclusivity in influencer marketing, showing how impactful campaigns can drive conversations that extend far beyond the products
Poppi’s “Coachearla” Festival Campaign
Poppi, a trendy prebiotic soda brand, nailed the influencer gifting game during Coachella 2023 with their “Coachearla” campaign. They sent bright, fun gift packages filled with Poppi sodas and festival-inspired goodies to influencers like TikTok star Alix Earle. These packages were designed to match the energy and vibe of Coachella, and they were highly shareable during one of the year’s most talked-about events.
Alix Earle’s posts featuring Poppi generated millions of views and put the brand front and center in the minds of health-conscious festivalgoers. By tying their campaign to such a massive cultural moment, Poppi created an experience that resonated with both influencers and their audiences.
This influencer gifting strategy shows how aligning your brand with an event can amplify your message. Essentially, Poppi used Coachella as a backdrop to build excitement and engage a younger, trendy demographic in a way that felt relevant and fun.
Demetra Dias’ Fashion Haul Partnerships
Finally, Demetra Dias, a 17-year-old TikTok creator known for her engaging fashion haul videos, has become a favorite for brands looking to connect with younger audiences. Companies like Steve Madden and Hollister often gift her clothing and accessories, knowing that she’ll showcase them in her popular videos.
What makes Demetra stand out is her ability to make the content feel natural and relatable. Her excitement over the gifts is genuine, which resonates with her followers. One campaign with a fashion brand led to an incredible $90,000 in sales within just an hour of her post going live.
Her success highlights the power of finding influencers whose style and voice align perfectly with your brand. Demetra’s content proves that when gifting feels authentic and taps into an influencer’s unique appeal, it can deliver impressive results.
Tips and Tricks for a Successful Influencer Gifting Campaign
So, we’ve covered what influencer gifting is, but how do you make sure your campaign hits the mark? If you want to leave a lasting impression with your gifting campaign, it’s not just about what you send but how you involve influencers in the experience. A thoughtful, creative approach can elevate your campaign and inspire influencers to genuinely connect with your brand. Here are a few additional tips and strategies to help you step up your influencer gifting game.
Invite Influencers to Co-Create
Take your gifting campaign a step further by involving influencers in the process. This makes them feel like valued collaborators rather than passive recipients.
- Customizable gifts: Offer options for influencers to personalize the product they receive, such as selecting their favorite colors, scents, or styles. This builds anticipation and increases the likelihood they’ll share their enthusiasm.
- Use branded packaging. First impressions count, and your packaging sets the tone for the entire experience. Design a box that reflects your brand’s personality, whether it’s sleek and modern or bold and colorful. Add thoughtful details like tissue paper, custom stickers, or a personalized message inside. This turns the unboxing into a memorable moment influencers will want to share with their followers.
- Include a handwritten note. A personal message can make your gift feel so much more meaningful. Thank them for what they do and share why you’re excited to work with them. Reference something specific you admire about their content to show you’ve done your homework. It doesn’t have to be long, but it should feel genuine. A thoughtful note shows them they’re valued, not just as a partner, but as a person.
- Exclusive sneak peeks: Give them access to a product before its official launch, turning them into insiders. This not only builds buzz but also strengthens their connection to your brand.
Encourage Organic Engagement
When you send gifts to influencers, it’s important to make it clear there are no strings attached. Let them know they can enjoy the product without any pressure to post about it. The idea is to trust that if they truly love what you’ve shared, they’ll talk about it in their own way. Adding conditions or expectations can feel pushy and might even stop them from wanting to share at all. Be honest and acknowledge that not everyone will post, and that’s perfectly fine. This approach shows that you respect their creativity and gives them the freedom to share in a way that feels real and authentic.
Track and Measure Results
To really understand how well your influencer gifting campaign worked, it’s important to track a few key metrics to measure its impact. Digging into this data helps you see what worked and where you can improve. It also gives you a roadmap for making your next influencer gifting campaign even more successful. The more you learn at this stage, the better your results will be next time.
Key metrics to track include:
- Brand mentions. Keep an eye on how often the influencer talks about your brand, whether it’s in their posts, stories, or interactions with followers. Organic mentions are a great sign they genuinely like your product.
- Website traffic and sales. Use tools like UTM links or unique discount codes to see if the campaign is driving people to your site and converting them into customers.
- Social media engagement. Look at how people are reacting to the influencer’s posts about your product. Are they liking, commenting, sharing, or clicking through to learn more? High engagement means your message is landing well.
- Brand sentiment. Pay attention to what people are saying about your brand after the campaign. Check reviews, comments, or any conversations happening online to see if the buzz is positive.
Build Long-Term Relationships
Finally, influencer gifting doesn’t have to be a one-time thing. Think of it as the start of a real relationship. Interact with the influencer’s posts, share their content, and publicly thank them for featuring your brand in their content. These small gestures show you appreciate their work and see them as more than just a marketing tool. Over time, this kind of interaction can grow into meaningful collaborations and create a strong foundation of trust.
How Influencity Seeding Programs Can Enhance Your Influencer Gifting StrategyInfluencer gifting, when peeled back to its core, is about creating genuine connections and experiences that resonate with both influencers and their followers. It’s about more than sending products; it’s about building relationships, telling your brand’s story, and inspiring influencers to share it in a way that feels authentic and meaningful. By carefully selecting influencers, personalizing your gifts, and tracking your results, you can create an influencer gifting strategy that truly delivers.
This is where our influencer seeding programs make all the difference. With Influencity’s platform, you get access to all the tools you need to streamline and enhance your influencer gifting campaigns:
- Precise influencer matching. Influencity helps you easily find influencers who are a perfect fit for your brand’s values and audience. Rather than guessing who might work, the platform uses data to pinpoint creators whose content, style, and followers are most likely to connect with what you offer.
- Streamlined campaign management. Managing a bunch of influencers can get overwhelming, but Influencity makes it simple. The platform lets you organize your campaigns, keep track of outreach, and monitor responses all in one place. Plus, you can integrate your e-commerce store, like Shopify, to automate the seeding process and keep everything running smoothly.
- Powerful analytics and tracking. Influencity offers real-time insights so you can see how your gifting campaigns are performing. With data on engagement, brand mentions, and ROI, you can figure out what’s working and adjust your strategy to make your campaigns even stronger over time.
- Scalability without losing personalization. Whether you’re working with a few influencers or managing a larger campaign, Influencity helps you scale up without losing that personal touch that makes influencer gifting so effective.
In short, all these features help you build trust, foster genuine connections, and grow your brand in a way that feels real and impactful. At the end of the day, that’s what sets a great influencer gifting campaign apart: the ability to create meaningful experiences that leave a lasting impression and drive real results.
