Influencer Gifting: Is It Worth It for Your Handmade Brand?
Influencer gifting has become a popular strategy for brands looking to gain exposure and credibility without committing to hefty marketing budgets. For handmade brands, this can be an appealing approach to showcase unique, artisanal products to a broader audience. But is influencer gifting really worth it? Let’s dive into the pros and cons, how to choose the right influencers to gift, and how to set realistic expectations for the outcome.
The Pros of Influencer Gifting
Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy
Influencer gifting involves sending free products to influencers in exchange for potential social media mentions, reviews, or other types of content. Unlike paid collaborations, there is no direct monetary compensation, making it a low-cost strategy to get your products in front of a new audience.
Why It Works: For handmade brands operating on a tight budget, gifting can be a more affordable way to leverage influencer marketing without upfront financial commitments.
Authentic Word-of-Mouth Promotion
Influencers who genuinely love your products are more likely to share them organically with their audience. This type of content often comes across as more authentic and trustworthy than paid ads, leading to higher engagement and a stronger connection with potential customers.
Why It Works: When influencers talk about your product in a genuine, unforced manner, it feels more like a recommendation from a friend than an advertisement, which can be highly persuasive.
Valuable User-Generated Content (UGC)
Gifting products to influencers can result in high-quality user-generated content that you can repurpose across your brand’s social media channels, website, email campaigns, and more. This UGC provides social proof and shows potential customers how your products look and function in real life.
Why It Works: User-generated content adds a layer of authenticity to your brand’s marketing and can be a powerful tool in driving conversions.
Building Relationships with Influencers
Gifting can be a gateway to building longer-term relationships with influencers. If they love your product, they may be open to future collaborations, including paid partnerships, affiliate programs, or ambassadorships.
Why It Works: A positive gifting experience can lay the groundwork for more impactful partnerships, creating a win-win for both the influencer and your brand.
Boosts Brand Awareness
Even if an influencer doesn't create dedicated posts about your product, they may feature it in their Stories, unboxing videos, or casual content. This can help increase brand visibility and introduce your products to new audiences.
Why It Works: Influencer followers often trust their recommendations, so even a brief mention or casual mention can contribute to brand recognition and discovery.
The Cons of Influencer Gifting
No Guaranteed Content or Coverage
Unlike paid collaborations, influencer gifting does not guarantee content or coverage. Influencers are not obligated to post about your product unless explicitly agreed upon, so there's a risk that you may send out free products without receiving any exposure in return.
Why It Matters: This uncertainty can be a drawback, especially for brands with limited budgets where every product counts.
Potential for Mismatched Expectations
If expectations are not clearly communicated upfront, gifting can lead to misunderstandings. Brands may expect a dedicated post or detailed review, while influencers may only provide a brief mention or unboxing in Stories.
Why It Matters: Misaligned expectations can result in disappointment and potentially harm future collaboration opportunities.
Costs Beyond the Product
While gifting avoids direct financial payment to influencers, there are still costs associated with the products themselves, shipping, packaging, and any additional promotional materials included in the package.
Why It Matters: These costs can add up, especially if you’re sending out multiple gifts without any guaranteed returns.
Risk of Low-Quality Content
Not all influencers create high-quality content. Some may take a quick photo or post that doesn’t effectively showcase your product or align with your brand’s aesthetic. This can lead to poor representations of your brand in front of a new audience.
Why It Matters: Without control over the quality of the content, there’s a risk of your product being misrepresented or lost in low-effort posts.
Limited Control Over Messaging
When gifting, brands have less control over how the product is presented and what messaging accompanies it. This can be a drawback if you have specific marketing goals or messaging that you want to convey.
Why It Matters: If an influencer doesn’t communicate the key benefits or unique selling points of your product, the potential impact could be diluted.
How to Choose the Right Influencers to Gift
Align with Your Brand Values and Aesthetic
Select influencers whose values, aesthetics, and audience align closely with your brand. This ensures that your products will resonate with their followers and be presented in a way that fits your brand image.
What to Do: Review the influencer's content, engagement, and previous brand partnerships to assess compatibility.
Check Engagement Rates, Not Just Follower Counts
An influencer’s engagement rate (likes, comments, shares) is a more valuable metric than follower count. High engagement indicates that their audience is genuinely interested in their content, which means your product is more likely to get noticed.
What to Do: Look for influencers with an engagement rate of at least 2-3%. Tools like HypeAuditor, Social Blade, or Instagram Insights can help assess this.
Prioritize Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers (1,000-100,000 followers) often have more engaged and niche audiences than larger influencers or celebrities. They are more likely to have loyal followers who trust their recommendations, making them an ideal choice for gifting.
What to Do: Identify micro-influencers who cater to a niche that aligns with your target audience, such as sustainable living, handmade products, or specific lifestyle themes.
Evaluate Past Gifting Campaigns
Look at how the influencer has handled previous gifting campaigns. Did they create genuine, high-quality content? Did they engage with the brand and their audience? These insights can help you gauge whether they’re likely to deliver value for your brand.
What to Do: Review the influencer’s previous posts and interactions with gifted products to see if they align with your expectations.
Communicate Clearly and Set Expectations
When reaching out to influencers for gifting, be upfront about what you’re offering and what you hope to achieve. While you cannot require content in exchange for a gift, you can express your desire for a mention, a review, or a feature and gauge their interest.
What to Do: Send a personalized message explaining why you love their content, why you think your product would be a great fit, and what you hope to achieve through the gifting.
Setting Realistic Expectations for Influencer Gifting
Understand That Results May Vary
Not every gifting campaign will result in a direct ROI. Some influencers may create standout content that drives traffic and sales, while others may not post at all. Be prepared for a range of outcomes.
Tip: Consider gifting as part of a broader marketing strategy rather than a guaranteed path to immediate sales.
Focus on Building Relationships, Not Just One-Time Gains
Think of gifting as the start of a potential long-term relationship rather than a one-time transaction. Influencers who love your products may become loyal advocates and lead to more meaningful partnerships in the future.
Tip: Follow up with a thank you message, engage with their content, and keep them in mind for future campaigns.
Use Gifting as a Way to Test Influencer Partnerships
Gifting can be an excellent way to test an influencer's fit with your brand before committing to a paid collaboration. It allows you to evaluate how well they represent your products, the quality of their content, and their audience’s response.
Tip: Use gifting as a low-risk trial to gauge potential long-term collaborations.
Influencer gifting can be a valuable strategy for handmade brands looking to increase brand awareness, build relationships, and generate authentic content without a significant financial commitment. However, it comes with its own set of challenges and uncertainties. By choosing the right influencers, communicating clearly, and setting realistic expectations, you can maximize the potential benefits of gifting and create meaningful connections that support your brand's growth.
Thinking of launching an influencer gifting campaign? Use these insights to make informed decisions and set your brand up for success. If you're considering influencer gifting as a strategy, you might also want to explore the potential of working with micro-influencers who have highly engaged, niche audiences. Learn how these smaller influencers can drive big results for your brand in our post on leveraging micro-influencers.
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