Influencer Gifting Or Paid Collaboration: Which Is Best?

You’re starting a new influencer campaign, but you don’t know if you should be doing gifted collaborations or paid collaborations. 

First, we have to get into the differences between a gifted and paid collab. 

A gifted collaboration is where you send a creator your product IN HOPES that they promote your product. The creator is not obligated to promote your product. If they like your product, they may post it on their channel, if not you may never see it promoted.

When you send a creator your product and pay them to promote it on their channel, that is a paid collaboration. In this, you are guaranteed promotional content for your product. 

So which is better? 

Well, that depends… let’s get into the pros and cons of each so you can decide for your campaign.

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For gifted collabs:

Pros:

Cost-Effective: It is cheaper than a paid collab, which means you can send your product to more creators than you could a paid collab.

Authenticity: The content created may be seen as more authentic by the audience because it was not a sponsored post.

Cons:

Uncertain returns: There is no guarantee that the creator will create content for you. (Most creators now are demanding some type of monetary compensation.)

Less Control: You have less control over how your product will be portrayed. If the creator dislikes your product, there is a chance they could give it a bad review on their channel.

Taxes: Creators have to pay taxes on gifts they receive. You risk the chance of souring the relationship with the creator because of this. (After all, who wants to pay for a gift they didn’t ask for?)

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Now for paid collaborations:

Do keep in mind that for sponsored posts, creators are required to disclose that they are being compensated for promoting your product in their post, either by using platform labels or by placing a disclaimer at the beginning of their caption.

Pros

Guaranteed content: The creator is obligated to promote your content based on your agreement.

Control: You have greater control over how your product will be portrayed. (Do note that most creators appreciate it when brands give them the creative freedom to promote the product in the way they wish to.)

Cons

Higher cost: More costly than just gifting the creator the product itself.

Selective: Creators may be more selective with the brands they wish to partner with.

Inauthenticity: The audience may view the content as inauthentic because the creator is being paid to promote it.

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So which have you decided on?

In our opinion?

Option C - Both (through affiliate links). Every creator should be compensated for their work, and if you have a tight budget and want to build the relationship with minimal risk, reward them with a percentage of the sale. The best-performing ones? Create an ambassador program and start paying for content made by someone who loves your brand. - that content is the real ROAS driver.

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Affiliate Links:

Affiliate links allow you to track the creator's performance and compensate them based on sales generated. In a way, it acts as a testing ground for long-term collaborations without a significant upfront investment. 

Affiliate links allow you to track the creator's performance and compensate them based on sales generated. Affiliate platforms streamline the process of creating, sharing, and monitoring affiliate links, making it simple for brands to work with multiple influencers simultaneously. In a way, affiliate marketing acts as a testing ground for long-term collaborations without a significant upfront investment, allowing brands to gauge an influencer's impact on their target audience before committing to more long-term partnerships.

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