TV broadcaster, podcaster and history 'geek' Dan Snow shares his passion for this huge subject and why brands can do well to connect with this audience. Dan talks about the constraints he had at dealing with TV commissioning editors and being restricted to share his dream of bringing historical stories to a global audience. His highly acclaimed podcast gets over 1 million listens a month. Dan also shares the excitement of his latest adventure reliving the famous explorer Ernest Shackleton. He will be sharing content on all platforms and loves being able to share stories directly with his audience. He refers to himself as one of the traditional influencers of his time. His Great-great grandfather was British Prime Minister David Lloyd-George and he even made a documentary about his life, even if this wasn't popular with every member of the family. Such an insightful interview and a must-listen episode.
@thebcma
@thehistoryguy
Presented by @gordonglenister
Produced by Neil Whiteside at Freedom:ONE
Gifta connects storytellers with brands they truly love. Gifta works with thousands of influencers to produce 100% authentic content that will boost engagement with your brand. For more information about how to unlock the power of influencer gifting, visit: www.gifta.co.uk.
Tom Higgins, Gifta Co-Founder shares how the season of giving doesn’t need to stop as we jump headfirst into the new year, especially for brands serious about building genuine and meaningful connections with online opinion formers and their fans. For an authentic, cost-effective, and impactful way to market your brand (and win new customers in the process), influencer gifting really is the gift that keeps on giving.
In this article Tom Higgins, co-founder at specialist influencer gifting agency Gifta draws on his experience working with long-term partner Gosh! Food to provide his expert advice for launching a world-class influencer gifting campaign.
1. Capitalise on the post-Covid social surge
“Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we have seen a monumental shift in social media usage with some reports showing at least a 20% increase in-app and mobile usage globally. Lockdowns, quarantine restrictions and people staying at home in a bid to keep family members safe over the festive break have all contributed to this, with influencers able to benefit from the extra time people are spending on their social platforms.”
“At Gifta, we work with thousands of influencers who have experienced a sizable uptick in both the number of followers and engagement over the last 12 months. It couldn’t be a better time for marketers to consider influencer gifting as a core part of their marketing mix for 2022.
“For GOSH Foods! we also saw an increasing number of influencers engaging with relevant trends like Veganuary alongside a broader interest in plant-based ingredients which we were able to capitalise on.”
2. Be a catalyst for meaningful connections
“Influencer marketing will only work is you take the time to connect storytellers with the products you know they will love. While tools and trackers can be helpful, no algorithm can beat good old-fashioned legwork.”
“Gifta invests an incredible amount of time and effort in building personal relationships with thousands of influencers. It is this that allows us to make the right introductions and curate the most impactful relationships for both creator and brand. Our rigorous process also includes a detailed audit so that we can better understand the influencer and ensure we are creating a good match.
“For GOSH FoodS! we micro-targeted influencers with interests aligned to the brand’s product offer. This included vegan and vegetarian creators, health and fitness conscious creators and foodies. We then only sent gifted products to influencers that wanted to try them to boost conversion, which was more than 85%.”
3. Consider micro and nano influencers
“An influencer gifting campaign can be incredibly cost-effective if you focus efforts on micro and nano influencers. These creators have niche and fiercely loyal communities that brands can tap into, making their product recommendations seem as if they were coming from a close friend or family member.
“For GOSH Foods! we have been able to engage hundreds of creators and generate thousands of pieces of high-engagement content for just a fraction of the cost of one Instagram post from a macro influencer.
“And while the follower numbers might not be the largest, they often have much higher engagement rates which increases their selling power. Because of this, trend-watchers have predicted that micro and nano influencers will continue to grow in importance in 2022.
4. Keep it authentic
“Consumers can spot an inauthentic post from a mile away. Releasing any form of editorial control over content will give influencers the freedom to create content that they feel best fits their audience.”
“Rather than promoting stuffy and robotic brand messages, influencers will feel empowered to leave honest reviews and create more dynamic content aligned with the look and feel of their channel. As a result, all posts are authentic, which in turn boosts engagement rates and brand advocacy.
“We do offer creators a helping hand by providing key information about the brand and products we have gifted. This ensures influencers can make an informed decision as to whether the brand or product is right for them and relevant to their audience.”
Credit: @thefoodbaby_
5. Don’t fall at the final hurdle
“You’ve done your research, picked the influencers you want to engage and now you are ready to send out your product. Logistics may not be the sexiest part of the influencer gifting process, but it is certainly the biggest pain point for many brands that we work with. It is therefore integral to Gifta’s value proposition.
“With GOSH Foods! we’ve had to consider the challenge of storage and temperature control to ensure that perishable products reach their final designation safely. We are experts in insulated packaging which means we can send out chilled food to creators at scale, saving brands valuable time, and money.
“And for creators, it means that they can engage with the food and drinks brands they love!”
6. Measure, measure, measure
“No campaign is worth doing if you can’t measure the results correctly. Gifta’s platform tracks every piece of content in real-time so that brands and agencies can understand who has posted, when they posted and what they posted.
“For any gifting campaign, metrics including impressions, engagement rate, type and frequency of content, key messages and feedback should be benchmarked and measured to enable you to effectively calculate return on investment.”
Credit: thepetitefoodiee
February 2022
A client’s view
Olivia Salour, Brand Manager at Gosh Foods!, said: “Working with Gifta has shown us how impactful influencer gifting can be on brand awareness and engagement. In the last year alone, more than 1,200 pieces of original content have been created, which has helped increase our reach and resonance with our target audience. We are looking to purchase content from influencers so that we can amplify it across our owned channels. All of this teamed with best-in-class reporting makes Gifta a pleasure to work with.”
Credit: @Plantbasedmumuk
Nottingham Trent University
Pioneers of a Student Influencer Marketing Project
Nottingham Trent university worked with the BCMA to create an influencer marketing strategy project for their 450 marketing students. Global Head of Influencer Marketing, Gordon Glenister approached the University with the idea and helped enlist 20 brands in 2022 and 30 brands in 2021. Top influencer search platform Influencity enabled the students to have access for a limited time frame.
Students engaged with the brands on zoom calls to ensure that the brand brief was on point. Gordon and Andrew gave presentations to students to ensure they had a good understanding of the sector and what makes a successful campaign.
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