Gifting vs. Advertising on Instagram

I remember the first time I was ever gifted on Instagram. It was the winter of 2015, I had about 1,000 Instagram followers, and I woke up one morning to an email from someone at E-Shakti. They wanted to send me a piece from their collection (my choice!) in exchange for a blog post and a feature on my Instagram. I immediately accepted, picked out a cute denim skirt, and couldn’t mask my excitement. Someone wanted to send me something for free and all I had to do in exchange was post on my Instagram. How crazy is that?

I think every single person in the “influencer” space has had this same experience. The first time you realize that your influence is worth something to a brand is unlike anything else. And it’s a feeling you never want to end. Which is how we’ve gotten where we are now in the industry with a completely blurred line between gifting and advertising.

My E-Shakti example is the hybrid of gifting and advertising that has unfortunately become the norm. Brands offer an influencer a certain item or perk in exchange for some kind of post. This kind hybrid is great for the brand, but a total rip-off for the influencer. But because being offered something for free makes anyone feel like they’re on the cast of Riverdale, they say yes anyway. I once saw Dylan Sprouse on the street and that’s the closest I’ve been to becoming a teen star (and I know he’s not even the one on Riverdale so don’t correct me:). So, if a brand wants to send me a free necklace, I should do whatever they want me to do, no holds barred.

But therein lies the problem. The cycle continues and brands can take advantage and profit while influencers can forfeit credit for actually creating and distributing advertising if they’re not careful. Both gifting and advertising are very real things on Instagram, but again they are two different things that shouldn’t be combined to make one - like oil and water, or me and Forever 21. Let’s define both so we can all understand what’s gifting and what’s advertising.

Gifting

Instagram gifting should be intuitive because it’s the same as a getting a gift for your birthday. On your birthday, your friend will give you something they made or spent money on that they think you will like. Let’s say in this scenario that your friend gifted you a sweater for your birthday. Once you’re given the sweater, it’s yours to do with as you please. You can keep it and wear it every time it’s cold out or you can let it sit in your closet forever and never wear it. You can even re-gift it to someone else or try to return it for store credit. It doesn’t matter, because once you’re given the gift from your friend, it’s yours to do whatever you’d like with it. In the same way, if a brand sends you a gift, it’s yours to do whatever you’d like with. Yes, you most likely post it because you love it and appreciate it, but you’re not obligated to.

So here’s the part where I’m going to get a little bit technical. Yes, I have a marketing degree. Yes, I’m the worst. But I’m going to make this really simple. Gifting is a form of public relations, which is part of promotion in the marketing mix. Public relations is any form of public brand mention that the brand didn’t pay for. This could be a feature in a magazine or a celebrity wearing a dress on a red carpet. The brand didn’t pay for this exposure, but they gifted something they want to promote to a public figure or a member of the press for possible recognition. However, there is no guarantee that they will get that recognition because the transaction was not a paid one. So basically, Instagram gifting.

I was lucky enough to intern for a brand that I think runs one of the best gifting programs on Instagram. They gift the coolest people and make it clear that when they’re gifting, it’s just a gift. There is no guarantee to post and they are free to do whatever they want with this gift. There’s no tricky email after the gift is sent saying “we can’t wait to see your post!” when all you were offered was a gift. Getting to be involved on the brand side of a program that is so sound was hugely inspiring. After being a content creator and just so frustrated by Instagram gifting for years, I finally had an example of how to do it right.

So what is gifting not? Anything where you are required to do something in return for a gifted item. This is often being offered a “trade” (a term brands love to use) of a product for an Instagram post. That is a brand offering gifting in exchange for advertising. That’s not a thing and it shouldn’t be a thing on Instagram.

Advertising

I know that everyone reading this is familiar with the concept of advertising. It’s TV commercials, it’s billboards, it’s spreads in magazines. It’s been around forever and has always existed for one purpose: to sell you more stuff. The most basic definition of advertising is promotional material that a brand pays for. Money is exchanged for promotion.

On Instagram, a paid advertisement is either marked with a “paid promotion with so and so brand” or #ad. A brand or agency pays an influencer a certain rate to create a post promoting a product or service. This can also include a gifted product. I’m just going to say it. Influencer advertising on Instagram is great. I mean it’s not all perfect, but for the most part it’s a huge improvement from traditional advertising. Influencer advertising allows for more diverse voices and representation in the marketplace.

A paid advertisement is the only way a brand can make an influencer sign a contract and it’s the only way to guarantee a specific post from an influencer. If a brand sends an influencer a tee-shirt, there is no guarantee that the influencer will post it on their Instagram. But if the brand sents a tee-shirt and $50, the influencer will guarantee a post that fits the brand’s guidelines.

Advertising is a topic that is easy to research, so instead of getting too into it myself, I encourage you to do that research. There’s so much to learn and if you’re interested in these topics, you will get a lot out of it. Also: if you’re a college student and have the ability to take an integrated marketing communications course, you should.

Now, here’s the part where I use a real world example. This is an actual email from an actual brand that I actually received. At this point, I had already had a long conversation on Instagram DM’s with the founder of this brand explaining that I don’t accept “trades” and would be open to gifting. I’ve very messily removed all the names for confidentiality, but this is an excellent example of what’s not okay.

You know what? This makes me so frustrated that I’m going to list everything that’s wrong and done in bad form.

1) Brands gifting shouldn’t even say that someone is required to post, ever. Saying that they have to post in a certain timeline is clinical. If a brand gives you a “due date”, run.

2) So, from what I can understand, the brand is asking the “partner” to post 4 times for one product, within two weeks. I would charge $100 for this. They’re giving you one product. And if you want more than one product, you have to do this for every single product you’re gifted.

3) If a brand is asking you to send them your photos, they are asking for something more than gifting or advertising. They’re asking for freelance content creation and they will then be able to use your high quality photos for whatever the hell they want whenever they want. Content creation is hard work and should never be done for free.

4) The fact that this requires a signature is the most not okay part of this whole thing. The only time anything should be signed is when there is money being exchanged.

The saddest part of this whole email is that I genuinely tried to explain to the founder of this brand that what she was asking for wasn’t realistic and isn’t considered standard in the industry. And she completely wrote me off. She told me that she didn’t believe in working with “influencers” and didn’t believe in paying for promotion. She said that she wanted people to post because they genuinely loved the product. And those are totally valid opinions, but that’s not what this agreement is doing. This is an advertising and content creation contract, with the added complication of giving the brand unlimited use and maybe ownership of the influencer’s photos. The people she’s sending product aren’t posting because they love the product, they’re posting because they were required to sign a contract.

Okay, but does all of this mean I’ve never promised a post in exchange for a product or signed a contract for gifting? No, of course I have. In fact, I did recently in a situation I deemed worth it. This is a new industry and not an exact science. We are all trying to navigate it the best we can while keeping our heads afloat. You can, of course, do whatever you want and whatever feels right. The point of me even explaining and talking about this is to educate. If we all have the information, than we can make the best decisions for ourselves and hopefully navigate the industry a little better.

If you’re an influencer, think about what you’re signing before you do. Know your worth and make sure brands know it, too. Be your own advocate in situations that just don’t feel fair. And if you need support or just a second opinion, always feel free to send me a DM or email.

If you’re a brand, I hope that this maybe gives you a little insight on your role in all this. You have all the power in these situations, and you also have the power to change how this whole industry runs. Treat those promoting your products fairly and know what you should and shouldn’t ask from them. You want your influencers to be your biggest fans, and they are, so make sure you treat them that way.