Sending free samples to influencers in exchange for promotion can be a hugely effective marketing strategy. Whether you’re selling face cream or laundry liquid, hand gel or toothpaste, there’s a content creator out there who wants your free stuff and will promote you in order to get it.

Here at Fillcon, we make sachets for a wide range of brands, tailored to their individual requirements. Together, we can create a selection of highly desirable free samples that influencers across the web will be lining up to talk to their followers about.

But what happens once you’ve got the perfect product, and are ready to send it out? We’ve put together a handy guide to help you get the most out of your influencer collaboration.

What is an Influencer?

It’s in the name. Influencers are content creators that literally ‘have influence’. In terms of e-commerce, they have the ability to affect and alter the behaviour of consumers because their opinions are deemed accurate, on-trend and sincere. In the beauty and cosmetics sector, the power of influencers to drive sales is significantly beyond that of other sources.

Discover more about beauty marketing >

Why Do Brands Send Free Stuff to Influencers?

Influencer marketing is a thriving industry, and for good reason. A wide range of brands know that working with an influencer pays off. Here are some of the reasons that these collaborations work so well.

Cost-Effective

Instead of paying for a whole marketing campaign, sending free samples to influencers has a minimal cost to you, but brings in plenty of benefits. Everyone, even highly successful influencers, appreciates receiving free products and samples. For a minimal investment, you can foster this good-feeling and forge a true relationship.

Highly Skilled Collaborators

Most influencers have grown their platform from the grassroots, and along the way have developed a host of skills related to photography and media. This means you get quality product placement shots and creative content, all for a few free things.

Seems More Genuine

Viewers are more likely to be interested in your product if an influencer is promoting it on their page. This type of promotion doesn’t seem like an advertisement in the traditional sense, but like true content. Gifting collaborations result in more active engagement because the opinions of the influencer are deemed to be authentic. Influencers often foster a personal, trusting relationship with their viewers, making their opinions highly likely to affect behaviour.

How to Find an Influencer for Your Brand

Search for related hashtags on Instagram or keywords on YouTube. Think laterally at this stage, and look for accounts with plenty of followers to shortlist.
Check out the product reviews of your competitors and see if they’re collaborating with any influencers. You can then choose to approach them or look for associated people in their online network.
Don’t ignore your suggestions on Instagram and YouTube. These are based on data gathered by highly accurate algorithms and will probably be accounts with similar interests to you.
Once you’ve got a shortlist, go through each account’s bio and recent posts and make sure they’re working in the same niche as you. As well as this, check that the tone of voice and aesthetic of their content complements your brand and have a look at their engagement rate, ensuring they haven’t artificially boosted their followers.

How To Send Free Products to Influencers

Plan and Budget

Before taking any steps, you need to work out a budget and plan your approach. How many influencers are you going to contact in one go and how many free samples are you happy to give away? It’s important to establish the answers to these questions before making any further moves.

Contact Influencer

Some influencers will list their email address for potential collaborations, in which case, this is the mode of communication to use. If they don’t, send them a DM on Instagram. Keep it short, friendly and personalised, explaining that you’re a fan of their page and would love to give them one of your products or samples to try. With any luck, you’ll soon receive an enthusiastic response.

Packaging

To ensure you receive glowing reviews, you need to bring the wow-factor. Receiving and opening your parcel is this influencer’s first impression of your brand in the real world, so make sure it looks good.

Consider what type of packaging will be best suited to your product and your chosen influencer. Are they passionate about sustainability? If this is the case, consider recycled packaging. Will letter-box friendly packaging be more convenient? All of these considerations will go towards creating a highly positive experience of your brand. It’s also a nice idea to write a personal note, thanking the influencer once again and providing all the information they will need to promote you, such as social handles and website address.

With our roots in cosmetic sampling, Fillcon have gone on to work with clients in a wide variety of sectors including medical, household, industrial and automotive. We can create a range of free gifts in high-quality packaging that will impress your chosen influencer. Contact our experienced team and we’ll create a filling solution tailored to you.

See more: Best E-Commerce Packaging for Beauty and Cosmetics Brands >

See more: Sample Packaging Ideas and How To Get Started >

Track Your Package

Time to send it off. Use a courier service that offers tracking so you know where your gift is and how long it will take to get there. It doesn’t have to be next day, but you’ll impress if your shipping is slick and efficient, and you don’t keep the lucky recipient waiting for long.

Find High-Quality Promotional Sachets with Fillcon

The team at Fillcon have been making superior liquid sachets since 2011, and we don’t intend to stop anytime soon. We know it’s a little niche, but filling sachets makes us smile. If you want to establish a successful marketing collaboration with the hottest influencer on the internet, we’re confident our sachets will make them smile too!

Say hello to our friendly team today and find out how we can help boost your brand.

Everything You Need to Know About Sending Free Samples to Influencers