We know our target market and we’ve done extensive research on our customer avatar. But how are we luring and capturing gift shoppers that land on our website looking for the perfect present? It’s the recipient who would be best represented by our customer avatar, but that doesn’t help us engage the stranger doing the shopping.
- Who are they?
- What do they know about your product?
- Where do they hang out online?
- What kind of marketing appeals to them?
- Where do they most often arrive in your sales funnel?
- What makes them buy?
- What makes them buy again?
Gift shoppers are elusive creatures and catching them often means casting a broader net than you normally would. For starters, the shopper journey can be entirely different from direct customers. You might want to broaden your touchpoints to include additional social media channels, for example, or change your ad targeting and ad copy to speak directly to the gift buyer.
It should come as no surprise that diversifying your influencer pool improves your chances of reaching the right buyer. That said, the number of ways to work with influencers grows every year. Most of us can’t run every type of promotion, although trying as many as possible should be a testing goal.
5 Types of Influencer Marketing Promotions Proven to Grab Gift Shoppers
Influencer marketing campaigns can include many types of promotions, such as unboxing videos, social media ‘takeovers,’ or cobranded events. Over time, you’ll find some types of influencer marketing campaigns and strategies work better than others, not only for sales but also according to the campaign targets and goals. It can put you in front of audiences you’ve never tried to reach before, and help you engage those audiences. In the case of gift shoppers, it broadens and diversifies your marketing strategy and positions your brand for growth.
I’ve been working with influencers since before the term was even applied to them in marketing. There have always been authorities on every topic, masters of many genres, and experts in every sector, many of whom shared their knowledge online. For us and our clients, the following types of promotions invariably outperform other methods of digital marketing when the target is gift shoppers.
1. Gifting Products
Influencer campaigns have included product gifting since the beginning. Brands send free products to carefully chosen influencers within similar or complimentary niches. Depending on the campaign requirements, you’ll probably have to pay the influencer on top of the gifted product. However, if your product is in a higher price range you may be able to strike a deal for just the product. For example, we’ve worked with electronics and tech brands who offered products worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Since we can usually use the products ourselves, we waive the fee.
‘Tis the season of gifting in more ways than one. Product gifting campaigns work so well because influencers have been finding creative ways to promote products for years. They can give you a shoutout on social media, add you to their gift guides, create unboxing videos, and post reviews, but only if they can try the product. It’s how they maintain the trust of their audience through authenticity.
Gifting campaigns keep your brand in front of consumers all over the internet, always backed by a trusted influencer. That’s especially important for grabbing shoppers who are still looking for gift ideas and are seeking advice as much as inspiration.
TIP: Combine gifting with a contest sponsorship to double the impact (and results).
2. Content Marketing Campaign
Paid content collaborations with influencers offer a full range of promotion options to brands, along with maximum scalability. It can involve many influencers or just a few. Either you or the influencer can provide the content, from a sponsored post to a how-to video. You may provide all the content (like a guest post), the influencer can provide the content (like a review or unboxing video), or you might make a deal for co-created content (such as a podcast interview).
Content marketing campaigns are effective any time of year, but it can be especially beneficial when your target is gift shoppers. It’s an excellent opportunity to educate givers about products they may not know much about. It’s also ready and waiting for the gift recipient who goes searching after they receive it. For example, an influencer might provide an overview of the product functions and features, along with a smoothie recipe and usage tips with their review of a high-end blender. Both the shopper and recipient will find it useful.
To gain a larger market share of consumers who search online for gifts, create content that helps them make an informed choice about a product they’re unfamiliar with. Pick up another customer by providing information designed for the recipient. This is something that your larger competitors rarely give much thought to, resulting in a serious competitive advantage.
Learn more about producing Content for Each Stage of the Gift-Buyer’s Journey.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Influencers were early adopters of affiliate marketing and they’re often open to including this compensation method in their sponsored campaigns. Throw in a promotion code that offers an exclusive deal for their followers and they’ll be even more interested. Gift shoppers are just as eager for deals as those shopping for themselves. That’s especially true of holidays requiring gifts for multiple recipients. Combine the deal with a great gift idea and an influential recommendation, and you have an excellent chance of increasing conversions.
Some influencers will work for affiliate commissions alone, but more often it’s a combination of compensation methods. For example, they could charge an administration fee or require a sample product.
Check your affiliate program platform for promo code and tracking options. If you have an affiliate program manager (highly recommended), they’ll be able to set it up easily.
[DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website.]
4. Giveaways & Contests
I’m sure you’ve seen a vast array of giveaways & contests online, often promoted by influencers for brands. This type of campaign gains immediate attention and results, with some branding on the side. They can be used to bring in website traffic and grow your social media following. Conversion rates are largely unpredictable, however. To improve the odds, provide content to influencers that doesn’t just position your product as something consumers want to win, but also something they have to buy/gift if they don’t win it. It can greatly improve lead quality, which can be a challenge with giveaways.
“Success has shown that when influencers give products away it can deliver 5 to 10 times more new followers than a normal creator post,” writes Gordon Glenisteer in Influencer Marketing Strategy. “This method can be even better for a build-up campaign: ‘I’ve got five amazing gifts to give away next week, don’t forget to join me at 5 pm on Monday when I am giving away the first one.'”
Giveaways are heavily promoted by influencers and it’s your path to discovery for gift shoppers and other potential customers. Strategically, it’s part of casting a wide net.
5. Gift Guide Campaigns
For the shopper that has no idea what they’re looking for, there are gift guides. Submit products to a broad range of influencer gift guides in an effort to reach those who are wandering aimlessly online, desperately seeking the perfect gift. They’ll be searching by what they know about the recipient, such as their hobbies, occupation, age, gender, or favourite colour.
Do you remember the Sears Wish Book? It had everything from the latest products to special sections, like stocking stuffers or gifts under a certain amount. Influencers have brought a similar format to the digital world. They may categorize gift guides by price, recipient group (women, kids, parents, etc.), interests, best sellers, and purpose (such as stocking stuffers). Select gift guide themes carefully and submit your best products to make them click.
Finding Influencers
Finding and recruiting influencers is an ongoing challenge for marketing departments. I’ve hand-selected each and every Canadian influencer or used influencer databases, but most often it’s a combination of both. Databases make it easy to come up with a list of possible creators, but I still like to hand select the final few. Unfortunately, the number of Canadian influencers is usually limited in databases, so I still do a lot of manual searching.
The better databases (like Later Influence) are actually management platforms that allow you to find influencers and manage campaigns, including tracking & analytics.
Tracking Results
You’ll enjoy both short-term and long-term benefits from a strategic influencer marketing campaign targeting gift shoppers. In most cases, you’ll need to find a balance between the two when evaluating performance.
“Short-term metrics, such as immediate sales or engagement rates, dominate many influencer–brand partnerships,” reveals an American Marketing Association report. “While these metrics are easy to measure, they often miss the broader value that influencers bring—such as long-term brand loyalty, deeper audience engagement, and organic reach. Brands that focus solely on short-term results risk undermining the authenticity of their campaigns and alienating audiences.”
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track for influencer marketing campaigns include:
- Conversion rates
- Impressions
- Engagement metrics
- Website traffic
- Audience growth
Here’s how we calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of influencer marketing campaigns:
- Audience Reached x Engagement rate = Leads
- Leads x Conversion rate = Conversions
- Conversions x Average Order Value = Revenue
- (Revenue Generated – Total campaign cost) / Total campaign cost = ROI %
It’s easy if you use a tool or if it’s automatically calculated by a platform you use. Practice on Rows free influencer marketing ROI calculator measures the Return on Investment of an influencer marketing campaign based on the campaign costs, reach, and conversion rates.
TIP: Note the top performing influencers so you can approach them with even better offers next time.
The Gift Shopper Opportunity
If you shift your focus to the recipient in the final stages, the end of the gift shopping journey presents a unique opportunity. You want the lucky gift recipient to visit your website, find your fabulous content, and ultimately become a fan. At the same time, you’d love to have the gift shopper become a repeat customer. The ideal scenario is to gain two customers for the price of one, which can significantly lower your overall cost per acquisition (CPA).
Gift shoppers are ready to buy and they have a deadline, making them more likely to proceed through checkout. Place yourself firmly in the shoes of your ideal customer and combine it with the needs of most online shoppers, for an unbeatable influencer marketing campaign. You’ll create a winning strategy that brings in gift hunters, turns them into buyers, adds the gift recipient to your fan base, and ultimately brings both back to your online store again and again.
Have you worked with influencers to hook gift shoppers? Please share your experience or questions in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
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Last Updated on September 28, 2025 by Melody McKinnon, Online Business & Marketing Manager
