In a sign that parent influencers are gaining more confidence in their marketing worth, a poll of UK mum and dad influencers on the ParentStars database shows that 90% now charge to promote gifted products and have no problem turning down products that pay little or nothing for their work.
“Some gifting will ask for ridiculous amounts of promoting for a tiny free item which is taking hours of content creating so I will politely say no.” explained one. “I rarely work on a gifted basis because it doesn’t compensate me enough usually for my time.” added another.
Creators will decline even paid work if the product isn’t relevant. “I will turn down paid work because the product wouldn’t be used, or useful to my audience.” said one. “It’s more about do I actually want the product or not. 9 times out of 10 I don’t even want the thing they are offering.” said another.
High ticket items
Some creators will consider making an exception and post for free for desirable high ticket items: “For me if I really need/ love it, it could be an occasional free post,” said one well established mum influencer, “but it should be worth at least £300-£400. Gifting for free is 99% a no no.”
Another mum echoes this view, “I rarely work on a gifted basis but I might post free for say £300 worth of gifted products but only if the items would save me money on things I normally buy or if it’s something I would really want for us like furniture.”
Small business exceptions
It’s not all about high ticket items though, some influencers say they will also still post for free to support a small business they particularly like. “If it’s a small business that’s ethical and sustainable I’ll do my best to help a a bit more.” said one mum influencer.
If the influencer already has a relationship with a small business they’ll also look to support it free of charge. “I sometimes work with small handmade clothing businesses to create photos for their website and would happily post their items on my grid. Any companies that have their products in actual stores should all be paying content creators.” said one.
Stories vs grid posts
If an influencer wants to show support for a product or organisation they particularly like, but no budget is available they say they will sometimes post about that product on their Instagram stories, but not on their grid. Crucially though, they must like the product and the brand mustn’t be too demanding. “If it was a true gift and the brand doesn’t have any requirements or obligation to post, I might organically share on my stories if I liked the product.” explained one influencer.
Confidence is a factor
When asked why, the 10% of parent influencers who said they don’t charge for posting gifted products said that they either didn’t know how to ask for compensation or didn’t have enough confidence in their Instagram account. “I don’t charge but probably I should” said one. Another, who has over 25,000 followers on her Instagram has promoted many products but never charged for them. “I really should develop my confidence a bit more and start charging and asking for a fee.” she reflected.
Tax on gifted items
Some parent influencers commented that even if they didn’t charge to promote a product, they’re still liable to pay tax on it. “A gift in exchange for endorsement is considered a payment-in-kind and you’re legally obliged to declare that in your annual tax return.” explained one. ”You can actually end up at a loss if you take too much gifted on.” added another.
“It’s great to see that mum and dad influencers are beginning to be properly rewarded for their work..” said Ross Furlong, Founder of ParentStars, “..both in terms of posting to their networks but also for their creativity. Some of the photos and videos ParentStars creators are producing for campaigns are better than a studio could produce – and of course, very authentic – coming from real families.”
ParentStars polled 50 mum and dad influencers from their UK database in January 2023.