How to run gifting so it works
Send to people who already talk about your category and ask for nothing in writing. Include a handwritten note, a clear product benefit and a discount code they can share. A gifting programme with no expectation attached posts better than one with conditions dressed up as a favour.
Budget for the true cost. Product plus postage plus the hours to pick, pack and track means a fifty person seed is rarely under a few thousand pounds. Track who posted, what it earned and who to convert to paid next month.
When gifting stops being appropriate
Any creator whose content you want to run as an ad should be paid. Usage rights on gifted content are legally thin and asking for them after the fact damages the relationship. Pay the licence fee and get a signed agreement.
Gifting also fails above a certain price point and for creators who work full time at this. Sending a £30 product to someone whose day rate is £800 reads as an insult. Send it as a sample and open a paid conversation separately.
The disclosure rule people get wrong
In the UK, gifted content is advertising. The Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority both treat free product as payment, so the post needs a clear ad label. That applies even when you asked for nothing in return.
Put the requirement in the gifting note itself. Ask for the platform disclosure toggle plus the word ad at the front of the caption. Brands carry reputational risk here. ASA rulings name the brand as well as the creator.