We’ve talked a lot about Livestreams, both on the blog and in the Clapper app itself. But we’ve never really covered one of the best parts of Livestreams: gifting. It’s been mentioned here or there, and if you ‘ve been in a Live, chances are you’ve seen someone get a gift. Chances also are that you thought “That’s so cool! I want to send one too!” If so, you’re in luck! We’re breaking down gifting, covering the how to and why to, and showing off some of our favorites.
What Are Gifts? 🎁
Gifts are virtual items that you can send to creators in Lives, Radios, or even on their videos. They’re a little like stickers, with a fun design and animation. But they’ve got a coin value attached to them, meaning the creator gets a little extra money whenever you send one! Gifting is the most popular way to support the host and show your appreciation.
As for the designs, gifts range anywhere from tiny to seasonal to one-of-a-kind. At Clapper, we release limited editions gifts for holidays or campaigns, and static gifts for those that want to show their support but not break the bank.
How Do I Send Gifts? 🤔
Chances are, you’ve likely gone into our gift menu when you were clicking around in your first Livestream. But let’s dive in, step by step, and give you a quick refresh.
- Go into a Live. Along the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a little menu. There’ll be a comment space, a hand silhouette, two beer mugs, a gift box, and a circle with three dots.
- Click the gift box and you’ll be taken to our gift menu. You can swipe through all the available gifts to find the one you want. Some of our most popular (and our seasonal ones!) will be on the first page or two.
- Tap the gift you want to send. A orange box will appear around it and you’ll see the coin price. If you want to send this gift, tap again.
- If in a Multi Live, you’ll have the option to select which host to send the gift to. Be sure to double check that you’re sending it to the right host! To change it, all you have to do is tap the prompt and select the right host.
- Your gift will display on the screen. If it’s a static gift, it will be off the side. If it’s an animated gift, it will start in the center of the screen.
- You can send as many gifts as you like in a Live! In a PK Battle, you’ll want to send as many as you can to help your favorite creator win.
Why Do I Want to Send Gifts? 💝
As we said earlier, gifts are the most popular (and often easiest) way to show your support. They’re a fun way to send some extra Diamonds to your favorite creator. Plus, they’re displayed on screen during a Live or Radio, so the host and viewers can all see what you sent. And the gifts are fun! It’s like a little reward seeing them animate. The rest of the audience will be sure to tell you if you picked a good one. You might not be gifting for attention, but who doesn’t want a little acknowledgement?
At Clapper, we also host campaigns with gifting as a focal point. Sometimes we ask the audience to vote for their favorite creator by sending them gifts. We’ve also run fundraisers using gifts as well, like with our Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. You can keep up to date on campaigns like this through @Clapper or @ClapperCreator.
How Do I Get Gifts? 💰
Sometimes all you have to do is entertain your audience. Seriously. Like the old saying goes: if you build it, they will come. If you host a good Live, they’ll send a gift. But there are a few things you can do to increase the chances a viewer will send you something.
- Update your wishlist. This will display in the top right corner of your Live. It’s a counter that swipes through the gifts you most want to receive and how many of each you’ve gotten. The app already selects a few gifts for you to wish for, but you can tap the wishlist to update it. Swipe through all our gifts to select which ones you want to receive and how many of each you’d like to get. This makes it easy for your audience to see what you want – and how close you are to finishing your wishlist.
- Remind people. You don’t have to say it all the time, but don’t be afraid to prompt people to gift you. Even something as simple as a “if you’re having a good time, please send me a gift” or thanking someone who gifted you will go a long way!
- Send some yourself! Go into your friends’ Lives or Radios and send them a few gifts just because. They’ll be excited to support you back next time you host something!
Hanging Gifts 🪅
Earlier this year, we launched a new gifting feature. Hosts can now activate a hanging gift in their Livestream that the audience can contribute to. For Hispanic Heritage Month, this was a piñata that viewers “hit”. Each hit contributed a certain number of Diamonds to the piñata, and once it reached a randomly generated amount, the piñata would burst! The host, top gifter, and others that hit the piñata would get a random number of Diamonds, which could then be converted into Clapper coins.
We’ve gone through several iterations of this game already. For Halloween we released a jack o lantern with candy; at the time of writing this, you can send a little autumnal gnome some holiday blessings! We’re hoping to update the hanging gifts for every season, and we’re still working on the exact iteration of the rules. But this is a new development we’re excited to see our gifting community take part in!
Limited Edition Gifts ⏲️
Sometimes limited edition gifts are so popular that we decide to keep them around a little longer. A perfect example is our Clappy Hour gift. This was part of a specific campaign where we asked creators to host a happy hour on their Lives. We designed several gifts for it, but this was an instant hit! No one wanted to see it go away, so we kept it up.
To Learn About Livestreams
Visit our Livestream 101 article for a refresher on going Live. You can also check out our Multi Live and PK Battle articles to learn how to go Live with a guest. And for a refresher on Radios, be sure to read Radios 101.