Find out why influencer marketing is THE strategy in an era of inauthenticity and expensive paid ads. Discover how to create an influencer strategy that works for your business.
The costs of paid advertising are high and brands are looking for a more affordable way to reach their target customers.
Add to the mix a growing group of content creators with dedicated audiences looking to make money by promoting products they care about… And you end up with B2B influencer marketing — a rising social media trend that was once confined to the world of B2C.
B2B influencer marketing allows you to build trust and generate leads even before customers have directly interacted with you. Particularly in the world of LinkedIn (which is going through something of a renaissance right now) it’s a way to boost brand awareness and engagement.
But how do you navigate this new landscape? What does a successful B2B influencer strategy look like? And how do you find these mythical people who actually enjoy spending time on LinkedIn?
The costs of paid advertising are high and brands are looking for a more affordable way to reach their target customers.
Add to the mix a growing group of content creators with dedicated audiences looking to make money by promoting products they care about… And you end up with B2B influencer marketing — a rising social media trend that was once confined to the world of B2C.
B2B influencer marketing allows you to build trust and generate leads even before customers have directly interacted with you. Particularly in the world of LinkedIn (which is going through something of a renaissance right now) it’s a way to boost brand awareness and engagement.
But how do you navigate this new landscape? What does a successful B2B influencer strategy look like? And how do you find these mythical people who actually enjoy spending time on LinkedIn?
What are B2B influencers?
B2B influencers are people who have established credibility within specific industries. They use this expertise and influence to create content about products and services; this often encourages people in other businesses to make purchases.
Unlike B2C influencers, B2B influencers often have deeper, longer-term relationships with their audience. To achieve this, B2B influencer content is more in-depth and high quality, tailored to the specific needs and challenges faced by several business stakeholders.
The products/services B2B influencers are selling are also often more complex than in B2C and require more explanation. This means that B2B influencers are often people who have extensive industry knowledge.
At the same time, however, there is also a group of B2B influencers who don’t work in one industry specifically but act as social media influencers/content creators for business products/services generally.
Unlike B2C influencers, B2B influencers often have deeper, longer-term relationships with their audience. To achieve this, B2B influencer content is more in-depth and high quality, tailored to the specific needs and challenges faced by several business stakeholders.
The products/services B2B influencers are selling are also often more complex than in B2C and require more explanation. This means that B2B influencers are often people who have extensive industry knowledge.
At the same time, however, there is also a group of B2B influencers who don’t work in one industry specifically but act as social media influencers/content creators for business products/services generally.
The benefits of B2B influencer marketing:
Every B2B influencer has a different voice and perspective. It’s what their audience loves them for and how they have managed to build a dedicated social media following of engaged readers.
This authentic voice is also what can sell your B2B brand! In an age where robot-created content is found literally everywhere, people are increasingly looking for other people to help guide their opinions.
As well as looking for organic B2B storytelling, they want to read about products and services from people they can trust. One recent Gartner study even showed that B2B buyers value interactions with third parties 1.4 times more than with digital suppliers.
By associating your brand with an influencer they like, your audience is already building brand loyalty and trust with you. And this means you’ve got more warm leads to target when the time is right.
B2B influencers allow you to meet your business goals more affordably and easily. Here’s how:
• Ads are expensive! For example, it costs $76 to acquire one follower to your company page on LinkedIn.
• PR campaigns don’t guarantee results, despite their costs. You can’t control the narrative and timing of your coverage and this can lead to misrepresentation and missed opportunities.
• Research shows it can cost between £750 and £8,000 a month for SEO support in the UK. And to generate leads from your blog or website, this is critical. SEO is also a slow, slow game!
• Influencer campaigns often have an acceleration effect. When you pay some people to talk about your product, others will start talking about it…for free!
This authentic voice is also what can sell your B2B brand! In an age where robot-created content is found literally everywhere, people are increasingly looking for other people to help guide their opinions.
As well as looking for organic B2B storytelling, they want to read about products and services from people they can trust. One recent Gartner study even showed that B2B buyers value interactions with third parties 1.4 times more than with digital suppliers.
By associating your brand with an influencer they like, your audience is already building brand loyalty and trust with you. And this means you’ve got more warm leads to target when the time is right.
B2B influencers allow you to meet your business goals more affordably and easily. Here’s how:
• Ads are expensive! For example, it costs $76 to acquire one follower to your company page on LinkedIn.
• PR campaigns don’t guarantee results, despite their costs. You can’t control the narrative and timing of your coverage and this can lead to misrepresentation and missed opportunities.
• Research shows it can cost between £750 and £8,000 a month for SEO support in the UK. And to generate leads from your blog or website, this is critical. SEO is also a slow, slow game!
• Influencer campaigns often have an acceleration effect. When you pay some people to talk about your product, others will start talking about it…for free!
Which social media platforms are B2B influencers active on?
You’ve probably heard of Linkfluencers… B2B influencers who mostly hang out on LinkedIn. But in reality, B2B influencer marketing isn’t just limited to this one platform. These days, you’ll find:
• A rise of professional content on TikTok. Short videos are an increasingly popular way for influencers in any niche to grab their audiences’ attention. And the hyper-personalized algorithm makes it easy to find them.
• An increased number of B2B influencers on Instagram. Research shows that 33% of B2B marketers are now on the platform too.
• Influencers with their fingers on the pulse giving their opinions on X (previously Twitter… RIP).
It’s important to bear in mind that, though you can find B2B influencers on these channels, the strategy behind influencer marketing campaigns is also different.
On LinkedIn, success is found mostly in comments since LinkedIn values professional connections and will promote posts that receive high engagement. This means influencers are often aiming to start conversations rather than simply promoting a product/service.
B2B influencers also receive high numbers of DMs; from here they can send people a link to your website or marketing funnel. Here, they are acting more as a sales executive than the influencers you see on other channels.
On other social media platforms, shares and likes are often more important than other metrics; to promote your offering, influencers will include your site’s link on their page or at the end of a post. While this can result in more people seeing your brand, it doesn’t necessarily lead to close connections.
There is also a difference in how many followers influencers have on different social media platforms. Hootsuite defines a mid-tier influencer as having around 50,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook etc. while we normally advise our clients to collaborate with LinkedIn creators that have around 10,000 - 15,000 followers.
(Hi, by the way, we’re Kudos Narratives: a B2B marketing agency transforming how businesses work with social media and influencers. More on us in the next section).
• A rise of professional content on TikTok. Short videos are an increasingly popular way for influencers in any niche to grab their audiences’ attention. And the hyper-personalized algorithm makes it easy to find them.
• An increased number of B2B influencers on Instagram. Research shows that 33% of B2B marketers are now on the platform too.
• Influencers with their fingers on the pulse giving their opinions on X (previously Twitter… RIP).
It’s important to bear in mind that, though you can find B2B influencers on these channels, the strategy behind influencer marketing campaigns is also different.
On LinkedIn, success is found mostly in comments since LinkedIn values professional connections and will promote posts that receive high engagement. This means influencers are often aiming to start conversations rather than simply promoting a product/service.
B2B influencers also receive high numbers of DMs; from here they can send people a link to your website or marketing funnel. Here, they are acting more as a sales executive than the influencers you see on other channels.
On other social media platforms, shares and likes are often more important than other metrics; to promote your offering, influencers will include your site’s link on their page or at the end of a post. While this can result in more people seeing your brand, it doesn’t necessarily lead to close connections.
There is also a difference in how many followers influencers have on different social media platforms. Hootsuite defines a mid-tier influencer as having around 50,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook etc. while we normally advise our clients to collaborate with LinkedIn creators that have around 10,000 - 15,000 followers.
(Hi, by the way, we’re Kudos Narratives: a B2B marketing agency transforming how businesses work with social media and influencers. More on us in the next section).
How can you create an influencer marketing partnership?
Decided you want to invest in an influencer strategy? Here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Set a goal. As with any B2B content strategy, you need to define exactly what you want to achieve through your influencer partner. This could be to generate/nurture leads, build brand awareness, or engage your audience, for example.
2. Decide which channel to focus on. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are often better suited to one-off campaigns that can grab your audience’s attention while LinkedIn is better for building relationships in the long-term and more focused on B2B.
3. Decide which types of content to focus on. B2B influencers typically create video marketing, blog posts, e-books, webinars, and social media posts. You can also host events to improve your exposure IRL. Take a look at your audiences’ activity on LinkedIn to find out which types of content they like to engage with.
4. Create a brief. Depending on which content type you choose, you’ll need to map out the deliverables for your influencer. This should leave plenty of room for them to add their creativity and unique voice but can include a few key talking points. Be sure to empower your influencer with all the knowledge about your brand and how it stands out from the competition as well as outlining your ideal audience.
5. Find your influencers. You can use websites such as Favikon and The Room (or save time and use our influencer database or work with us on a more complete strategy.) Review which influencers your competitors are using and aim to use different people. Remember that smaller influencers with dedicated followings can be just as effective (if not more effective) than large influencers.
6. Foster genuine connections. Build mutually beneficial partnerships with influencers that are designed to last long-term. How much they like your team will show in the content they create for you!
7. Track campaign results. B2B influencers or agencies should provide you with reports that clearly show marketing results, but you can also verify these by viewing marketing data in your CRM and on social media.
One pro-tip for creating a B2B influencer campaign on a budget? Use your employees and existing clients! By encouraging people within your company to build an audience and leveraging those outside it who already have one, you can build brand awareness organically.
1. Set a goal. As with any B2B content strategy, you need to define exactly what you want to achieve through your influencer partner. This could be to generate/nurture leads, build brand awareness, or engage your audience, for example.
2. Decide which channel to focus on. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are often better suited to one-off campaigns that can grab your audience’s attention while LinkedIn is better for building relationships in the long-term and more focused on B2B.
3. Decide which types of content to focus on. B2B influencers typically create video marketing, blog posts, e-books, webinars, and social media posts. You can also host events to improve your exposure IRL. Take a look at your audiences’ activity on LinkedIn to find out which types of content they like to engage with.
4. Create a brief. Depending on which content type you choose, you’ll need to map out the deliverables for your influencer. This should leave plenty of room for them to add their creativity and unique voice but can include a few key talking points. Be sure to empower your influencer with all the knowledge about your brand and how it stands out from the competition as well as outlining your ideal audience.
5. Find your influencers. You can use websites such as Favikon and The Room (or save time and use our influencer database or work with us on a more complete strategy.) Review which influencers your competitors are using and aim to use different people. Remember that smaller influencers with dedicated followings can be just as effective (if not more effective) than large influencers.
6. Foster genuine connections. Build mutually beneficial partnerships with influencers that are designed to last long-term. How much they like your team will show in the content they create for you!
7. Track campaign results. B2B influencers or agencies should provide you with reports that clearly show marketing results, but you can also verify these by viewing marketing data in your CRM and on social media.
One pro-tip for creating a B2B influencer campaign on a budget? Use your employees and existing clients! By encouraging people within your company to build an audience and leveraging those outside it who already have one, you can build brand awareness organically.
Real examples of B2B influencer marketing
In this section, we look at two successful influencer content marketing examples and explore a bit of the marketing strategy behind them.
Palta
We worked with Palta, a global health tech company headquartered in London to increase the visibility of their company page on LinkedIn. They had just rebranded and were looking to start to build both followers and engagement.
Part of our strategy was to team up with health tech industry influencers; this helped Palta build authority by association. We hosted meetups which gathered a 600+ strong community. Meanwhile, their LinkedIn following increased by an impressive 280 people a month.
Part of our strategy was to team up with health tech industry influencers; this helped Palta build authority by association. We hosted meetups which gathered a 600+ strong community. Meanwhile, their LinkedIn following increased by an impressive 280 people a month.
Rask AI
Rask AI is a venture-backed startup specializing in video translation and dubbing. They were looking to get plenty of eyes on their brand… And fast! And our influencer strategy was the perfect solution.
We initiated collaborations on TikTok and LinkedIn, choosing people who had highly engaged audiences in relevant sectors.
In just a short time frame, Rask AI’s product received nearly a million impressions with a total of 899K views. The company’s TikTok following surged to 500K, and its LinkedIn following grew by 1,000.
What’s more, people who weren’t being paid began talking about Rask AI. This meant that the results of the campaign were amplified beyond what we even measured.
We initiated collaborations on TikTok and LinkedIn, choosing people who had highly engaged audiences in relevant sectors.
In just a short time frame, Rask AI’s product received nearly a million impressions with a total of 899K views. The company’s TikTok following surged to 500K, and its LinkedIn following grew by 1,000.
What’s more, people who weren’t being paid began talking about Rask AI. This meant that the results of the campaign were amplified beyond what we even measured.
An influencer marketing strategy for growth in 2024 and beyond
Whether you want to support a new product launch or get a long-term advocate to build your community, an influencer marketing strategy could be the key to amplifying your brand, driving engagement, and ultimately, boosting your bottom line.
If you want help finding, briefing, and overseeing the best influencers for your brand, get in touch. We create influencer marketing strategies that are designed to drive results in an age of human-less content!
If you want help finding, briefing, and overseeing the best influencers for your brand, get in touch. We create influencer marketing strategies that are designed to drive results in an age of human-less content!
FAQs
What are Linkfluencers?
Linkfluencers are a type of B2B marketing influencer, focusing only on LinkedIn. They create videos, long-form posts, and other types of content and have an engaged following on the platform. By capitalizing on this audience, and on this growing B2B marketing trend, you could boost brand awareness, engagement and even sales.
Linkfluencers are a type of B2B marketing influencer, focusing only on LinkedIn. They create videos, long-form posts, and other types of content and have an engaged following on the platform. By capitalizing on this audience, and on this growing B2B marketing trend, you could boost brand awareness, engagement and even sales.
How are B2B influencers different from B2C influencers?
While B2B influencers work with brands to promote their products and services to other businesses, B2C influencers promote brands directly to customers. This means they create different types of content. For example, B2B influencers usually create longer-form posts and videos.
They also sometimes have a different strategy for distributing the content. B2B influencers more often look to open up conversations so they might ask more questions or encourage more engagement.
While B2B influencers work with brands to promote their products and services to other businesses, B2C influencers promote brands directly to customers. This means they create different types of content. For example, B2B influencers usually create longer-form posts and videos.
They also sometimes have a different strategy for distributing the content. B2B influencers more often look to open up conversations so they might ask more questions or encourage more engagement.
How should I select a B2B influencer?
To find the right B2B influencer for your campaign, you can message people directly on the social media platform you intend to use. These should be people with a fairly large following that you see your followers engaging with. You can also use directories such as Heepsy and The Room or save time, and get a more complete B2B social media strategy, by partnering with a B2B social media agency like Kudos Narratives.
To find the right B2B influencer for your campaign, you can message people directly on the social media platform you intend to use. These should be people with a fairly large following that you see your followers engaging with. You can also use directories such as Heepsy and The Room or save time, and get a more complete B2B social media strategy, by partnering with a B2B social media agency like Kudos Narratives.
How should you approach LinkedIn influencers?
After researching which influencers align with your brand, audience and B2B social media marketing campaign goals, send them a connection request or an email. Personalize your outreach message clearly explaining the value for both you and them and invite them to return to you with their rates.
After researching which influencers align with your brand, audience and B2B social media marketing campaign goals, send them a connection request or an email. Personalize your outreach message clearly explaining the value for both you and them and invite them to return to you with their rates.
How do you measure the return on investment of influencer marketing?
To understand the ROI of your influencer marketing campaign, you could use several different methods. You can check likes, comments, and shares on social media to understand engagement or look at how your following grows over a certain period and track this against the influencer’s click-through analytics on their post. You can also give the influencer an affiliate code so you can track sales that are made through them.
To understand the ROI of your influencer marketing campaign, you could use several different methods. You can check likes, comments, and shares on social media to understand engagement or look at how your following grows over a certain period and track this against the influencer’s click-through analytics on their post. You can also give the influencer an affiliate code so you can track sales that are made through them.
B2B businesses will increasingly use social media platforms to facilitate transactions and provide a seamless shopping experience for their customers. Chatbots and Messaging Apps: Utilizing chatbots and messaging apps for customer support and lead generation will become more common, as B2B companies seek to provide immediate assistance and engage in real-time conversations.