7 Reasons Why B2B Influencer Marketing Is a Game-Changer for Your Business
B2B influencer marketing is not a new concept, but it has gained a lot of traction in recent years. Influencer marketing is the practice of partnering with influential people in your industry or niche to promote your brand, products, or services to their audience. It can help you reach new customers, increase brand awareness, generate leads, and boost sales.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
B2B influencer marketing can help you reach new customers, increase brand awareness, generate leads, and boost sales.
B2B influencer marketing can help you create engaging content, build long-term relationships, boost your brand reputation, and measure your ROI.
B2B influencer marketing requires finding the right influencers, approaching them for collaboration, compensating them for their work, and measuring the success of your campaign.
But why is influencer marketing so effective for B2B businesses? Here are seven reasons why you should consider adding influencer marketing to your B2B marketing strategy:
1. Influencers have the trust and credibility of their audience.
B2B buyers are more likely to trust recommendations from experts and peers than from ads or sales pitches. Influencers have built a loyal following by providing valuable content, insights, and advice to their audience. They have earned their trust and respect over time. When they endorse your brand or product, they transfer some of that trust and credibility to you.
2. Influencers can help you reach your target audience.
B2B buyers are often hard to reach through traditional channels. They are busy, savvy, and selective about the content they consume. Influencers can help you cut through the noise and reach your ideal customers. They have a niche audience that matches your buyer persona. They know their pain points, challenges, and goals. They can tailor their content and messaging to resonate with them.
3. Influencers can help you create engaging content.
Content is king in B2B marketing, but creating high-quality content can be time-consuming and challenging. Influencers can help you create engaging content that showcases your brand value proposition, educates your audience, and drives them to action. They can co-create content with you, such as white papers, e-books, webinars, podcasts, or videos. They can also share your existing content with their audience, amplifying its reach and impact.
4. Influencers can help you generate leads and conversions.
B2B buyers have a long and complex decision-making process. They need multiple touchpoints and sources of information before they make a purchase. Influencers can help you nurture your leads and move them along the buyer journey. They can provide social proof, testimonials, case studies, or demos of your product or service. They can also drive traffic to your website, landing pages, or lead magnets, where you can capture their contact information and follow up with them.
5. Influencers can help you build long-term relationships with your customers.
B2B marketing is not a one-time transaction, but a long-term relationship. You need to retain your customers, increase their loyalty, and encourage repeat purchases and referrals. Influencers can help you build long-term relationships with your customers by providing ongoing value, support, and engagement. They can answer their questions, address their concerns, and solve their problems. They can also keep them updated on your latest news, offers, and innovations.
6. Influencers can help you boost your brand reputation and authority.
B2B buyers want to work with brands that are credible, reliable, and reputable in their industry or niche. Influencers can help you boost your brand reputation and authority by associating your brand with theirs. They can also help you position yourself as a thought leader and an expert in your field. They can invite you to speak at their events, podcasts, or webinars. They can also mention you in their articles, books, or reports.
7. Influencers can help you measure your ROI and optimize your strategy.
B2B influencer marketing is not a guessing game, but a data-driven strategy. You need to measure your results and optimize your performance. Influencers can help you measure your ROI and optimize your strategy by providing you with analytics and feedback. They can track the reach, engagement, clicks, leads, conversions, and sales generated by their content and campaigns. They can also provide you with insights on what works best for their audience and how to improve your collaboration.
TIPS
- Define your goals and target audience before you start your B2B influencer marketing campaign.
- Choose influencers that align with your brand values, voice, and vision.
- Build genuine and long-term relationships with your influencers based on trust and mutual benefit.
- Provide creative freedom and guidance to your influencers to create authentic and relevant content for their audience.
- Communicate clearly and regularly with your influencers to ensure a smooth and successful collaboration.
B2B Influencer Marketing: A Statistical Report
Influencer marketing is not just for B2C brands. B2B companies can also benefit from working with influential experts who can help them reach and engage their target audience, generate leads, and increase brand awareness. In this report, we will look at some examples of successful B2B influencer marketing campaigns and how they have impacted the global demand for this industry.
According to a report by TopRank Marketing, 96% of B2B brands are confident about influencer marketing and 63% intend to increase their budget for it in the next year. The same report also found that the top benefits of B2B influencer marketing are increased brand awareness, improved credibility and trust, increased share of voice, and improved customer experience.
Some of the leading B2B brands that have leveraged influencer marketing include SAP, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, and Okta. These brands have partnered with industry thought leaders, authors, consultants, academics, and customers to create valuable content, such as white papers, e-books, webinars, videos, podcasts, and social media posts. They have also invited influencers to speak at their events, participate in their product launches, and provide feedback on their solutions.
For example, SAP collaborated with 11 influencers to create live video interviews during their annual user conference, SAPPHIRE NOW, in 2016. The influencers livestreamed the interviews to 80,000 viewers who could not attend the event in person. SAP also arranged strategic meetings between the influencers and the attendees based on their areas of expertise. The campaign resulted in 200,000+ views and 4,000+ downloads for the e-books that were created from the interviews.
Another example is IBM Watson, which partnered with influencers to promote its artificial intelligence platform. IBM Watson worked with influencers such as Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Arianna Huffington, and Serena Williams to showcase how AI can help solve various challenges in different fields. The influencers shared their stories and insights on social media using the hashtag #IBMWatson. The campaign generated over 45 million impressions and increased the brand awareness of IBM Watson by 86%.
These examples show how B2B influencer marketing can help brands reach new audiences, build trust and credibility, and drive demand for their products and services. As more B2B buyers rely on online research and peer recommendations before making a purchase decision, influencer marketing can be a powerful way to influence their journey and position the brand as a leader in its industry.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is B2B influencer marketing?
A: B2B influencer marketing is the practice of partnering with influential people in your industry or niche to promote your brand, products, or services to their audience.
Q: How do I find the right influencers for my B2B business?
A: You can find the right influencers for your B2B business by using tools like Audiense or BuzzSumo to identify influencers based on keywords, topics, or domains relevant to your industry or niche.
Q: How do I approach influencers for collaboration?
A: You can approach influencers for collaboration by sending them a personalized email or message that explains who you are, what you do, why you want to work with them, and what value you can offer them and their audience.
Q: How do I compensate influencers for their work?
A: You can compensate influencers for their work by offering them monetary compensation, free products or services, discounts, commissions, or other incentives that match their expectations and goals.
Q: How do I measure the success of my B2B influencer marketing campaign?
A: You can measure the success of your B2B influencer marketing campaign by setting clear goals and KPIs, such as reach, engagement, clicks, leads, conversions, or sales. You can also use tools like Google Analytics or HubSpot to track and analyze your results.
Reference:
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/1001a-influencer-guide-508_1.pdf
https://influencermarketinghub.com/b2b-influencer-marketing-examples/
https://resources.audiense.com/en/blog/best-examples-of-b2b-influencer-marketing-campaigns
https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/10-telling-examples-of-the-power-of-b2b-influencer-marketing/292944
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/03/15/b2b-influencer-marketing-the-benefits-plus-5-tips-for-success/
https://www.infocleanse.com/best-b2b-influencer-marketing-campaigns/
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