B2B Influencer Marketing Tips

Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have an expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Influencer marketing is a growing and is a great opportunity for businesses, even if you are a business-to-business (B2B).

8 Factors Creating Pressure on Growth

1. Innovative Business Models

A new revenue model that defines how a company creates and capitalizes economic value.

2. Customer Value Chain Compression

Customer value chain compression because of advanced technologies, internet platforms, and other direct-to-consumer models that enables reduction in friction and the number of steps in customer journeys.

3. Transformative Mega Trends

Global forces that define the future world with their far-reaching impact on business.

4. Internal Challenges

The internal organizational behaviors that prevent a company from making required changes.

5. Competitive Intensity

A new wave of competition from start-ups and digital business models that challenge the standing conventions of the past.

6. Geopolitical Chaos

Chaos and disorder arising from political discord, natural calamities, pandemics, and social unrest that impact global trade, collaboration, and business security.

7. Disruptive Technologies

New, disruptive technologies that are displacing the old, and significantly altering the way consumers, industries, or businesses operate.

8. Industry Convergence

Collaboration between previously disparate industries to deliver on whitespace cross industry growth opportunities.

How to Use Influencer Marketing to Overcome These Challenges

The adoption of influencer marketing has matured in consumer-facing industries, but many B2B companies are still exploring the benefits of influencer marketing in increasing consumer engagement and building a robust brand identity.

The influencer marketing life cycle is identification, engagement, then action. Identification is identifying the right influencer to achieve the necessary engagement and business outcome. Engagement is the type of influencer program, such as timeline, events, and content creation. Action is the quantitative indicators, such as leads, and qualitative indicators, such as brand association.

Some companies that use Influencer Marketing include Dell, American Express, and Nike. A few ways Dell uses influencers are on their podcast, blog posts, and even attending their events. American Express is a huge fan of influencers by using them on social media and allows their influencer to share their story, such as “My Travel Style” on YouTube. Nike has been using influencer marketing for many years to, even before influencer marketing became huge. Nike’s main influencer marketing is their signed deals with athletes.

To have a successful influencer marketing campaign, you must follow these 3 steps:

Know your purpose

Get a clear outline on what you are trying to achieve in this campaign. Are you trying to sell your product or gain followers? Decide on the goals and what available resources you have.

Focus on Fit

Influencer marketing is successful when you focus on how an influencer fits with your brand than their follower count.

Measure Results

No matter what marketing campaign you do, you always want to measure the results afterwards.

How to measure B2B Influencer Marketing

Setting goals is one of the most important parts of any marketing campaign. Here are some goals to look at in an influencer campaign:

Increase Brand Awareness
Reach New Target Audiences
Increase Sales
Manage Brand Reputation

To measure this campaign, look at:

Clicks
Impressions
Conversions
Sales

How to Find B2B Influencers

Many platforms (Heepsy, The Room, and Fourstarzz Media) can help you set up and manage your campaigns with branded content. You should ensure that your platform can help you find genuine influencers and not people who’ve inflated their follower count with fake followers or bots. You should always conduct your own research on an influencer before beginning a partnership though.

Influencer Marketing ROI compared to Other Marketing Channels

Instagram is known for its influencers. Your posts can deliver big results on Instagram. Here are some Instagram business stats:

90% of Instagram users follow at least one business
The average Instagram business account grows its followers by 1.69% each month.
1 in 2 people have used Instagram to discover a new business
44% of people use Instagram to shop

Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022

Are you ready to grow your business this year? Start creating video content. Make sure your content has value behind it. Find new social platforms and creator tools. Focus on micro and nano influencers. Just get creative!