The Ultimate Guide to B2B Influencer Marketing in 2024

"B2B is all about sales" "Brand doesn’t matter in B2B"  "Do outside the box"

These are some overused terms used in the world of marketing. Brands try their best to try new marketing strategies but let's be honest, consumers these days are more likely to listen to a person than pay attention to a brand.

They look at influencers as figures they can trust and learn from, which is great news for brands looking to become industry leaders. The influencer market is growing rapidly and is predicted to grow to $52 billion by 2028.

But you might wonder, "Will this B2B influencer marketing strategy really work for my specific brand?"

Well, let me put your mind at ease. With a solid game plan in place, B2B influencer campaigns can be a game-changer for your brand (we promise)

However, B2B influencer marketing strategies are not as simple as you think they are. There are lots of things you need to answer to get started:

• Where do I find these B2B influencers from?
• How do I partner with the right influencer?
• How much should I pay a B2B influencer?

You don't have to look any further, in this comprehensive guide we will explore the world of B2B influencer marketing, providing insights, and strategies to help you nail your B2B influencer marketing campaigns.

What is B2B Influencer Marketing?

In the simplest way possible - it is when companies collaborate with B2B influential figures (thought leaders, podcasters, newsletters, social media influencers, and industry experts) to promote their products/services.

According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, 92% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is an effective strategy for businesses (Source: Influencer Marketing Hub). By setting up a B2B influencer marketing program, you not only gain brand awareness but also build credibility and trust among your consumers.

Why Your Brand Should be Doing B2B Influencer Marketing

B2B sales and marketing is becoming saturated as the days go by. Traditionally, businesses buy billboards, run YouTube and TV ads, and pay thousands for Google search ads. While this can still be affordable for bigger brands, organisations that are still growing find themselves in a tight spot as the CPM and costs of marketing on these channels inflate from big market players bidding up rates. On top of that, as markets mature the importance of differentiating on brand grows even more.

On the other hand, influencer marketing is a strong high-growth tool for everyone, everyone. It does not discriminate between small or larger brands. With the right B2B influencers and the right budget, brands can generate quality content that generates returns far greater than any other channel. No wonder 78% of B2B marketers say influencer marketing is effective.

Not satisfied yet? Here is how you can leverage its power and make your brand shine:

1. Increased Brand Credibility:

Influencers are people that consumers trust. B2B Influencers buy your company something that Google ads cannot: trust. They've created an image across social platforms and become industry experts in that industry. By collaborating with such creators, your brand gets the trust of those followers and increased credibility - on top of the return. For example, Attio has been able to establish itself as a renegade brand in CRM using B2B influencers

2. Targeted Audience Reach:

Usually, when you run ads or campaigns, you have to create a segment of people who might find your product beneficial. Setting those filters can be frustrating because you're always scared of missing out on key targets. Less to say, it is also very expensive.

Content creators on the other hand have a niche audience - be it related to technology, beauty, entertainment or fashion. B2B influencers have cultivated a niche audience that allows you to reach your target audience easily - whether it be software developers, product managers, or startup founders.

3. Authentic Content:

B2B influencers have been in this profession for a long time and know the type of content their audience prefers. Through trial and error, they've cracked the code to reach the right people and generate original, authentic content.

This genuine and engaging content resonates with their followers and can drive higher quality engagement for your B2B influencer campaigns than your own programmatic content would.

4. Cost-Effective:

Influencer marketing has to be the most cost-effective way of marketing.

Why?

Because there is always an influencer that falls under your budget. It does not matter if you have a $100,000 budget or a $100 budget, you can always find ample people that you can partner with. Maybe that's the reason why more and more brands are shifting to incorporating a B2B influencer marketing program.

5. Thought Leadership:

Partnering with industry thought leaders means that your brand can position itself as knowledgeable. It is an effective way to reach your target audience and establish trust.

Who exactly are B2B Influencers?

These are people who have grown their audience in a particular business topic niche and have become thought leaders in that space. They are:

• industry experts, analysts, authors, keynote speakers, or even successful business leaders
• media companies that cover the latest in business and news
• social media influencers who create valuable content
• individuals who have built a focused and trustworthy community
• experts in their field
• are active creators on platforms such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok or have a following on their newsletters and blogs.

So anyone who can be trusted as a source of information and has credibility within their respective community can be an influencer. When done right, B2B influencer marketing can make 3X more engagement and growth as compared to traditional marketing practices. It’s all about finding the right influencer who has this authority.

How to Pick the Right B2B Influencers for Your Brand

This has to be the most important aspect when running a B2B influencer marketing campaign. It is important to establish yourself as reliable and trustworthy by building an exhaustive buyer persona, conducting market research and utilising the power of business relationships to get in touch with the right influencers.

When partnering with creators there are certain aspects that you need to have in mind. Such as:

1. Relevance:

Are they creating content that aligns with your niche?

Influencers have an area of expertise in a specific industry and you have to make sure that your brand agenda aligns with their audience. This ensures that your message resonates with the right cohort.

For their content to be effective for your brand, the B2B influencer needs to create content that fits well with your target audience across several key areas such as:

• Topic: Their content expertise must be relevant to your industry's niche.
• Geography: The location of their followers should match the areas you want to target.
• Age: Their followers should be around the same age range as your desired customers.
• Language: The content must be crafted in the native tongues understood by your audience's people.

Only when the influencer's content aligns with your brand's niche across these dimensions can the message truly resonate with your intended group?

2. Platform:

Where an influencer hangs out online matters. Each social media platforms carry a specific persona of users. It is imperative to understand your niche and pick the platform that caters to your key customer base.

The ideal B2B influencer will reinforce your brand's online presence while exposing you to new digital spaces where your target customers congregate. Leveraging influencers across multiple platforms will also enable you to connect with potential customers wherever they virtually gather and engage.

3. Engagement:

Influencers sometimes have 3,000 people in their community, they have 30,000. But more than the numbers, you have to focus on their engagement rates. People with fewer followers may have a more tight-knit and increased engagement rate.

Evaluating the stats of the influencer that you're considering can translate into a more effective campaign performance.

4. Authenticity:

Look for influencers who align with your brand values and have a sincere interest in your products or services. Authentic partnerships lead to more credible and impactful campaigns.

But we know how tough it can be to find the right influencers. Here are some B2B influencer marketing platforms that can help you find B2B influencers:

• Passionfroot
• Traackr
• Onalytica

The Importance of Building Relationships with the Right B2B Influencers

Building strong relationships with influencers is crucial for successful B2B influencer marketing campaigns. By fostering genuine connections, you can radically improve your returns. Here are some benefits:

1. Gain Valuable Customer Insights:

Being at the forefront of interacting with people, the influencers carry valuable feedback and insights into your target audience's interests, preferences and pain points. These pointers can help you refine your marketing strategies.

2. Long-Term Stability and Relationships:

Long-term partnerships with influencers can lead to ongoing content creation, brand awareness, and increased brand loyalty among their community.

3. Enhance Brand Reputation:

Strong relationships with respected influencers can enhance your brand's reputation and credibility within the industry. To build such long-term relationships with creators, it is advisable to engage with them and provide them with exclusive discounts and offers. A little extra benefit can go a long way.

Which Platforms Work Best for B2B Influencer Marketing?

While social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are commonly used for B2B influencer marketing, it all depends on which would be a better platform for your type of product and customer.

All social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are great for influencer marketing, but each platform has unique strengths and target demographics so choose wisely. For example:

• LinkedIn - Ideal for B2B brands targeting professionals, especially more socially adept professionals. LinkedIn has become a great place for Career, HR, Marketing, and Startup software to grow as users in general are on LinkedIn to find jobs or promote their business.
• Newsletters - Newsletters offer really good value for money when it comes to conversion. You can tap into it. Finding newsletters is tough, Passionfroot makes it easy.
• Podcasts - If your product needs some explaining to be understood, podcasts are the way to go. Podcasts get some of the highest ad listen-through rates and can make your brand a staple in the minds of B2B buyers.
• Twitter - Good for B2B brands wanting to connect with influencers in fast-paced, newsie industries and startup enthusiasts.
• Instagram - Useful for B2B brands with very visual products/services and catering to a younger audience in fashion, lifestyle, beauty and art.
• YouTube - Effective for B2B brands offering services that require explainer/tutorial content. Some of the best UX/UI design, graphic design, and content creation brands advertise with YouTube influencers.
• TikTok - An emerging platform for reaching B2B influencers with younger audiences and a varied range of users. Mainly focused on career and personal finance/investing content.

Examples of B2B Influencer Marketing Done Right

Several B2B brands have successfully executed influencer marketing campaigns, demonstrating the power of this strategy:

1. Monday.com:

The pandemic brought a shift in the corporate world. Companies were suddenly looking for the best infrastructure and platforms to build their remote teams and continue operations. In this dire need, Monday.com came forward to educate people about their project management software.

They built a strong network of creators including Shama Hyder and more industry leaders. They became a voice to educate people on how to work with remote teams and collaborated with them to deliver more educational content.

The campaign resulted in a reach that was more than 1,790% above their initial goal, with a potential reach of 17.9M from the influencer posts, and more than 300,000 organic impressions on social media

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2. Hubspot:

Hubspot is a well-known name in the marketing world and is used to bring inbound sales. They're not new to the game but they're still using the power of influencer marketing to reach a wider audience. To make it all possible, Hubspot has partnered with experts in industries like sales and marketing to attract a niche audience and contribute to their blog by sharing their experiences. On top of this, they also run large influencer advertising programs on Newsletters, Podcasts, and more.

As this program grew, HubSpot began to use Passionfroot to supercharge their B2B influencer marketing game. HubSpot today is able to reach millions of Newsletter readers and Podcast listeners in 75% less time using Passionfroot’s Discovery and booking platform.

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3. Shopify:

Based on recent stats, brands found that YouTube influenced 65% of B2B purchases - making it a big name in influencer marketing.

Like many other brands, Shopify also hopped on the bandwagon and started finding ways to capitalise on this consumer behaviour. They collaborated with popular creators that fell in the category of Productivity Enthusiasts, Entrepreneurs and Coaches such as Ali Abdaal.

The aim was to. build strong relationships with these creators and educate customers on the benefits of Shopify. By doing so they were able to reach young entrepreneurs and cater to the needs of businesses of all sizes

Enjoyed learning about B2B influencer marketing? Then you’ll definitely want to check out Passionfroot. It’s the go-to place for companies like HubSpot, Attio, and Superhuman to drive successful B2B influencer campaigns. The influencer market is growing bigger each day and you need a tool that takes the heavy lifting out of the B2B influencer marketing by helping you discover the perfect creators for your brand

If you're looking to level up your B2B influencer game efficiently, give Passionfroot a spin. It's like having an automated assistant dedicated to your needs.

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