When you think of influencer marketing, you probably picture trendy teens on social media showing off their latest fashion finds, beauty products, or tech gadgets. But the power of influencer partnerships isn’t just for B2C companies looking to connect with customers. B2B companies in all types of industries can team up with influencers to boost their growth and drive impactful results.
Influencers can help B2B brands by providing a unique point of view that resonates with target audiences — and builds both brand awareness and credibility. According to a recent Forbes article “Businesses must uphold the importance of influencer marketing in B2B. They must embrace this marketing tactic to increase their brand’s visibility, reputation and sales since consumers highly trust influencers.” (forbes.com, April 2023).
How Can B2B Brands Benefit from Influencers?
B2C brands often team up with influencers to drive awareness or sales. Using this same strategy, B2B companies can reach decision-makers or thought leaders in their industry. Having a well-known and trusted influencer who is a professional in their specific niche gives B2B brands the opportunity to build a professional relationship with customers and establish credibility, while also growing their business.
The Brunner team used this approach with a B2B client in the hot water heater industry. We collaborated with four influencers who are well-known among professional contractors and plumbers. These B2B influencers created a series of videos debunking some common misconceptions about tankless hot water heaters. All in all, they produced 70 assets that the client now owns or licenses for paid, owned, and earned media.
This content not only spread our client’s key messages but also drove impressive results. Over one year, content from the four influencers racked up:
- 1.7M impressions
- 1M video views; $0.18 cost per view
Keys to Success for B2B Influencer Marketing
By including influencer voices in their marketing plan, B2B companies can amplify their brand’s reach and establish credibility in a world where trust is key with customers. Here are the most important steps to follow for making influencers part of your company’s marketing mix.
- Set clear campaign goals and objectives: The goals set at the outset of a campaign will determine how you navigate the messaging, channel mix, product priorities, and influencers you select. By setting clear goals and KPIs, you can track the campaign’s effectiveness and optimize as needed.
- Choose the right B2B influencers: Research influencers who have a sizable following and influence within your industry, are passionate about what they do, and have a track record of producing high-quality, engaging content.
- Create mutually beneficial partnerships: While there is a transactional component to an influencer partnership, the value should extend beyond the compensation and deliverables. It’s important to work together to create content that is authentic and engaging. This could mean extending an invitation to the influencer to visit your headquarters and meet your team. Another option is having your team on-site during a video shoot to see how your influencer creates engaging and authentic content. However you choose to engage with your influencers, it’s vital to build a strong relationship that benefits them, as well as your brand, to ensure long-term success.
By leveraging real people to help tell your brand’s story, you’ll be able to elevate your content in an engaging and authentic way that drives impactful results.
Getting Started with B2B Influencer Marketing
By leveraging influencers as real people who can help tell your brand’s story, you’ll be able to elevate your content in an engaging and authentic way that drives impactful results.
If you’re ready to explore influencer marketing for your B2B company, please get in touch. We’d love to chat!
Kimberly Watterson, senior specialist, social media and influencer marketing, has more than six years of experience leading and executing social media and influencer marketing projects and campaigns. She’s worked across a variety of industries, including restaurant, construction, manufacturing, banking, and retail. Kimberly has a B.A. in Integrated Marketing Communications from Duquesne University.