B2B Influencers & Influencing
Current signals around B2B influencer growth are strong, from industry chatter to recent campaigns (ours included) and prospect conversations.
Data from a small poll we ran corresponds: B2B communicators are mostly 1) already doing it or 2) want to incorporate it.
With interest and presence rising, we rounded up some inspiration from companies and clients working with influencers in varying degrees.
LinkedIn’s y-o-y traffic is way up, and our feeds show it. They’re filled, and growing daily, with thoughts and expertise from people’s professional (and sometimes personal) domain.
Some are B2B creators, who also typically work full-time, sharing content that builds their own reputation and could lead to brand ambassador deals. Some are business leaders, sharing thought leadership to benefit their company.
For the latter, the landscape is already getting saturated, but not so much so that it’s too late to jumpstart an effort. THIS PLAYBOOK, INCLUDING 5 GREAT EXAMPLES, CAN HELP.
B2C brands do these all the time: social campaigns or influencer events built to drive content creation and sharing.
Historically, B2B’s counterparts — media roundtables, analyst events, top customer trips — haven’t been so externally-facing. Their goal is usually relationship building to drive future recognition, coverage, testimonials, etc.
Now we’re seeing an entirely new era of B2B influencer events and campaigns. Some examples:
Semrush recently hosted an Influencer Weekend with themed dinners, a branded city bus and a content creation contest with a $5k prize. (shoutout to Vin Matano 🐝 for first catching this).
In winter, HubSpot sent Marketing Brew’s editor to an NCAAF Championship Game. He documented it and ran the #hubspotted contest on social, delivering reach and a semi-viral moment as marketers applauded the approach.
In an advocacy campaign we ran for a leading telco, we first used high-profile advertising but didn’t get the scale or speed we needed. So, we engaged a few TikTok influencers and grew actions on our goal 27x in five weeks. TikTok was far and away more impactful and cost-efficient.
Influencer activations are a more natural fit for brands with affiliate marketing programs or free trials. Still, these examples signal a shift in B2B PR.
The “new media” goldrush started years ago. People, organizations and brands amassed and still are amassing highly targeted and engaged audiences.
Guest appearances on their podcasts, newsletters, Substacks, etc., are now a staple of well-rounded PR programs, especially with dwindling newsrooms. Two client examples:
Vention's CEO discussing SMB industrial automation on the Six Degrees of Robotics Substack, run by the Director of an influential industry standards organization
Veradigm's CEO sharing thought leadership around a priority message, real-world data, on healthcare influencer Halle Tecco's blog and podcast *sponsored
Many of these opportunities remain earned, but we see some shifting to paid appearances.
Paying someone to write a basic blog series about your company/product is dead, but there are other ways to gain influence by association that are alive and well.
There’s lots of upside in partnering with likeminded influencers or influential stakeholders (partner CEOs, board members) on high-value earned, owned and shared content.
Whether it’s a co-authored OpEd, hosting them on your podcast or responding to their posts to build a relationship and gain exposure with their audience (a semi-underused but impactful tactic), partnering or engaging with influential industry figures lends gravitas to your expertise.
WANT TO TALK MORE?
To learn how our B2B tech PR programs blend influencer strategies alongside more traditional ones to reach business objectives, check out our recent work or reach out.
