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Business to Business (B2B) Marketing is more saturated than ever before, which is why it’s so important your marketing efforts stand out from the rest of the crowd. B2B influencer marketing does just that, putting your message in front of the perfect audiences through creative approaches that appear more naturally than the average advertisement.
However, many businesses are hesitant to use influencer marketing, and it makes sense to be hesitant at first. How do you find these audiences? Who should you work with? What platform should you use? There are many other important questions you could continue to ask. Luckily, NeoReach has done the research for you, and we’re here to answer almost every question you have about B2B influencer marketing while helping you get started on your next campaign!
Download our complete B2B Influencer Marketing How To Guide
How is B2B Influencer Marketing Different?
B2B influencer marketing can be a little more complex than B2C. In the latter, companies can easily share products with influencers who do reviews and link websites that offer promos geared towards immediate sales. These quick calls-to-action are great for pushing products but don’t exactly work when it comes to selling to businesses.
The challenge in B2B influencer marketing comes from how knowledgeable and careful companies are with their purchases, as any B2B company already knows. This means the typical influencer marketing campaign approaches don’t exactly work. The most important thing for B2B campaigns is to take the extra time to do the research and understand what products and services a business needs. Correctly identifying opportunities will help improve your campaign results.
Types of influencers you should work with
The type of influencer you choose should follow the marketing angle your campaign takes. These are the kinds you should consider when running your next B2B campaign:
1. Brand Advocates
Some of the most reliable messages can come from customers who are already using and extremely happy with your products and services. These influencers might not have the largest followings, but that’s ok! They can be used as real testimonials which are much more convincing when trying to sell to other businesses.
2. Industry Analysts
Using an expert in the field you are looking to reach is always a surefire way to attract businesses. Many industry analysts have a large sway over their followings’ opinions when it comes to products and services that cultivate success. Having them help deliver your message to their following is a no-brainer.
3. Thought Leaders
These influencers are relevant across multiple social media platforms and regularly direct businesses in the direction of promising opportunities. Whether it’s YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, your message could reach the right businesses.
4. Employee Supporters
Most employees actively use social media and have large personal networks. Getting your message in front of the right people might help catalyze a word-of-mouth movement. These are great influencers to have on your side.
5. Media
A lot of different media sources have access to tight-nit business communities. Professional journals, trade journals, business blogs, and other online publications all have extensive reaches of businesses actively looking for ways to improve. Reaching out to ask what types of stories they cover will help you find the right channel to reach the perfect audience.
Does it matter if I’m selling a product or a service?
Although the approaches are mostly similar, these are some specific tactics for B2B influencer marketing when it comes to promoting products vs. services:
Products:
- Instagram Takeovers
Takeovers are always a great way to use influencers, regardless of who you’re selling to. When it comes to B2B influencer marketing, using well-known figures in a takeover can result in an increased trust in your brand, especially if the influencer has large followings in specific industries you’re trying to target.
- Discount Codes
Discount codes are an easy way to convert leads into customers. When it comes to products, offering the right audiences discounts could result in huge sales increases.
- Early Access
Giving influencers early access to your products is an easy way to build hype and create a buzz around your brand before a release. It also allows for natural testimonials that businesses can reference while deciding on purchasing your product. It’s relatively easy and has numerous benefits, so it’s definitely something worth trying in a B2B influencer marketing campaign.
- Contests
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Contests are always a fun way to get prospective customers involved with your brand while building lasting relationships. Asking participants to share your campaign’s content will act as a multiplier for getting your message in front of the right audiences.
Services:
- Create Customer Personas
Creating customer personas will allow you to truly understand what prospective businesses want and how they’ll use your service. This makes it easier for you to develop a B2B influencer marketing campaign that will cater directly to their needs. This podcast goes in depth on how to create customer personas for B2B marketing.
- Roundup Posts
The easiest way to sell services is through testimonials. While one great review can help, it’s a lot more convincing to have multiple reviews that all show up in the same place. Roundup posts help you do just that. By including multiple influencers, who each have their own unique story with your service, your campaign will be a lot more convincing.
- Guest Posts
Influencers aren’t always people, sometimes the title can refer to publishers with large professional followings. These sites are extremely useful when it comes to B2B influencer marketing, and they’re also extremely easy to do. Have someone on your marketing team write a sponsored “guest post” for a blog, publisher, or website with a large following of professionals in the industry you’re trying to reach. This will allow them to go in-depth on the services you offer.
What’s the best platform?
Of all the platforms, YouTube is the most suitable for B2B influencer marketing. Here’s why:
1. YouTube is owned by Google
Google is the largest search engine in the world, which is an added benefit when it comes to getting your content discovered. It also gives you access to unique analytics that will help gauge the success of the campaign.
2. More detailed posts
YouTube’s video-centered format allows for a better delivery of your campaign’s content. As said before, when it comes to B2B influencer marketing, it’s all about detail. A sponsored YouTube video will allow your message to go more in-depth than a simple Instagram sponsored post.
3. Cross-platform compatible
Content created for YouTube is more accessible through other social media platforms. This means that a sponsored video made on YouTube can be shared on other sites businesspeople frequent like LinkedIn and Facebook.
Other platforms that can be used for B2B influencer marketing include:
This is the most popular social media site for business people, with over half a million users, so it’s obviously a great place to promote your B2B products. Anyone with a following on here can be an influencer because of how easily posts are shared between feeds. 93% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for a reason.
Facebook has millions of daily users, many of which are professionals. There are also countless business pages at your disposal for your campaigns to target. Facebook Ads are also easy to use and provide you with analytics that show you how successful your campaign is and areas you can improve on. There are several other ways to get creative with your next B2B Facebook campaign.
Although Instagram is the most popular social media platform for B2C, it’s a little less prominent when it comes to B2B influencer marketing. However, that doesn’t mean it should be avoided entirely. There are still many business-related influencers on the platform with audiences that might be a perfect fit for your campaign.
Download our complete B2B Influencer Marketing How To Guide
References
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