Considering Working with B2B Influencers? Read This First

Think B2C is the only arena in which marketers leverage influencers to cut through a noisy marketplace and build brand engagement? Think again. In a world where 91% of B2B purchase decisions are influenced by word of mouth, and 63 percent of survey respondents say they trust influencer insights more than what an organization says about itself, B2B marketers are quickly catching on to the value influencers bring to building momentum against a complex buying cycle. Recent research revealed that influencer marketing spending will exceed $3 billion in 2021 and will surpass $4 billion next year

But a word to the wise: If your B2B brand is considering engaging an influencer (or a stable of influencers), there are a number of strategic factors you should kick around first in order to realize the maximum impact. Read on for five ways to assess whether an influencer is a good fit for your brand, with bonus tips on how to form a mutually beneficial influencer relationship that pays off over the long haul.?

Tip #1: Influencer Prowess Is More Than a Number

Unfortunately, many people associate B2B influencers with a number (i.e. how many followers they have) instead of considering the quality of their content.

?Yes, it’s great if an influencer has millions of followers, but are they the right followers (see Think Micro Not Macro below)? Do they have their fingers on the pulse of your industry? Do they hold values associated with your brand?

Here’s an example: What if you researched an influencer’s posts and found that they tend to publish highly political content. Your company may not want to wade into the political fray. Is it still worth it despite the fact that the influencer has extensive reach??

If not, you might want to rethink the partnership.

Tip #2: Consider the Long-Term Relationship

In the past, marketers have looked upon the influencer relationship as a one-way street. The brand would post about something awesome they had done, and arrange for an influencer to back them up.

But you get more bang for your buck when you develop long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with your influencers. When selecting candidates, consider:

• The type of content they’re creating and the topics they favor
• What platforms they are leveraging
• If there’s a specific format they prefer (i.e., written word, video, audio, etc.)

Then engage with the influencer to co-create content that’s mutually beneficial to both of your brands.

At Demandbase, we have multiple content avenues at our disposal for influencers to leverage, such as guest blogs, a spot on DBTV, or interviews on our podcast. When we approach influencers we always reference their prior work, then ask them to share their subject matter expertise in the format that best fits their style. Then we explain that we’ll do the heavy lifting and co-promote their work. Everybody wins.

Tip #3: Monitor and Engage on a Human Level

As I mentioned above, randomly calling on influencers when you have a product or service that needs promoting is not going to deliver the best results. Instead, monitor influencers that serve your industry and topic clusters to find content that’s a match. Then engage them via your brand’s or an executive’s social media account to reference their work and pursue the relationship. Remember: Influencers are real people, not just a means to an end.

Tip #4 Think Micro Not Macro

Pursuing micro-influencers (individuals that specialize in a particular vertical or topic area but have smaller followings) is gaining a lot of popularity in the B2B marketing space. Why? Because they get results. In fact, one Instagram study found that influencers with 1,000-5,000 followers received more than double the engagement of influencers with 10,000 followers or more.

Think about it: You’re not just trying to reach any people, you’re targeting the right people. So if an influencer has 1,000 followers that model your target audience, that's better than one who has 500,000 followers — but only 50 of them are worth your while.

Tip #5: Make Sure to Measure Results

There are a number of different ways to measure the success of a B2B influencer, depending on your particular marketing goals. They include:

• Brand Awareness: What was your reach during the influencer partnership, compared to what you would have accomplished without.
• Share of Voice (SOV): When calculating how an influencer has impacted your share of voice, consider tracking both your SOV against your competitive set in general, and also with competitors who might be utilizing the same influencers as your brand. Keep in mind that it’s not unusual for influencers to work with multiple companies in the same industry.
• Cost per Engagement: Engaging a paid influencer? Then you really need to be taking a close look at cost per engagement to make sure you’re spending your money in the right place. You might have spent X dollars to gain access to X to achieve your engagement goals. Did the strategies work?

Working with influencers may be a new marketing concept for many B2B brands. If you take away just one thing from this article, let it be the importance of doing your research, honing your influencer list, and building long-term relationships. Your audience, content, and marketing budget will thank you.

This is a longer version than the original article that was published on MediaPost.