B2B Influencer Marketing: What It Is & 4 Ways to Incorporate It

B2B influencer marketing is still a bit of a Wild West, but there is likely to be rapid growth and abundant opportunities for those willing to take risks — and people are starting.

Signals of this are strong, from recent industry chatter and real-life campaigns to our own client programs and prospect conversations.

Data from a small poll we ran on LinkedIn correlates. Respondents mostly 1) already do B2B influencer marketing or 2) want to try it.

With influencer marketing trending up as a strategy for B2B companies, we're unpacking exactly what it is as well as some of the ways SHIFT and other companies are working with influencers or to turn their business leaders into influencers.

B2B influencer marketing, defined

When it comes to influencer marketing, most people's thoughts turn to Instagram and TikTok lifestyle content and product recommendations. However, it is much broader and more nuanced.

Wikipedia defines influencer marketing as "a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field."

In B2B, these influential experts are typically professionals (ranging from marketers and salespeople to doctors to contractors) who have built a following on their own digital marketing channels (social profiles, podcasts, newsletters, etc.). And businesses partner with them in different ways to use their credibility and reach to drive their own awareness, demand and leads.

How can you use B2B influencers?

When it comes to B2B influencers, some companies use traditional paid partnerships to promote products/services. However, there are many other ways to activate B2B influencers across marketing and PR programs, including:

1. LinkedIn influencers

Many companies are working to turn their executives into influencers in their own right. The proof is in the data: LinkedIn’s y-o-y traffic is way up. Feeds are flooded with thoughts from people’s work (and sometimes personal) domain.

Some are B2B creators, usually professionals or consultants sharing content that builds their own reputation and could lead to brand deals. Many 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 (with 5 great examples) can help.

2. Influencer events & activations

B2C brands do these all the time: campaigns or 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, etc. Now we’re seeing an entirely new era of B2B influencer events and campaigns.

Some examples:

• Pictured above, Semrush recently hosted an Influencer Weekend with themed dinners, a branded city bus and a content creation contest with a $5k cash prize.
• 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 public applause from marketers.
• In an advocacy campaign for a leading telco, we pivoted to engage a few TikTok influencers after high-profile advertising didn't deliver. TikTok was far and away more impactful and cost-efficient, growing actions on our goal 27x in just five weeks.

Influencer activations are a more natural fit for brands with affiliate marketing programs, freemiums, trials or SMB play. Still, these examples signal a shift in B2B PR.  

3. Influencer "coverage"

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 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 a portion shifting to paid.

4. Influencer co-marketing & connection

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 simply a strategy of responding to their social media 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.

B2B influencer marketing is in its early days, but it's safe to say it will grow. And companies who experiment and integrate marketing tactics early -- before they're fully saturated and commoditized -- tend to be rewarded.

If you could use help building B2B influencer marketing and other modern B2B PR strategies into your program, we'd love to start a conversation.