The world of business-to-business (B2B) sales and marketing has changed dramatically over the past decade.
The tried-and-tested approaches of trade shows, advertising in trade and tech media and direct marketing have lost some of their effectiveness in a world that has transitioned towards digital channels.
With many B2B buyers doing their research and purchases online, brands have fewer direct touchpoints with them. Content marketing and digital advertising hasn’t yet completely closed the gap. One of the major challenges that brands are facing is that their communications often feel dry, impersonal, and even monotonous.
The challenges are only multiplying as Generation Z starts to enter the marketplace and millennials form a large proportion of corporate buyers and decision-makers. To remain relevant, brands need to adjust their tactics for a new generation raised on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
That’s where increasing numbers of B2B companies are turning towards influencers for help. An influencer can be nearly anyone with a social media platform and the credibility to help a brand extend its reach and authority with its target market. Collaboration can take many forms, including sponsored content, product reviews and endorsements.
The idea gained traction when conferences, expos and sales meetings were cancelled during Covid-19 lockdowns.
According to TopRank Marketing, 70%+ of B2B marketers say influencer marketing became more important due to the pandemic and 72% of B2B marketers say influencer marketing improves brand reputation.
The next-generation celebrity endorsement
The concept isn’t entirely new. Many B2B advertising campaigns have leveraged celebrity endorsements over the years and the case study or customer endorsement is a mainstay of B2B marketing. What has changed, however, is an increased focus on the authenticity of the content.
The lesson that B2B marketers are taking from B2B influencer campaigns is that the right influencer can help humanise a brand.
At its best, an influencer campaign will feel fresh and genuine, compared to the stilted language of a client case study that has gone through multiple layers of approval across different corporate communications departments.
Like B2C influencer campaigns, the best B2B campaigns will focus on storytelling, humour and relatability to drive the message home. B2B influencers will generally have built up their audiences because they know how to create content that entertains or inspires their target audience.
Valuable reputation
Often, they resonate with the audience, because they are business owners or the exact same type of professional that uses the product or service a brand is selling.
B2B brands can benefit from working with influencers who are respected in their industry and have a strong reputation for providing valuable insights and recommendations.
These influencers may often be closer to the coalface and to the latest trends, enabling them to come up with new perspectives and surprising views that drive better engagement.
Many B2B brands are already getting good returns from influencer marketing, most notably software-as-a-service companies like Adobe and monday.com. Cisco, for example, has an initiative where ‘Cisco Champions’ share its digital platforms.
TikTok worked with small businesses on the platform to create content on how to use TikTok for SMB marketing.
Balancing risk and reward
Influencer marketing isn’t without its risks—as many consumer brands have discovered. An influencer can damage a brand if they become involved in a scandal or post inappropriate content. The audience might also be sceptical when there isn’t enough transparency about an influencer’s commercial relationship with a brand.
Another risk lies in the cringe factor of aligning with an influencer that isn’t a good fit with the audience or the product. There is a fine line to negotiate between creating content that is more fun and personable than most B2B content and coming across as forced or putting the audience off with content that doesn’t resonate with them.
Furthermore, an influencer relationship that proves too successful has its own dangers. Marketers walk a fine line between benefitting from an influencer’s clout and the influencer’s brand superseding the company’s name and message. This can result in a lack of control over marketing efforts or disruption to the strategy if the influencer quits.
However, the good news is that B2B brands who are new to influencer marketing can draw on the experiences of consumer brands. Here are some of the proven best practices to consider:
Define your goals and expectations
It’s always wise to start with clearly delineated goals. Do you want to partner with influencers to help drive sales in a particular product campaign? Or are you hoping to build a long-term relationship that will contribute to building your brand?
Understand who your audience is and who they follow
Partner with influencers who already have attention and respect from your target audience as much as possible. Spend some time analysing which social media voices have the most credibility and share of voice in your niche.
Identify potential matches for your brand and strategy
Seek influencers whose style and public persona are a good match for your brand personality. Big celebrity names with high price tags are often not the best match for B2B campaigns. Rather look for someone in your niche that has engaged, and loyal audience interested in what your company does.
Trust the content creator
If you’re partnering with an influencer, you should largely trust their understanding of the audience and the content that works. It’s important for their voice not to get lost in the content they create for you—you want their authority to shine through. To that end, you should seek partners with a reputation for responsible and ethical behaviour.
Define the commercial and working relationship in a contract
Be sure to codify the relationship in a contract that covers the influencer’s commitment in terms of time they’ll spend on your campaign, the creative outputs, the compensation they’ll receive, the approval process, and confidentiality.
Build relationships
It’s becoming increasingly important to have a coherent strategy for working with influencers. These include that those who you form a direct partnership with and others who may discuss your products and company as independent observers. Focus on building genuine relationships based on mutual respect and shared interests.
The power of having others tell your story
B2B marketers have long understood the value of having a customer or an independent observer tell their story. Influencer marketing can take this to a whole new level. It is an increasingly valuable tool for every marketer trying to reach a distracted, busy audience and add a human dimension to their message.
It’s not risk-free, but the rewards can be significant for brands that get it right.
Katlego Mahura is managing director of Idea Engineers, a manager-owned communications agency committed to growing our clients’ businesses and social impact through PR, social media, advertising, branding, digital and events. Our mantra is #ReturnOnIdeas, and we deliver beyond brief, on time and on budget. Our long-standing partnerships with brands speak to our value. We serve Africa because it’s our home and we prioritise purposeful ideas and work that does good while building our clients’ brands and reputations.
