Shift Your Focus: What’s the Best Way for Leveraging B2B Influencer Marketing

Marketing and advertising are crucial for any kind of business, which is a reason why new types of marketing approaches appear and the existing approaches are constantly evolving. The demands of the industry change and so does marketing. Modern consumers always have many options to choose from, so the purpose of marketing is to not only present a product or service but also to help consumers make an informed decision.

Paid advertising becomes more and more expensive all the time, while its effectiveness keeps raising questions. Thus, there’s no surprise that more businesses are starting to use influencer marketing. According to statistics, businesses earn $6.50 for each dollar spent on influencer marketing. People are more likely to trust other people than brands so this approach is not only cost-effective but also highly persuasive. However, many people believe that influencer marketing is a better choice for B2C companies, which is a big mistake. B2B influencer marketing can work wonders when it comes to increasing credibility and building a reputation in the market, leading to a better reach.

What You Should Know About Influencer Marketing

First, influencer marketing benefits B2B companies even more than B2C. B2B companies are associated with the operations of a larger volume, they make larger sales, and every purchase brings more revenue. Teaming up with the right influencers can help you increase the revenue significantly, while also expanding your network. The main thing is to prepare for an increased flow of prospects and customers so we recommend that you also choose an effective sales CRM.

Obviously, the success of your influencer campaign depends on your ability to find new names and faces that will promote your brand. However, the goal is to look for not only new influencers but also reputable ones. Influencers can either help you establish your credibility or damage it. This is the main difference between B2B and B2C influencer marketing, as the main thing is not the brand exposure itself, but its quality. Companies should search for industry experts with a great reputation.

It’s also important to think of the issues associated with corporate and brand loyalty, which are especially important for influencer marketing. Usually, influencers who work on short-term projects don’t have any restrictions regarding who they can work with. However, it’s important to have in place the right contracts when working with influencers on a long-term basis, because they may get access to sensitive information about your marketing campaign. It’s important to clearly indicate what they’ll deliver and what they’ll receive in return, as well as what information they cannot share with anyone else.

How to Leverage B2B Influencer Marketing

1. Don’t Rush

   When it comes to influencer marketing, the best approach is to start small. Try different strategies and learn which approaches are the most effective. For example, use A/B testing to tweak your campaigns and measure their effectiveness. It’s better to test your campaigns on a small scale instead of quickly starting a large campaign and then realizing that you’ve chosen the wrong strategy or the wrong influencers. We also recommend that you start using influencer marketing as an addition to your current marketing efforts, not a replacement of your current campaigns.

2. Find Influencers Who Speak to Your Audience

   It’s hard to win trust without providing any proofs that your services and products are actually valuable. Besides, consumers may never learn about you unless your company is big enough. Influencers can provide social proof to your audience. However, you should make sure that they have the right audience and are familiar with your industry. On the one hand, influencer marketing will certainly drive more traffic to your website. On the other hand, you don’t need just more people visiting it. What you need are quality leads who are really interested in what you offer.

3. Use Reviews Written by Influencers

   The success of any B2B company to a large extent depends on reviews. According to statistics, as much as 89% of marketers state that testimonials are one of the most effective methods of marketing. 88% of people trust online testimonials from other consumers, and 70% of people make their purchasing decisions based on online reviews. Even though such statistics mostly focus on B2C businesses, purchasing managers in B2B companies act the same way when buying something for their company.

4. Analyze the Data to Learn About Your Prospects

   You can use demographic, technographic, and psychographic data to learn more about your prospects and to identify common patterns in their buying behavior. This way, you’ll also be able to see whether your content strategy is relevant. We recommend that you determine what content is the most engaging because it will help you choose influencers more precisely.

5. Co-Create

   When working with influencers, you may turn them into advocates who just repeat what you say word-for-word. However, we recommend that you don’t choose this approach because it undermines the very purpose of influencer marketing that should speak to people from other people’s perspective. The best way to create an effective influencer campaign is to involve influencers at every stage of the planning process.

Conclusion

Although some people think that influencer marketing can only be used by B2C companies, the truth is that this approach is always effective, bringing a great return on investment and expanding a company’s network. The main thing is to find influencers who speak to the right audience and are familiar with your industry. Try different approaches, test your campaigns, use reviews written by influencers, and involve them in the process when planning your campaigns. It’s never too late to try influencer marketing so that you can see how it takes your sales to the next level.

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Ester Brierley is a QA Engineer in a software outsourcing company and a competent virtual assistant for College Writers. Follow her on Twitter.