Using Influencer Marketing to Boost Your B2B Brand

Influencers are people who connect with and inspire your target audience.

They offer:

• Subject matter expertise that makes their opinion especially sought after.
• A large, active social media following that matches your target audience.

While the most famous social media influencers are found in topics like fashion and food, B2B leaders can also make excellent influencers.

B2B enterprises can amplify their message by developing partnerships with influencers. Experts can be found in any market segment – and they are often eager to address new trends and ideas.

Here’s how you can pave the way to a brand-boosting collaboration with social influencers:

1. Provide Guest Content to Influencers

To become and remain influencers, experts must continuously provide exceptional content to their followers. Most of them achieve this by curating content from trusted sources. Provide a fresh, custom-written post on a topic of interest and they will generally be willing to share it. There’s no need to be promotional: merely accessing the audience will help you attract leads.

2. Get Product Reviews from Influencers

Product reviews may or may not be common in your sector of the B2B world. Still, a detailed review serves many purposes. A strong review on an authoritative site draws organic traffic, which may attract people interested in your solutions in the future. Plus, you might find yourself with a new customer – your influencer – with many useful connections.

3. Collect Testimonials from Influencers

You don’t always have to look far and wide for influencers. Odds are good you have some of them among your customers already. Check data from your Customer Relationship Management suite to figure out which top executives or other tastemakers are already part of your tribe. From there, a simple email or call can get you a testimonial that will turn heads.

4. Solicit User-Generated Content

Influencers gravitate toward the opportunity to make their mark. If your user base consists of professionals in a given field, user-generated content will help them get excited and feel more affiliation with your brand. Developing an exclusive community where users can publish, for example, will often be embraced as a value-added networking opportunity.

5. Create a Brand Ambassador Program

Here’s another way that influencers don’t have to be “out there”: they can also be your own employees. Many major tech firms, for example, have ambassadorship programs that equip team members with the social tools to help craft your brand image. The training they receive along the way makes them more resilient and invested as employees, too.

Many influencers are eager to engage with brands who understand their importance in the content ecosystem. Reach out with a mutually-beneficial proposal and you may start something big.