Can Influencer Marketing Benefit B2B Companies?

There is this misconception that influencer marketing is only effective for B2C companies. Although B2Cs have found great success in this strategy, they’re not the only ones who can benefit from this modern-day tactic. Like anything else, when implemented appropriately, influencer marketing and B2B marketing can work extremely well together.

In 2017, the influencer marketing industry grew to become a billion dollar industry. No, that is not a typo. One billion dollars is right. Hearing that number alone might already sell you on using the influencer tactic but there are some things that should be evaluated before you jump on the influencer bandwagon.

First off, what is influencer marketing?

Let’s clarify this. Influencer marketing is a New Age type of marketing where a company hires highly recognizable and impressionable industry leaders, or influencers, to spread the word about their brand to their online following, hoping to increase brand awareness, recruit new customers, drive conversions, create sales, and so on. They have the ability to influence purchase decisions.

Finding the right influencers for your audience

Before anything else, look at your audience. You already have a good sense of their needs and interests; now you have to find those types of influencers that would fit into the patchwork of your customer base.

Take the time to research the key influencers in your industry. Dig a little deeper into their following and analyze their level of engagement and loyalty. Who are the influencers in your industry? How much authority do they have over their own audience and how can that benefit yours? What kind of person do you want representing your brand? These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself when deciding on whom to team up with an influencer essentially is a brand representative, so picking the right one is crucial.

Not only should you work with influencers who are right for your brand but your brand should be right for the influencers. It should be someone who genuinely believes in your brand and the product or service that’s being offered. They have to be authentic if this marketing relationship is going to work, so choose wisely.

Their support can validate your brand

With many companies offering similar products/services, it can be hard to determine which one is the best one. However, the suave words of your favorite influencer can authenticate your brand and make that purchasing decision that much easier for the customer. 

Micro-influencers are on the rise

A micro-influencer is someone with a following ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 followers and, in the last year or so, is said to be the more powerful type of influencer. Typically, they have higher engagement rates per post and are more active when it comes to interacting with their online community. Although their reach isn’t as large as those influencers with millions of followers, their words have more meaning and are more impressionable on their audience and to some brands, this can be more impactful than having a larger reach.

Despite what you may already think, B2Bs can absolutely benefit from influencer marketing. The key is to find the right ones suitable for your audience and utilize their authority to benefit your brand.