Does influencer content work in B2B Tech and SaaS?
Hey there! 👋
"Influencer" is one of those words—like "MQLs" or "gated content"—that makes marketers everywhere roll their eyes.
But the RIGHT influencer can work wonders for your business.
You need to interact with people your customers trust.
Let's take a look at Beth.
Beth is a B2B consultant. She likes the culture of your company and thinks that your products and services offer real value. She's never going to buy from you. But Beth is one of the best advocates for your company that you've ever had. She sells you to her C-Suite clients and has influenced $2m+ in pipeline revenue.
She doesn't have 100,000 followers on Twitter. She's never done a YouTube video. And it's not even occurred to her that she's helping you to "sell" anything.
Why does this matter?
Because everybody has influence.
Influencer marketing isn't about social media rock stars. It's about podcasters, thought leaders, researchers, your existing customers, prospects, partners, and employees.
Remember this: it's not always the most well-known influencers who help B2B brands to grow.
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But where can you go to find influencer marketing that will work? Let's take a look at how you can integrate social, content, and influencer marketing to connect with your audience and grow your business.
> Online Networking Guide: 35 Ways to Connect with Anyone Through Social Media | Orbit Media Studios.
Andy Crestodina answers the following questions:
How can you build a genuine connection with the right influencers?
When should you use social networks?
Why should you go offline and meet on a call or in-person?
He pushes us to build strong, mutual friendships:
At the heart of this strategy is a predisposition built into all of our brains: reciprocity. If someone does something for you, you are automatically predisposed toward doing something for them. It’s called the reciprocity bias.
> 11 Things You Must Know About B2B Influencer Marketing
Jay Baer asks:
Why is B2B influencer marketing different from B2C?
When can you expect results?
How can you spot conflicts?
He calls for a critical shift in B2B marketing:
"Influencer marketing is more important for B2B than for B2C. After all, the average purchase size in B2B typically dwarfs that in B2C, and the impact of referrals and word of mouth are more critical to the success of the organization. Note that 19 percent of the overall US economy (B2B and B2C) is driven specifically by word of mouth, but 91 percent of B2B transactions are at least influenced by word of mouth.”
> 10 of the Best B2B Influencer Marketing Campaign Examples (Updated January 2020)
This is the fun part, so let's see what questions these examples explore:
How is Okta using client testimonials?
Why did Video Fruit use guest blogging?
What are "Cisco Champions?"
Shane Barker takes real-life examples and shows us what works.
He reminds us that:
B2B influencer marketing requires much more time and effort to accomplish. However, if done right, it can be immensely valuable for your business.
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Influencer content takes time to work. You need patience (and a plan).
Here are 4 ideas to get you started:
+ Determine your viewpoint. "You've got to stand for something. What is it that you want to be influential about?" asks Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing. Then "You've got to create content that creates value for people around that topic you want to be influential about."
+ Define your influencers. Being influential in B2B is not about audience size. Select influencers who are trusted and relevant experts.
+ Build relationships early. It can take 3-6 months to create a meaningful connection. Start leaving comments on their blog and social media posts way before you need to ask them for anything.
+ What content format will work best for you? Deep interviews? Influencer round-up posts? Buffer started out guest posting and now invites other content creators to write for its own blog. The result? A reciprocal sharing and promotion cycle that saw their early content get 20,000 views on social media.
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LATEST RESEARCH
100+ Content Marketing Predictions for 2021: This new survey from the Content Marketing Institute looks at the major themes for 2022. Creating authentic audience connections, investing time and budget wisely, and focusing on writing quality.
A quote from Jay Acunzo represents the shift back to audience needs and engagement:
"We spend so much time trying to be visible, we forget the job is to be memorable. That should be our entire goal in 2022: Be more memorable. Make it the year of resonance (not reach). If 2020 and 2021 showed us anything, it’s that people want to feel seen. They want to connect around shared ideas and beliefs. In 2022, don’t just grab attention. Learn to hold it – not by shouting louder or launching more stunts, but by speaking to the personal, emotional reasons others might care about something. Don’t be “the best.” Be their favorite.”
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THANK YOU TO...
⭐️ Andy Crestodina, for generously including my thoughts on original research in Formats and the Funnel: How 17 Content Marketing Formats Align with Lead Generation.
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And thank you for taking the time to read this.
I’ll see you again on Saturday 25th December.
Sarah
P.S. Drop me a note with any questions and I’ll get back to you in 48 hours.