B2B influencer marketing uses social endorsements from well-connected influencers to promote a product or service authentically. What kind of B2B influencer marketing campaigns can brands do?
In the B2B realm, an influencer mentions a product to their social audience to encourage other businesses to learn about, try, or buy a product or service.
B2B influencer marketing campaigns to try
Sponsored blogs are common, but there are many other options. Here’s a look at the most popular types of B2B influencer campaigns:
Sponsored blog post
In the B2B sector, influencer campaigns tend to focus more on written collateral than quick social posts.
The brand provides the influencer with information on what the post should focus on and provide some talking points, but the influencer crafts the content and shares it on their channel.
The post shouldn’t be obviously promotional, like “Top 5 Reasons to Use This Product.” Be subtle. A content marketing service, for instance, might go with “The Anatomy of a Viral Blog Post,” which casually promotes its content creation services at the end of the article.
B2B brands want to build relationships, so long-form content like e-books, guides, or blog posts are popular.
Participation in educational events
B2B brands can host an educational webinar, podcast, or live web chat with an industry expert. Like the blog posts, the topics should be valuable to the brand’s audience. Think of topics that can solve common problems or streamline processes.
An email marketing platform might offer a webinar to help businesses grow their contact list or understand spam filters.
Sponsored image or video
Long-form content might top the list, but sponsored images and videos are compelling. Videos are gaining traction on social media sites like Instagram. For this type of campaign, influencers take a picture or video with a product and share it, along with a message and strategic hashtags.
Host a giveaway
Ask an influencer to host a giveaway of B2B products or services, such as free consultations or demonstrations. They can add an incentive, too, like 10% off the monthly membership fee, free installation, or expedited delivery of products.
The influencer can explain how to enter, which usually requires followers to share a post or tag a friend, and how a winner is selected.
A giveaway is a low-effort, high-impact campaign that typically results in increased engagement and brand awareness.
Social media takeover
B2B brands can turn their social reins over to an influencer for a day in a social media takeover. During the “takeover,” the influencer might host a live Q&A on a topic related to the brand, go live from inside the company, or create a series of posts that share a story or provide tips.
An accounting software brand, for example, could connect with a bookkeeper who shares her tips to get the most out of the software.
Promote the event days in advance to get the most leverage out of it. This content can also be repurposed, depending on the usage rights in the contract.
Brand ambassador programs
Some brands have created brand ambassador programs. The group becomes a regular voice for the brand, with a steady flow of pictures, videos, and stories shared with their audience.
These programs take some time to form and often come together after brands work with individual influencers for a while.
Brand ambassador programs are quite popular in the B2C sector, with brands like Eddie Bauer, Sephora, Lululemon, and Xbox leading the way, but B2B companies can reap the same benefits as their B2C counterparts. B2B brands often need buy-in from decision-makers instead of one consumer, which takes time. A long-term program like this is ideal for that kind of relationship building.
Affiliate marketing
With affiliate marketing, influencers promote a product or service and get a cut of each sale that stems from their promotion. The influencer-generated content is often a sponsored image or video, but the compensation isn’t a flat fee. Influencers receive a percentage of each sale that tracks back to their sponsored post. Use affiliate marketing with promotional codes or discounts, which influencers share to offer their followers an incentive to shop and bring them closer to purchasing.
Influencers:
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Marketers:
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