Influencer Marketing News and Tips

5 Essential Questions to Guide Your B2B Influencer Marketing Strategy

Greetings friend! If you’re here, I assume it’s for one of three reasons:

You’re interested in the concept of influencer marketing and want to identify if it’s a fit for your B2B brand.
You’re dabbling in influencer marketing and are looking for ways to formalize your strategy.
You fell down some crazy internet rabbit hole and you aren’t quite sure how you got here.

Regardless of the reason, I’m happy you’re here.

Today, we’re going to dig into five essential questions that many B2B marketers are asking themselves about influencer marketing—everything from what it actually is (very important) to how to gain leadership buy-in and show value.

So dig in, enjoy the ride and be sure to add any of your own questions in the comments!

5 Essential Questions to Guide Your B2B Influencer Marketing Strategy

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The Future of B2B Content: Data-Informed, Interactive, and Influential

Lee Odden B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Before starting on any new marketing initiative or trying a new tactic, B2B marketers need to answer and essential question: Why?

While most B2B marketers won’t admit it, many still practice some “spaghetti/wall marketing” wherein each year they throw new digital tactics “against the wall” to see what sticks without really knowing why a tactic would work for their audience over another.

This is not to say that you should slow down on innovating and trying new things. But it’s important for success to be strategic and test. I challenge marketers to do more research around customer insights and preferences so that any changes they make are driven by data and informed hypothesis—rather than simply trying new things just to see if they will work.

The Future of B2B Content: Data-Informed, Interactive, and Influential

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5 Key Trends in B2B Influencer Marketing Plus Critical Do’s and Don’ts

Lee Odden B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Overall Influencer Marketing attracted a lot of attention in 2018 for some good and not so good reasons. Luckily, most of those unfavorable reasons were in the B2C space. Within the B2B marketing world, influencer marketing has made many advancements and more organizations are evolving their testing, use and sophistication of the practice.

There are many trends happening with influencer marketing right now, but here are 5 relative to B2B marketing that are worth paying attention to:

1. Micro AND Macro influencers. A lot of marketing press has emphasized micro and even “nano” influencers over celebrities. There’s merit to that but in B2B, the tier one influencers are still important. Successful programs incorporate top influencers that have large, relevant networks with more niche influencers with high engagement. When mapped to the right kind of content in the buying journey, a mix of influencer types is very powerful for B2B marketing.

5 Key Trends in B2B Influencer Marketing Plus Critical Do’s and Don’ts

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The Intersection of SEO & Influencer Marketing: What B2B Marketers Need to Know

Caitlin Burgess B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing, SEO

Peanut butter and jelly.

Milk and cookies.

Steak and potatoes.

Wine and cheese.

Bread and butter.

SEO and influencer marketing.

via GIPHY

All of these exceptional pairings have something special in common: They work together.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. And I get it. From red or white to pungent or salty, there are several incredibly important variables to consider when crafting the perfect wine and cheese combo.

via GIPHY

For real, though. Integration is key for B2B content marketing success. But some tactics and strategies seem like natural fits, while others seem a bit mismatched. If you feel like SEO and influencer marketing fall into the latter category, it might be time to flip your thinking.

The Intersection of SEO & Influencer Marketing: What B2B Marketers Need to Know

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Bye-Bye Boring B2B: Lee Odden Shows B2BMX Attendees the Power of Interactive Influencer Content

Caitlin Burgess B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences

Quick question, B2B marketers: How many of you wake up feeling like this about your B2B content?

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Not so much? Hey, it’s OK. You’re a passionate and proud B2B marketer. But finding a way to create exciting, inspiring, infotaining content that connects with your audience is hard work. After all, B2B isn’t innately sexy—it’s booooooring. Oh, and between content overload, changing consumer preferences for personalization, and diminishing audience trust, it’s increasingly hard to capture and keep attention.

So, here’s another question: Are you ready to say bye-bye to boring content and hello to exciting, inspiring, and infotaining content experiences?

Yes so much? Good. Because, as TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden told a packed room at B2B Marketing Exchange this week, you can.

Bye-Bye Boring B2B: Lee Odden Shows B2BMX Attendees the Power of Interactive Influencer Content

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Why Always-On Is Always Better for Driving B2B Influencer Marketing Success

Caitlin Burgess B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Show of hands: How many of us brush our teeth at least twice a day? All of us? Great.

Now, a follow up question: Why?

The reasons are numerous, right? We care about maintaining our hygiene on a daily basis. We want to keep our smiles bright. We need to defend against offensive bad breath. We want to ensure the long-term health of our teeth, gums, and mouths. And, mostly, we want to successfully avoid pricey and painful dental work now and in the future.

via GIPHY

The moral here? With consistency and commitment we reap both short- and long-term benefits—and avoid a whole lot of pain. And the same is true when it comes to B2B influencer marketing.

Why Always-On Is Always Better for Driving B2B Influencer Marketing Success

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Break Free of Boring B2B with Interactive Influencer Content

Lee Odden B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Click Here to see the Break Free from Boring B2B Guide in Full Screen Mode

B2B doesn’t need to mean “boring to boring” and yet much of business marketing has earned its reputation. In a world of information overload, buyers expect engaging content from sources they can trust.

So what’s the solution for marketers that want to break free of boring B2B marketing?

Since 81% of marketers agree that interactive content grabs attention more effectively than static content (CMI) and 70% say interactive content is effective at converting site visitors (ion interactive), B2B marketers need move away from simply educating and to start creating content experiences that allow customers to engage.

Break Free of Boring B2B with Interactive Influencer Content

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Examples of B2B Influencer Marketing to Inspire You in 2019

Lee Odden B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

B2B brands don’t have it easy when trying to attract, engage and persuade today’s increasingly distracted and distrustful buyers. Many are experimenting with influencer marketing but results without an informed plan can be a mixed bag. Trust me, I know.

We’ve been experimenting heavily with B2B influencer marketing for over 6 years, partnering with hundreds of B2B influencers and B2B brands of all sizes while also learning a lesson or two.

Fast forward to today and we understand that for successful influencer marketing in the B2B world. Relationships are key, right along with shared values and some robust validation when it comes to topical relevance, ability to create and engage on-topic with an interested community.

Examples of B2B Influencer Marketing to Inspire You in 2019

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How Can B2B Brands Benefit from Collaborating with Influencers? Let’s Get the Scoop from the Experts

Caitlin Burgess B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Spokespeople. Brand advocates. Experts. Sponsors. Thought Leaders. Influencers. Call them what you will, but leveraging the voices, expertise, appeal, and reach of influential people has been a standard marketing and advertising practice for at least a century. In the B2C realm, that is.

As TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden recently pointed out: “B2B brands are running a little behind B2C in terms of influencer marketing sophistication and have not been investing as much in technology, staff or the influencers themselves.”

In fact, recent research shows that an impressive 48% of B2C influencer programs are ongoing, however, just 11% of B2B influencer programs are always-on. But on the flip side, research also shows that interest and commitment are growing. In fact, 65% of multinational brands will increase influencer marketing spending in the next 12 months, reaching $10 billion over the next five years.

How Can B2B Brands Benefit from Collaborating with Influencers? Let’s Get the Scoop from the Experts

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Our Top 10 Influencer Marketing Posts of 2018

Lane Ellis Influencer Marketing

Celebrating group of people dancing in confetti photo.

2018 saw a continuous rise of influencer marketing’s power and scope in both B2C and B2B industries. This was a continuation of last year’s explosion of interest in the practice and with more practitioners than ever going all-in, influencer marketing has been a primary focus of what we have explored on our blog throughout the year.

We’re lucky to have some of the strongest and most successful B2B influencer marketing professionals contributing to the TopRank Marketing blog, including our CEO Lee Odden, Ashley Zeckman, Joshua Nite, Caitlin Burgess, Anne Leuman, Nick Nelson, Tiffani Allen, Debbie Friez, the author of this post, and Alexis Hall, among others.

Our Top 10 Influencer Marketing Posts of 2018

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TopRank Marketing’s Top 6 B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions & Trends to Watch in 2019

Ashley Zeckman Digital Marketing, Influencer Marketing

How many of you can count the number of times you’ve purchased a product or made a decision based on a recommendation from a friend, acquaintance, review on the web or a celebrity endorsement? I’d venture to guess that most of you would say: “Too many to count.”

That’s because we all rely on advice from others to help us make sense of a complex world where we don’t always have all of the information we need to make a decision.

Influencer marketing has been around for ages (literally), but it’s only begun to build steam within the B2B world over the past few years. The good news is that for many, B2B influencer marketing is still in its infancy—which means there are plenty of opportunities to begin implementing influencer marketing today.

TopRank Marketing’s Top 6 B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions & Trends to Watch in 2019

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B2B Marketers: Is Your Influencer Marketing Mechanical or Meaningful?

Lee Odden B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

influencer marketing

If they don’t care, they won’t share.

With the need to scale and drive efficient performance, many B2B marketers work hard to operationalize their efforts. While process brings efficiency, a transactional approach to a relationship-centric discipline can reduce effectiveness significantly.

The effect of a mechanical vs. meaningful relationship is particularly impactful when it comes to influencer marketing. This is why many in the field call it influencer relations – it’s a relationship business, not just an advertising buy.

Now that is not to say that paying B2B influencers is out of the question. In fact, it makes sense to clearly outline the situations where payment is appropriate and where it is not. For example, if you ask an influencer to attend an event and emcee a track or co-author an ebook, payment for that expertise and time is definitely appropriate. If you invite an influencer to share a quote for an article or be a guest on a podcast, then payment is less likely to be involved.

B2B Marketers: Is Your Influencer Marketing Mechanical or Meaningful?

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