Influencer marketing has been catching up very soon. The growth that businesses have experienced in the B2C domain throug influencer marketing is stupendous.
Statiscal Study Showing Success of B2B Influencer Marketing
Yet B2B influencer marketing is also benefitting the businesses. With Hubspot’s report stating that influencer marketing stands at the first rank, when it comes to marketing techniques, it shows the success of this method.
With more than 75% of the marketers finding influencer marketing as an effective technique, it has delivered more than 10X returns over time. It helps in increasing the reach and brand visibility, thus helping your business reach new customers.
Influencer marketing, if done in the right way, and targeting the right audience, often lads to quality leads – thus influencing the buying decisions too.
How is B2B Influencer marketing different?
- Timelines are mostly longer than B2C: Since the purchase decision takes time, B2B timelines are longer than expected. The minimum timelines for the expected action in case of B2B IM marketing is 6 months.
- Focus on the influencer’s engagement levels: In B2B IM marketing, influencer’s engagement level plays a critical role. It is no more about the number of followers, but its all about how long can the attention of the be captured of the audience. Engagement refers to interacting with your content. Engagement Quotient should be your first criteria while making the decision.
- Online Events to capture the attention: Staying relevant over time is crucial. It is suggested that the more you are visible to the community, higher are the chances of a purchase decision. Thus, creating online events, games, competitions can increase the brand’s visibility. Make sure that you don’t overshoot your budget, yet try your best to come up with engaging ideas.
- Informational content on the higher tone: B2B marketing content has a very high load of informational content, supported with infographics & chart – followed up with texts. On the other hand, B2C content is filled with videos and images, thus making it imagery rich.
- Relationship building is the end goal: B2B influencer marketing focuses on the customer relationships. Relationship building is the primary focus in B2B marketing, through the knowledge being shared as an input for collaborative decision making. It is not transactional in nature, instead transformational.
- Influencer’s impact on the industry: The impact of the influencer on a particular industry is vital. It is the impact which they have within the industry, is what makes them unique. B2B influencers, unlike B2C influencers, are not just people with followers. They are information agents, who are looked up in the industry as a source of reliable inputs.
Bottom line: B2B influencer marketing can help businesses become global, expanding to unchartered territories. Without any doubt, if your business has not yet incorporated B2B influencer marketing as a tools, it is high time to start with it. Not only can it have a lasting benefit, but will also help in growing the client relationship, which is highly crucial for sustaining in the business for a long time. So, don’t delay it any further.
