B2B influencer marketing – the power of influencing the business community

When someone mentions influencer marketing, you’re probably going to think of beautiful photos and videos that promote food, fashion or beauty products, than a post that maybe talks about the same products and services, but from a totally different perspective, for example research and development, technical innovations or sustainability, even employer branding. However, even though influencer marketing is mainly focused on B2C segment, B2B segment is gaining importance. Data from the global research by Ogilvy agency suggest that it’s the last chance to hop on this trend, since 75% of B2B businesses currently uses B2B influencer marketing. Furthermore, 43% of small businesses see a positive ROI and impact on sales, and 93% of them are planning to increase financing of this lucrative tactic.

What’s it about?

B2B influencer marketing is a communication tool which implies company partnerships and brands with people that are influential in the business environment – experts, leaders and opinion makers in specific fields, as their deep knowledge and experience qualify them as credible people that can influence other business experts and decision makers with their opinions.

Similar like in the B2C segment, here B2B buyers, potential partners, associates and even potential employees, search information about companies and brands because they want to make an informed decision. At the same time, they rely on credible sources of information such as experts and leading people from the industry, businessmen that actively use social media and also post authentic content, professional opinions, pieces of advice and first-hand experiences, establishing themselves in the business community.

What’s the difference between B2C and B2B influencer marketing?

Even though B2C and B2B influencer marketing are both based on influencing through a strong online presence and sharing authentic experiences, recommendations, opinions and other valuable content, there are a few basic differences between them. First, B2B influencer marketing addresses to the business community, and B2B influencers are business or scientific experts in their field of work and experienced professionals. They put an emphasis on business themes and sharing knowledge. Unlike B2C influencers, lifestyle themes are mainly not in their focus, although it’s not uncommon for then to promote positive characteristics of a product or service which aside from business purposes, they also use for private purposes, such as a mobile phone or rent-a-car.

Even though they also post promotional content, the content and tone of communication are mainly educational and informative. They don’t rely as much on short and entertaining formats and will be more likely to share results of an interesting research, blog posts about trends or longer-format posts in which they will express comprehensive opinions on a topic significant to the industry or business community and will start a discussion. Following this, another important difference can be explained. While B2C influencer marketing is more oriented towards fast conversions and brand affinity, B2B puts more emphasis on building long-lasting relations and education.

To conclude, the power of B2B marketing lies in deep knowledge and expertise that B2B influencers bring. Through an educational and informative approach, these persons can significantly influence business decisions, increase brand awareness and facilitate confidence in products or services. In the times when digital communication is more and more dominant in the business environment, small businesses that recognize this trends’ value on time and implement it correctly, will surely achieve a competitive advantage and long-lasting business achievements.