Under the influence: influencer marketing in a B2B world.

A few years ago, it would’ve been easy to dismiss influencers as a gimmick. Often young and typically aspirational, to be endorsed by brands is – for some – a dream come true. Today, influencer marketing continues to make waves throughout the B2C world, so much so that it’s hard to imagine launching a campaign without a few app-famous faces. But what of B2B? How does this ‘glamorous’ world fit with the frankly not-so-glamorous, hi-vis-wearing industries that shape our world offline?

The answer is in the audience. Providing relevant, engaging, and slightly niche content allows you to hone in on a specific group of people, interest or industry, which is the first recommendation: don’t try to appeal to the masses. Appealing to an undefined, expansive audience costs you authenticity. And authenticity is what makes B2B influencing work.

To say something is authentic in the world of marcomms is, ironically, a hard sell. We’re sceptical people and authentic authenticity – for lack of a better phrase – appears few and far between. In the B2C world, this has contributed towards trends such as ‘deinfluencing’, which appears to ‘debunk’ the products often pushed by influencers (of course, this is a form of influencing itself: a neat indication of the industry’s inescapably cyclical nature). As for the B2B world, it turns out that size really does matter.

It’s been revealed that 86% of B2B marketers are working with influencers successfully, and 38% of B2B companies are exploring influencer marketing as a new lead-generation strategy. These influencers range from ‘macro influencers’ – those with more than a million followers – to ‘nano influencers’, those with up to 10,000 followers, and ‘micro influencers’, who have up to 50,000 followers.

The latter two are particularly beneficial for B2B brands and campaigns since their focus is, as aforementioned, more engaging, relevant, and niche for their audience. Smaller communities are typically more engaged with the content they consume and recommendations feel more personal. Nano influencers are also more likely to create more well-rounded, relevant content that spans both your target audience and their growing league of followers, often delivering more loyal and likely prospective customers than those more famous. Some of the first-hand benefits I’ve experienced of working with small influencers in the gardening, renovation, and plumbing & heating sectors is that you can see the difference in the results. From creating an active, engaged community to seeing authentic reviews and content of the products being used in real-life situations.

 

Of course, there are still plenty of benefits to be reaped from using ‘larger’ influencers, too. Naturally, at the top of this list is exposure, which is exactly why a good influencer marketing strategy will consider how to use influencers effectively at every level. It’s important to evaluate your brand and objectives: what’s attainable and sustainable? Have you got the budget and the scope to work with a higher-level influencer – and could you actually benefit more from collaborating with a nano influencer?

Perhaps the biggest concern with using influencers is the increased involvement of AI – purportedly used by 94.5% of creators, according to Influencer 360. With Chat GPT accumulating over 50 million users in less than one month, it’s in all brands’ best interests to move quickly to establish a relationship with influencers of all sizes. Perhaps the influencer world isn’t quite as under threat as the copywriting industry is, but nonetheless, it’s important to be cautious.

So, how can you form an influencer strategy for your B2B business that elevates your brand and makes the most of this increasingly influential world? Get in touch with Wyatt International at hello@wyattinternational.com. A team of true originals, we’re perfectly poised to ensure your strategy – across the social media board – elevates your brand and accelerates your marketing.