INT. Bedroom. Day. Molly-Mae stares at her own reflection. Golden bun illuminated by the cool, white vanity lights. MOLLY-MAE (smiling, to camera): “Get ready with me as I tell you guys everything you need to know about ABM.”
Of course, reader, I jest. But like any good joke, it comes from a place of truth.
On the surface, influencer marketing and B2B are an odd pairing. As consumers, we’re used to being flogged the latest serum, protein shake, or life planner by people who aren’t quite just like us. A day in the life? PR unboxing? One of those vids where the sound is sped up really, really fast? Take my money now, please.
The trouble is a lip sync doesn’t quite cut the mustard in B2B. The buying decision-making committee isn’t as easily swayed as I am (sorry, Amex). You’re dealing with multiple buyers, with different opinions, who all want to build relationships with the people they’re buying from.
Yet that doesn’t mean that we should rule out creators as a whole. So, here’s your whistle-stop, agony aunt guide to B2B influencer marketing. (Think of me as a B2B equivalent of The Sunday Times ’ Dolly Alderton. Equally chic, but with corporate flair.)
Isn’t influencer marketing, like, just for B2C?
Like, totally not.
Rather trite, but nonetheless true – people buy from people. And B2B is no different. Just because the buying decision-making committee is more than one person, that doesn’t make them any less human.
Those people? Well, two-thirds of B2B buyers are now Gen Z or Millennial – internet-native age brackets who turn to the virtual world over traditional media. Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows that 80% of the global Gen Z population trusts customers like themselves (ie influencers) to give them accurate information about a brand. Just 58% value a company’s own CEO, and 59% for journalists. Yikes. So influencer marketing is every bit as relevant for B2B as it is for B2C.
In a way, yes. Our understanding of what ‘influence’ looks like is changing in line with customer habits. Over 50% of Gen Z buyers find social sites meaningful sources, compared with 21% of Boomers. On top of this, 94% of B2B buyers are reported to use LLMs during their buying journey, but increasingly look to validate their findings with human opinion.
Enter, influencers.
With more buyers sourcing information via social channels and trusting individuals more than journalists, we need to expand our thinking into other third-party channels that actually move the needle.
Shake off the B2B misnomer and think about the people you’re selling to. Who do you trust more? Soulless, corporate brand telling everyone how great they are? Or someone who’s been there, done that, and speaks your language?
I know where I’m placing my chips.
I’m sure you can hear my eye rolls from here. I’m afraid to say, reader, that size doesn’t matter. Community does.
When looking for that special somebody who’ll make your campaign sing, focus on quality over quantity. Who’s going to view this content, and what do we want them to do because of it?
Vanity metrics such as number of followers don’t always hold up. In fact, research shows that nano-influencers (1-10K followers) report the highest engagement rates (2.53%) compared with those with more than a million followers (0.92%).
You’re going to need to measure, measure, and measure some more to prove the commercial impact of any influencer activity. It can’t all be about a fun visual output. Fun in the moment when the cash is flowing, sure. Not so fun when the finance folk are asking the tricky questions.
The honest answer – it depends. There’s no industry standard for costs, and starting prices vary wildly. If you’re working with influencers in an editorial capacity, some don’t see the need to charge a fee beyond ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.’
Others, meanwhile, won’t look at offers under six figures. Once you’ve added on deliverables such as reshoots, paid promo, and exclusivity, that number can skyrocket quickly.
Our advice? Create a living database of any costs you collect and benchmark that against similar influencers and goals. That way, you can get a better sense of market rate and bang for your buck.
Well, when was the last time you responded to a corporate jargon sales pitch?
If you’re working with influencers, you need to let go of the total control you’re used to. The USP of creators is the ability to tap into their audience in an authentic way. Collaborate with them to develop a creative concept that is consistent with their tone of voice, content style, and what their audience is used to. With a whopping 74% of content being AI-generated in industries such as finance, the way to cut through the noise is this refreshing honesty.
Hold your horses. Influencer marketing isn’t one and done. Trust and relationships are built over time. Tap into long-term influencer activity or brand ambassadors who can help foster growth and bring influencers into every point of the marketing funnel.
If you take one piece of advice away, it’s that influencers aren’t a silver bullet. Don’t just slap a creator campaign into your mix because you feel like you ought to. Channel third-party voices in authentic, creative ways that work for your brand.
And that, reader, brings us to the end of the line. Now go out in the world and get B2B influencer marketing working for you. You can thank me at Cannes.
By Lucy Gillman,
Account Executive, Influence
The latest (and most useful) B2B insight, delivered to your inbox.
Publicis Pro needs the contact information you provide to send you the latest B2B insights. You may unsubscribe from these communications at anytime.
