Influence marketing consists of utilizing individuals who have the power to exercise a certain dominance over the purchasing power of potential consumers of a business.
The strategy works very well for the b2b market – the acronym for Business to Business, that is, business relationships between two companies – as with transactions between suppliers and corporate customers.
Particularly the campaigns with influencers are based on the promotion of products with which it seeks to convince the final consumer, but what happens when your product or service is aimed at the business sector?
For this, there is the B2B Influencer Marketing, which consists of looking for influencers, not because of its number of followers but because of the confidence it transmits and because of its prestige, since with this, it can be achieved that those who follow it make important decisions in the field business.
Influence marketing is often only intended to promote a brand to the end consumer. However, it can be a very useful strategy for the b2b relationship. Read on and understand this relationship!
How does b2b influencer marketing work?
With the digital transformation, social networks emerged. The popularization of these platforms has changed some concepts and the way companies invest in marketing. Today, the presence of influencers is very present on the web.
The so-called digital influencer is the person who has a large following and through positive reviews and so-called public posts, advertises products and services. The action directly interferes with the purchasing power of the customer and inevitably generates positive results for the brand that invests in this strategy.
Influence marketing also works for the b2b market. In this case, the investment is usually focused on content production. A reference in the business segment prepares a text that speaks well of a particular brand.
This information can be posted on a blog, on a social network or turned into a video that will be aired on the web.
The objective of B2B Influence Marketing is to attract businesses that choose your brand, which is why the choice of B2B influencer is so critical since it must be a person that more than followers must be well connected, here we share some of the criteria that you should take into account when selecting it:
But first:
1. Without goals, there is no campaign! so define them first for clarity.
2. Select the channel that serves you to meet those goals.
3. Select the possible influencers.
For that:
4. Do not look at their number of followers, look at their communicative capacity and their contact networks (which is valuable for your brand)
5. Think about the types of messages that should handle the influencer that interests you to promote your brand.
6. Choose the prospects and answer: do their messages intertwine with the values of your company?
To continue:
7. He works hand in hand with him, of course, giving him a certain degree of freedom and comfort to transmit the message in his way.
8. Take if you can the relationship beyond for future contracts.
9. Measure the results and return on investment.
How does b2b influencer marketing differ from b2c?
Talking to the end customer – the b2c market – can be a little easier than establishing a good b2b relationship. Generally, finding the most appropriate influencers and channels is a less laborious process.
How does b2b influencer marketing differ from b2c?
Talking to the end customer – the b2c market – can be a little easier than establishing a good b2b relationship. Generally, finding the most appropriate influencers and channels is a less laborious process.
When it comes to the b2b market, you need to act creatively and analytically. For the relationship with the end consumer, the idea is that the individual has a considerable number of followers.
It is more important here than the personality of choice is an authority in the segment than one who has a certain reputation. This is because organizations looking for a vendor or enterprise solution won’t get it on Instagram. They tend to start looking for specialized reviews by someone who gives confidence.
A company thinks and acts differently from the end customer when it comes to purchasing a product or hiring a service. You need to know these differences to chart effective strategies.
How to use this influencer marketing strategy?
As we mentioned earlier, there are some differences in creating campaigns that use the credibility of an influencer when it is done for the b2b market. If for the end customer a strong exposure is interesting, in the case of a relationship with suppliers the action should be focused on specific niches.
A well-planned b2b market strategy should consider:
-The kind of influencer that can influence the decisions of other companies;
-The deep knowledge about this audience;
-The level of influence that also occurs outside the digital world;
-The awareness that not always a good influencer is one who has thousands of followers, but who speaks to a more targeted audience.
The key to influential marketing for the b2b market is to choose the right influencer and outreach channel to achieve the company’s goals, always considering the message to be conveyed, business policies, target audience, and brand image.