Understanding B2B Influencer Marketing

What makes B2B influencer marketing tick? At the heart of it is a relationship between your brand and people who are capable of directly communicating with your most important audiences.

But like any relationship, it's a relationship built on trust. How do you build trust with the B2B influencers that matter in your industry?

How influencers benefit from influencer marketing

B2B influencer marketing can be as helpful to influencers as it is to brands. There are several benefits that influencers receive from the relationship – all of which help build trust.

• Information – B2B influencers are tasked with serving up information to scores of followers via social media and other channels. If they don't have information about the latest industry trends, their followers will abandon them and follow influencers who do.
• Relevance – Brand thought leaders help keep influencers relevant. Thought leaders are on the front lines of their industries and in many cases, offer firsthand insights that are difficult to capture through other means.
• Expertise – Influencers are conduits for industry knowledge. They depend on the expertise of thought leaders to make their work more specific and authoritative.

How your brand benefits from influencer marketing

Influencer marketing can play an important role in your brand's larger marketing strategy. There are several benefits you can expect to receive from a robust B2B influencer marketing program.

• Third-party content – Influencers generate valuable third-party content about your brand and its products. Third-party content is more trusted than owned content and it increases your digital profile, placing your brand at the center of industry conversations.
• Targeted exposure – Effective influencer campaigns align the right influencers with the right audiences. It's not just about the sheer number of followers – it's about connecting with the influencers that engage your target audience(s).
• Credibility – Influencers are highly respected voices within the industries. When you participate in influencer marketing, you are borrowing the influencer's credibility to communicate with your target audience.

Walker Sands knows B2B influencer marketing

At Walker Sands, we've provided B2B influencer marketing to fast-growing technology companies since day one. As a leading tech sector PR and digital marketing agency, we have the experience and influencer relationships to achieve measurable results for your brand.

For a deeper dive into the benefits of influencer marketing, download our recent white paper, Under the Influence: A B2B Guide to Influencer Marketing.

To learn how Walker Sands can leverage influencer marketing for your brand, contact us today.