B2B Influencer Marketing for SMEs in four steps

Influencer marketing has long since become part of the communication strategies of successful companies and those who want to become successful - at least in the B2C sector. For years, companies have relied on brand ambassadors with a wide reach to promote new products and provide relevant content for their target groups. But what about B2B influencer marketing? In just four steps, even medium-sized companies can implement a successful strategy and use B2B influencers to polish their image, increase awareness and win new customers.

1. planning is half the battle!

Slightly modified, but still true! And this is especially true for B2B influencer marketing. As a rule, the target group here is much more critical than in the B2C sector. On the one hand, this is because the potential customers are experts in their industry themselves - and on the other hand, it's not a matter of deciding to buy a new pair of shoes, but rather, in case of doubt, to spend real money. Everything should really be right! Therefore, good planning is the be-all and end-all. So before measures and influencers are selected, companies must first know their target group exactly. Then, the goals of the campaign, external influences and analyses must be aligned with these.

2. let's get informative: emotions are out of place here

In contrast to the B2C sector, B2B brands and their influencers should not rely on emotions. After all, buying decisions are not made on a whim, but rationally, weighing up the pros and cons. In addition, many products - in the IT industry, for example - require a great deal of explanation. The approach should therefore be with relevant information, hard facts and authentic experience reports. Those who shine with expertise right from the start and create trust through information will also be able to convince in the long run.

3. the agony of choice: identifying suitable influencers

Rule number one: B2B influencers must be credible! Brand ambassadors and companies should therefore be a perfect match in order to be able to make an authentic appearance. This means that trade journalists, researchers, or recognized industry insiders are actually bought for their interest in the respective topics and their conviction in the advertised product. However, the company's own employees are also conceivable - as so-called corporate influencers - as are business partners and associates with the relevant expertise. The main thing is that the person, the message and the product fit together. In the B2B sector, in contrast to B2C, it plays a subordinate role what reach the influencers have. It is more important that they are at home in the respective niche - this way, companies can be sure to reach their target group and a real brand fit is created!

4. no matter if LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok or Xing?

No, of course it does matter! On the contrary, choosing the right channel can be crucial. After all, what good are the best campaigns on TikTok if the target group is really only on LinkedIn and Xing? So some research work is required here in advance. However, if you know your target group exactly (a reminder of point 1), you will also know which social media you can find them on. This knowledge is also important for the selection of formats in the next step. For example, while TikTok is all about video content, a combination of video or image and text is more likely to be expected on LinkedIn. The analysis of user and reception behavior helps to deliver really relevant and inspiring content.

Conclusion: B2B Influencer Marketing is not that complicated!

B2B influencer marketing works differently than B2C influencer marketing - but it's not that much more complicated! Although there are not a large number of possible brand ambassadors available for certain topics, the complexity is kept within limits apart from a higher research effort. What can help here: ambassadors from your own ranks or business partners with an affinity for the topic. If the tone is then informative, fact-based and authentic, not much can go wrong.

About the Author:
Christopher Storms-Wolf is the right contact person at Echte Liebe (https://echte-liebe.com) when it comes to developing content-based digital campaigns: "We live in a wonderful digital age in which it is possible to excite and inspire people with interesting content and motivate them anew every day." In the past, the creative head successfully implemented various projects for well-known national and international clients and convinces with expertise and the right portion of zeitgeist.