A photo of the great barrier reef taken on a trip sponsored by Microsoft.

How to make influencer marketing work for your B2B company

When people think of influencer marketing, they probably thing of B2C companies. A brand offers a free product to a familiar social media face and their fans jump at the chance to purchase an influencer-approved item. But influencers can work for B2B marketing as well.

A different approach

When B2B businesses launch influencer campaigns, the goal is quality over quantity. B2B marketing hopes to catch the eye of high-ranking decision makers and gatekeepers at companies, meaning a celebrity may not be the right way to go.

Instead of featuring someone famous (a straight forward but oft effective strategy) consider targeting other influencers that are more relevant to your brand. Sideqik can help you identify and engage niche influencers, thought leaders, industry analysts and other contributors who can help tout your service to decision makers.

Some ideas:

Brands can be influencers

A photo of the great barrier reef taken on a trip sponsored by Microsoft.
Microsoft and National Geographic are still partnered, some of their work can be found here.

In 2016, Microsoft partnered with National Geographic in honor of International Women’s Day. The push resulted in over 3.5 million likes across 30 photos posted on Nartional Geographic’s accounts, driving brand awareness and positive perception of Microsoft. By partnering with an established brand with a massive online following (who doesn’t want Nat Geo photos delivered directly to their phones instead of sitting on a bookshelf at your mom’s house) Microsoft was able to engage with hundreds of thousands of more fans than they would be able to on their own account. The two companies continue to work together to see big results

Existing clients can be your greatest asset

Customer testimonials have long been a staple of company websites but what if you turned those responses into social content. Ask a client for a headshot and post their glowing review of your service as a social post. Branch out and interview your clients for blogs, podcasts, and other promotional material. Many people suspect testimonials are fake, so backing those up with some of your reputable clients can add gravitas to your claims about your service.

Employees are cheerleaders

IBM quote about engaged employees

Your employees love working for you, right? They believe in your service? Make them your influencers. IBM has centered its social strategy around its employees. Because IBM has been a powerhouse for decades, many of it’s employees are technology influencers in their own right.

When IBM launched IBM Verse in 2015 — a cloud-based email hosting system and messaging software — the company instructed its employees to talk about the new service on social media. The posts resulted in 50,000 signups in just two weeks.

Influencer marketing is only growing.  Your B2B marketing strategy shouldn’t be left in the dust just because it’s harder to find influencers. Schedule a demo with Sideqik today to find out how you can better be marketing your company.

Share this entry

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.