VIEW SPEECH SUMMARY
Current Marketing Challenges
- Advertising spends are rising, but performance metrics like click-through rates are declining (average CTR 0.46%).
- Sales reply rates are very low (~2%) due to buyer preference for anonymous research and avoidance of cold outreach.
- Buyers prefer community recommendations and influencer advice in their purchase journeys.
Rise of B2B Influencer Marketing
- 93% of B2B marketers plan to invest in influencer marketing in 2025.
- Influencer marketing in B2B involves collaborating with respected industry thought leaders to promote products/services.
- Platforms like LinkedIn are increasing video content (video views up 34% YoY) and seeing growth driven by Gen Z workforce (75% of workers in 2025 are Gen Z and Millennials).
- Only 1% of LinkedIn users create content, representing a major opportunity for brands.
Case Study: CallCloud
- A new company competing in power dialer tools worked with 5 sales niche influencers with a $7K monthly budget.
- Created 15 videos, generated 720,000 impressions, and 4X their demo requests.
- Highlights effectiveness of targeted influencer marketing.
Influencer Types and Full Funnel Approach
- Edutainment creators: combine education and entertainment, best for top-funnel brand awareness (e.g. viral skits/parodies).
- Generalist creators: moderate reach and engagement, address industry pain points more deeply.
- Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): trusted niche experts, lower reach but high relevance and conversion.
Ways to Leverage Influencers
- Sponsored posts primarily for awareness.
- Lead sign-ups promoted via unique links shared by influencers.
- Asset development: creators produce high-quality video content usable for ads or owned content.
- Contributor collaboration: creators contribute to company blogs, podcasts, whitepapers without direct payment.
- Event collaboration: creators cover events to extend content lifespan and drive future event attendance.
- Content distribution: leveraging influencers to promote research reports, whitepapers, webinars.
- Gifting campaigns: sending creative product-related gifts to influencers to encourage authentic promotion.
Example: Hootsuite Social Media Trends Report
- Engaged 9 creators to promote their annual large report by turning it into "breaking news" physical newspapers.
- Campaign generated $1 million in pipeline and 66% of total report downloads.
Actionable Recommendations to Get Started
- Start small: define clear goals (sign-ups, awareness, engagement).
- Identify relevant niches and creator types.
- Begin with 3-5 influencers for 3-month campaigns, collect data on performance.
- After initial phase, sign top-performing influencers and expand creator roster.
- Take creative risks, stand out from typical boring B2B content, especially on LinkedIn.
- Leverage existing networks for influencer recommendations.
Final Notes
- Vin offers help and shares LinkedIn contact for further discussions and tips.
- Large enterprises and startups alike are investing and benefiting from B2B influencer marketing.
Actionable Items:
- Define campaign goal (awareness, sign-ups, engagement).
- Identify niche and suitable influencer types (edutainment, generalist, SME).
- Start with a pilot campaign engaging 3-5 creators for 3 months.
- Track performance data and refine influencer roster post-campaign.
- Use influencer-created video assets for advertising and owned content.
- Collaborate with influencers on event coverage and content distribution.
- Consider gifting campaigns or unique creative approaches to generate buzz.
- Connect with Vin Matano or similar experts for guidance and additional resources.
- Advertising spends are rising, but performance metrics like click-through rates are declining (average CTR 0.46%).
- Sales reply rates are very low (~2%) due to buyer preference for anonymous research and avoidance of cold outreach.
- Buyers prefer community recommendations and influencer advice in their purchase journeys.
Rise of B2B Influencer Marketing
- 93% of B2B marketers plan to invest in influencer marketing in 2025.
- Influencer marketing in B2B involves collaborating with respected industry thought leaders to promote products/services.
- Platforms like LinkedIn are increasing video content (video views up 34% YoY) and seeing growth driven by Gen Z workforce (75% of workers in 2025 are Gen Z and Millennials).
- Only 1% of LinkedIn users create content, representing a major opportunity for brands.
Case Study: CallCloud
- A new company competing in power dialer tools worked with 5 sales niche influencers with a $7K monthly budget.
- Created 15 videos, generated 720,000 impressions, and 4X their demo requests.
- Highlights effectiveness of targeted influencer marketing.
Influencer Types and Full Funnel Approach
- Edutainment creators: combine education and entertainment, best for top-funnel brand awareness (e.g. viral skits/parodies).
- Generalist creators: moderate reach and engagement, address industry pain points more deeply.
- Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): trusted niche experts, lower reach but high relevance and conversion.
Ways to Leverage Influencers
- Sponsored posts primarily for awareness.
- Lead sign-ups promoted via unique links shared by influencers.
- Asset development: creators produce high-quality video content usable for ads or owned content.
- Contributor collaboration: creators contribute to company blogs, podcasts, whitepapers without direct payment.
- Event collaboration: creators cover events to extend content lifespan and drive future event attendance.
- Content distribution: leveraging influencers to promote research reports, whitepapers, webinars.
- Gifting campaigns: sending creative product-related gifts to influencers to encourage authentic promotion.
Example: Hootsuite Social Media Trends Report
- Engaged 9 creators to promote their annual large report by turning it into "breaking news" physical newspapers.
- Campaign generated $1 million in pipeline and 66% of total report downloads.
Actionable Recommendations to Get Started
- Start small: define clear goals (sign-ups, awareness, engagement).
- Identify relevant niches and creator types.
- Begin with 3-5 influencers for 3-month campaigns, collect data on performance.
- After initial phase, sign top-performing influencers and expand creator roster.
- Take creative risks, stand out from typical boring B2B content, especially on LinkedIn.
- Leverage existing networks for influencer recommendations.
Final Notes
- Vin offers help and shares LinkedIn contact for further discussions and tips.
- Large enterprises and startups alike are investing and benefiting from B2B influencer marketing.
Actionable Items:
- Define campaign goal (awareness, sign-ups, engagement).
- Identify niche and suitable influencer types (edutainment, generalist, SME).
- Start with a pilot campaign engaging 3-5 creators for 3 months.
- Track performance data and refine influencer roster post-campaign.
- Use influencer-created video assets for advertising and owned content.
- Collaborate with influencers on event coverage and content distribution.
- Consider gifting campaigns or unique creative approaches to generate buzz.
- Connect with Vin Matano or similar experts for guidance and additional resources.
B2B Influencer Marketing: What is it? And how to get started?
12:20 - 12:40, 27th of May (Tuesday) 2025 / MARKETING STAGE
According to Forrester’s B2B Marketing & Sales Predictions 2025, B2B influencer marketing is set to play a significant role in purchasing decisions. More than 50% of younger buyers will include 10 or more external influencers in their purchase decision-making process. But the problem is, most B2B companies don't know where to start. We've worked with over a dozen of B2B brands generating ~6M impressions through Influencer Marketing. In this session, you'll learn how to leverage, find, and create pipeline generating influencer marketing campaigns. Without tarnishing your brand.
LEVEL:
Basic
Advanced
Expert
TRACK:
Marketing Strategy
Social Media
TOPICS:
Influencer Marketing
Trends
