

How to Find and Work with Influencers for Your B2B Marketing
How to Find and Work with Influencers for Your B2B Marketing
Previously we looked at the potential for using influencers in your B2B marketing mix. But how do you find the right influencer be it industry experts, thought leaders, or micro-influencers? Here are some tips and best practices on how to find influencers for B2B marketing, and how to partner with them effectively.
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Define your goals and objectives: Before you start looking for influencers, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign. Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive sales, or achieve something else? Having specific and measurable goals and objectives will help you plan your strategy and budget and measure your results.
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Identify your target audience and niche: Next, you need to know who your target audience is and what their pain points, needs, preferences, and behaviors are. You also need to identify your niche or industry and the topics and keywords that are relevant to your B2B products or services. This will help you find influencers who have a similar audience and niche as yours and who can deliver your message effectively.
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Research and vet potential influencers: Once you have a list of potential influencers you need to do some research and vetting to find the best ones for your B2B marketing. You can use online tools to find and analyze influencers based on their reach, engagement, relevance, and reputation. You can also check their social media profiles, blogs, podcasts, or other online channels, and see the quality and style of their content, the tone and voice of their communication, the feedback and comments from their followers, and the brands they have worked with before.
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Reach out and build relationships: After you have narrowed down your list of influencers you need to reach out and build relationships with them. You can send them a personalized email or message, and introduce yourself and your brand. You can also compliment their work, and explain why you want to work with them, and what value you can offer them. You can also invite them to try your B2B products or services for free and ask for their honest feedback and opinions. The key is to be respectful, transparent, and authentic, and to treat them as partners, not as salespeople.
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Collaborate and co-create content: Once you have established a rapport and trust with your influencers you can collaborate and co-create content with them. You can discuss your goals and objectives, and agree on the type, format, and frequency of the content. You can also provide them with guidelines, briefs, or templates, but also give them creative freedom and flexibility to create content that suits their style and audience. You can also ask them to include a clear call-to-action, such as a link to your website, a landing page, a lead magnet, or a coupon code, to drive bottom-funnel conversions.
Finally, you need to track and measure your results and see how your influencer marketing campaign is performing. You can use tools like Google Analytics to monitor and analyze metrics like impressions, reach, engagement, clicks, leads, conversions, and ROI. You can also ask your influencers for feedback and suggestions on how to improve your campaign, and what challenges or difficulties they faced. You can also thank them for their work, and reward them with incentives, recognition, or referrals.
Are you ready to boost your B2B marketing with influencers and content creators? Contact us today, and let us help you find and work with the best influencers and content creators for your niche and industry.