Lean on Influencer Partnerships to Drive Demand in a Lean Economy
Authors
Gaurav Roy
A passionate and innovative professional encompassing excellence in B2B marketing industry. Develop and manage integrated programs including content strategy, Lead generation approach, Digital and social media strategy.
In this article
Introduction
Driving demand and maintaining brand visibility through B2B influencer partnerships has become a powerful marketing strategy, especially during economic uncertainty. It offers you a cost-effective alternative to traditional advertising, offering authentic engagement with target audiences when marketing budgets are constrained.
B2B Influencer Marketing in a Recession
Advice from peers and industry experts has long been the most influential factor in B2B purchase decisions. However, the advent of social media has accelerated the growth and impact of influencer partnerships, often beyond marketers’ expectations.
Influencer partnerships are a welcome addition to your B2B marketing toolkit. Collaborating with B2B influencers strengthens your go-to-market initiatives by tapping into established networks to reach your targeted audiences more authentically and successfully.
How Influencer Partnerships Build Brand Visibility and Revenue
In an economic downturn, B2B influencer partnerships expand brand reach, build trust with prospects and buyers, and generate leads through industry experts, especially during a recession:
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Cost-effective reach helps you make the most of your constrained resources. Compared to
traditional advertising, influencer marketing can reach a large audience at a lower cost per impression,
especially when partnering with influencers who align well with your target market. -
Enhanced credibility bolsters the impact of your messages with hesitant customers. By
associating your brand with respected industry thought leaders, you gain credibility and trust among buyers
more likely to consider your product or solution.
-
Engaging your target audience becomes more effective when they are focused on economic
challenges. Carefully selecting influencers with a relevant audience ensures your message reaches the right
people who are already interested in your industry.
-
Thought leadership positioning is validated and amplified by influencers who showcase your
expertise and confirm the leadership of your brand.
Enhanced credibility bolsters the impact of your messages with hesitant customers. By
associating your brand with respected industry thought leaders, you gain credibility and trust among buyers
more likely to consider your product or solution.
Engaging your target audience becomes more effective when they are focused on economic
challenges. Carefully selecting influencers with a relevant audience ensures your message reaches the right
people who are already interested in your industry.
Thought leadership positioning is validated and amplified by influencers who showcase your
expertise and confirm the leadership of your brand.
Foundations of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing for B2B businesses requires a different approach from traditional paid and organic media outreach. Productive influencer partnerships align influencer values with your brand ethos to build short-term campaigns and develop long-term relationships. Consistent brand messaging is important for demand generation.
Successful B2B influencer marketing campaigns focused on authenticity and personalization, turning to micro-influencers for genuine connections, and supporting a multi-platform presence on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others to co-create valuable, educational content.
Many brands rely on influencer marketing platforms, such as Sprout Social, Brandwatch, and Upfluence to streamline collaborations and ensure strong, measurable results.
Elements of Influencer Marketing
B2B influencer marketing statistics underscore the importance of strategic planning, authentic engagement, and adaptable budget allocation to drive successful influencer partnerships.
In 2024, 71% of B2B influencers spoke at in-person events, and 67% co-created content with brands. This highlights the growing importance of face-to-face interactions and collaborative content creation in the B2B landscape. Closely following these initiatives, 65% of influencers focused on creating guest content on brand platforms, while 56% prioritized their channels.
Influencers place the highest value on partnerships with brands and direct engagement with audiences. They identified co-created content as the most successful type of collaboration, with 75% of them finding it highly effective. Speaking at in-person events came in a close second, also at 75%, while online events received 69% approval from influencers.
Social content remained a priority for 76% of B2B brands, with video content closely following at 70%. These priorities reflect the ongoing trend of visual and interactive content dominating marketing strategies in the B2B space.
What Does Influencer Marketing Cost?
Influencer marketing can be a cost-effective strategy, especially if your traditional marketing budgets are limited by cutbacks. In 2024, compensation trends revealed significant variability in the average costs of collaborating with influencers.
Speaking at events commanded fees ranging from $12,000 to $17,000, reflecting the premium placed on direct audience interaction. Writing blogs or articles typically cost $3,000, while live streams ranged from $5,000 to $8,000. Creating social videos usually incurred costs between $4,000 and $5,000, workshops ranged from $11,500 to $18,500, podcasts from $2,000 to $5,000, and newsletters around $4,500. Of course, your particular industry and the prominence of your influencers will affect your actual costs.
How to Measure Success
Common metrics for evaluating B2B influencer partnerships include engagement rates (likes, comments, shares), lead generation and quality, website traffic and time on site, conversion rates, and brand sentiment and share of voice.
93% of B2B brands relied on awareness metrics to measure the success of their influencer marketing efforts. The most challenging aspect for brands was building brand awareness and loyalty (21%), followed by evaluating performance (17%).
Engagement metrics were tracked by 88% of brands, while conversion metrics were only monitored by 44%, indicating a lesser focus on direct sales outcomes. LinkedIn appeared as the top platform for B2B influencers and brands, followed by brand websites, Instagram, and YouTube.
B2B Influencer Marketing Case Studies
Influencer marketing gives you so many different ways to offer insights, technical knowledge, and data-driven recommendations to your B2B audiences. Here are just a few examples of B2B influencer marketing that work well in any economy:
- General Electric (GE) developed a #GEInstaWalk campaign with Instagram influencers and GE superfans by giving them a tour of GE’s research and development center. They were encouraged to share their experiences with their 3.5 million followers. Within 48 hours, the program generated 200 social engagements.
- Dell Technologies engaged influencers to promote their study on “The Data Paradox.” Dell’s own eBook and 39 social posts yielded 1,100 clicks and 1,600 engagements. However, by involving 8 influencers who produced over 30 more posts, they saw an additional reach of 1.7 million impressions and over 365 social engagements. Compared to earlier campaigns without influencers, Dell realized a 276% increase in page views to more than 8,000.
Influencer Marketing in a Recession
By prioritizing these key aspects, B2B marketers like you can cultivate effective influencer partnerships to drive demand and maintain brand visibility during economic uncertainty. Influencer partnerships offer a strategic advantage and a cost-effective means to support your brand visibility, credibility, and engagement. By using influencers’ established networks and authentic connections, you can foster trust and drive demand among your target audiences.
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