So you’ve seen how other companies are leveraging B2B influencers to boost brand awareness or drive conversions.
And now you’re thinking about dipping a toe into the influencer marketing pool yourself.
But where do you start?
Follow these 3 steps to get started with influencer marketing and find the right partnership for your company.
1. Determine which type of B2B influencer fits your brand best.
There are a few different types of influencers:
- Content creators: they’re focused on sharing valuable content and connecting with like-minded people
- Subject matter experts: they serve as known authorities in niche fields and share their knowledge with their followers
- Employee advocates: they promote their role, the company and its products/services to their personal audience
To understand which kind of partnership would be most effective for your company, consider your audience:
- Whose voices do they trust?
- What kinds of influencers do they currently follow?
- What type of content do they seek out?
2. Start looking for B2B influencers in your industry.
Once you have a general idea of the influencers you want to collaborate with, you can start your search.
On LinkedIn, you can join industry-related communities to find out who’s creating influential content. Plus, you can search for hashtags related to your brand to find others who are sharing ideas within your niche.
Your company’s following
Sift through your company’s followers. You’re likely to find influencers who are already following you—which makes for an easier introduction when you reach out, as they’re familiar with your brand.
3. Connect with the B2B influencers you want to partner with.
As you finalize your list of potential influencers, make sure they:
- Focus on the topics that matter to your brand—and do it well
- Have an audience that overlaps with your company’s target buyers
- See strong engagement from their following
And when you start contacting influencers, remember that they’re likely receiving a constant influx of messages on every channel.
So you might have to reach out to an influencer several times—and on several different platforms—before you hear a response.
Once you do make contact, it’s important to form a connection with them before you start discussing any campaigns or collaborations.
Finally, it’s important you define the work you want to do—and how you’re going to pitch it.
So that when it comes time to request an influencer to collaborate, you can be as persuasive as possible and close the deal.