Recently we published the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing report after surveying hundreds of B2B marketers about their experiences, best practices, tools, budgets and plans for the future.
In an environment where B2B marketing is decidedly digital and marketers are hard pressed to squeeze more productivity out of fewer resources, credible information about marketing best practices, operations and trends for the future are in high demand. Judging by the response we’ve had to The State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report so far, we’re definitely meeting a need.
There is both optimism and an unrealized opportunity with influencer marketing for B2B companies. For evidence, check out these stats from the report:
- 78% of B2B marketers believe prospects rely on advice from influencers
- 74% believe that Influencer Marketing improves customer and prospect experiences
- 63% agree that marketing would have better results if it included an Influencer Marketing program
- 60% of marketers who use always on Influencer Marketing programs are very successful vs. 5% who do periodic campaigns
And yet:
- Only 19% of B2B marketers are running ongoing influencer marketing programs
- Only half include a plan for influencer activation in their influencer marketing strategy
- Only 35% of marketers use software to identify potential influencers
- 60% say they don’t have the knowledge to execute or have the right skills in house to implement ongoing Influencer Marketing programs
Influencer Marketing is a significant opportunity for B2B Marketers to connect with trusted and credible experts that have the attention of audiences that are probably overwhelmed with information and ignoring most of the ads that do get to them. At the same time B2B brands that build relationships to co-create content with these industry voices can integrate influence with thought leadership to build the authority and influence of brand employees.
It is very satisfying to have spent the past 8 years focusing on such a niche aspect of B2B marketing to see it now start to grow in acceptance, adoption and maturity amongst some of the top B2B brands in the world. Where there were previously no positions outside of PR with “influencer” in the title, now it is much more common to find marketers with titles like, Head of Global Influencer Marketing, VP Influencer Marketing and Communications, or B2B Influencer Engagement Strategist.
Many B2B marketing professionals with these titles have earned hard won insights into what makes influencer marketing truly work for B2B, especially during a time when brand marketers are highly motivated to focus on strategies and tactics that will help them survive and thrive during the pandemic.
To help you connect with the collective wisdom of the B2B influencer marketing crowd, here are 20 B2B Influencer Marketing Professionals to follow (in no particular order):
Ursula Ringham @ursularingham
Head of Global Influencer Marketing at SAP
Rani Mani @ranimani0707
Head of Social Influencer Enablement at Adobe
Jen Holtvluwer @JenHoltvluwer
CMO at Spirion
Garnor Morantes /in/garnormorantes/
Group Marketing Manager at LinkedIn
Martin Hanna @martyhanna
VP, Analyst and Influencer Relations at Schneider Electric
Amisha Gandhi @AmishaGandhi
VP Influencer Marketing and Communications at SAP Ariba
Chris Purcell @chrispman01
Manager, Influencer Marketing at Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Janine Wegner @JanineWegner
Global Thought Leadership Program & Activation Manager at Dell
Marshall Kirkpatrick @marshallk
VP, Influencer Relations, Analyst Relations, and Competitive Intelligence at Sprinklr
Angela Lipscomb @AngelaLipscomb
Influencer Relations Manager at SAS
Srijana Angdembey @srijanaa
Director Social Media Marketing at Oracle
Ann Boyd @annb
VP Corporate Communications at Cherwell Software
Tom Treanor @RtMixMktg
Global Head of Marketing at Arm Treasure Data
Sarah Groves @sstoesser
Director, Communications, AT&T Business Marketing at AT&T Business
Alyssa Samuelson @alyssamuelson
Commercial Influencer Relations at Microsoft
Lucinda Henry @lucindarhenry1
B2B Influencer Engagement Strategist at Intel
Barbara French @bfr3nch
Sr Director, Content and Influencer Marketing at Juniper Networks
Paul Dobson @svengelsk
Sr. Director, Social and Influencer Marketing at Citrix
Meg Crawford @Postgrad
Sr. Influencer/Social Media Marketing Manager at Splunk
Brandi Boatner @ThinkBluePR
Social and Influencer Communications Lead Global Markets at IBM
Of course there are many B2B influencer marketing practitioners from the consulting and agency world that could be on a list like this, including some of my team at TopRank Marketing. Maybe we’ll publish such a list in the future, but for now this resource is focused on people working at B2B brands.
If you know of other B2B brand influencer marketing practitioners, who would you add to this list?
To tap into the collective wisdom of these and more B2B influencer marketing experts, be sure to check out the full report here.
*SAP, LinkedIn, SAP Ariba, Dell, Cherwell and Treasure Data are TopRank Marketing clients.
