One of the most clear takeaways from our research for the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report was that using an always-on strategy is a core success factor in B2B influencer marketing. A stunning 99% of marketers who use this approach rate their influencer program as effective.
Naturally, this raises a question: What does it mean for your B2B influencer program to be “always on”? How, specifically, can marketers incorporate the traits of always-on influencer marketing that have helped top performers differentiate themselves?
Read on to learn more about what always-on influence is and how to leverage it.
What is always-on influencer marketing?
In the Influencer Marketing Report, we define always-on influencer marketing as “an integrated, continual strategy where influencer content is an essential part of your overall marketing strategy. In this approach, brands typically maintain long-term relationships
with the same influencers, producing content beyond just individual campaigns.”
Always-on influencer marketing is about applying a big-picture view to your program, and giving its various elements the opportunity to grow cohesively.
Benefits of always-on influencer marketing:
- Stronger influencer relationships. Trust and rapport are fortified with influencers through repeated engagements with your brand, creating quality experiences for both parties while also progressively leading to better content and genuine advocacy.
- Increased brand trust and credibility. Working with the same influencers over time, as opposed to a one-off engagement, makes the partnership seem less transactional and more authentic to your audience, reinforcing the credibility factor.
- Powerful community-building. The consistency and familiarity developed through ongoing brand/influencer partnerships can help cultivate an audience of loyal followers and collaborators, while also encouraging peer-to-peer conversations.
- Cost efficiency. While building a robust always-on influencer program requires groundwork and investment up-front, these efforts pay long-term dividends. Brands can channel momentum from one campaign to the next and reduce future influencer research, identification and outreach costs by working with the same partners.
- Competitive advantage. By continually working with respected voices in your industry, you distinguish your brand and its reputation from other companies that don’t.
3 keys to an always-on influencer marketing strategy
We’ll keep it simple and straightforward. There are three fundamental elements that make always-on influence effective: long-term relationship building, deep integration with your broader strategy, and a discipline around continuous optimization. Let’s explore how you can put these into practice.
1. Long-term relationship building
B2B sales cycles are long, and at any given time, most of your audience isn’t even actively in the market for what you’re selling. This speaks to the immense value of a strategic focus on brand-building in B2B marketing; always-on approaches are founded on similar principles.
By building long-term relationships with influencer partners, you are not only creating a salient connection in the minds of your audience — reinforced through consistency and continuity — but the influencer’s knowledge of your brand, your people and your solutions improves. This leads to more authentic and impactful content and interactions.
Here are some B2B influencer relationship-building tips:
- Identify the right partners. Finding well-aligned matches from the start will greatly increase the odds of a successful long-term relationship.
- Involve them early and often. Help them feel like an integral part of the work you’re doing by welcoming their input and ideas to shape campaigns.
- Know your influencers. What are their needs, preferences, and unique styles? Showing that you understand them as professionals and individuals builds trust.
- Focus on providing value to the influencers. Whether it’s compensation, audience expansion, exclusive experiences, or all that and more, make sure influencers are seeing the value of this ongoing partnership.
- Measure and communicate results. Share insights to help influencers see how their contributions are benefiting the brand, and that it’s appreciated.
“Engage influencers regularly, even outside of campaigns, to create trust and alignment with brand values. This enables influencers to become genuine brand advocates.” – Ryan Bares, Global Social Influence Manager at IBM, in the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report
2. Integration across the broader marketing strategy
A leading 49% of respondents in the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report named “integration with a greater mix of marketing tactics” as the most important emerging trend in B2B influencer marketing. Indeed, this is a very exciting frontier.
That’s because influencers can make other strategic cornerstones like SEO and social media marketing so much more effective. The verifiable experience, credibility and expertise of influencers are sought by audiences and – for that reason – prioritized by search engines and social algorithms alike (even more so in the age of generative AI).
3. Ongoing optimization and adaptation
The biggest pitfall we continually see in B2B influencer marketing is that brands give up before they have a chance to see real results. It’s no surprise that, according to the Influencer Marketing Report, companies with the most mature programs also report the most success and the most budget growth. They’ve had time to learn, refine, and realize the long-term impact of influencer marketing over time, which makes the decision to reinvest easy.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t valuable metrics and indicators to track from the earliest stages of your program. But B2B marketing is a methodical pursuit and so is the process of growing influence.
Is your brand’s influence always on?
Building long-term relationships with B2B influencers isn’t just a strategy – it’s a cornerstone for driving authentic engagement, trust, and sustained success in today’s competitive market. By investing in meaningful partnerships, prioritizing mutual value, and staying agile to their evolving needs, your brand can turn influencers into true advocates who champion your message for the long haul.
To discover even more actionable insights and trends shaping the future of B2B influencer marketing, don’t miss the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report. Packed with expert analysis, real-world case studies, and data-driven strategies, it’s your ultimate guide to staying ahead in the influencer marketing landscape.
