When most B2B marketers think of influencer marketing campaigns, they typically think of the types of well-known celebrity endorsers (and micro-celebrities) that the big B2C brands attempt to court. Therefore, they might assume that those same types of influencers simply don’t exist in the B2B world.
But you would be surprised. In fact, every industry and every sector has respected, credible sources that people turn to for insights and information on a regular basis. Some of them started off as industry bloggers, and now have extended their reach to social media. Others host their own podcasts, or their own YouTube video shows. Often, they turn up as guest speakers at events, or as hosts of different industry conferences.
Here are just a few of the ways that you can tap into their networks and social reach to boost your sales leads.
Idea #1: Feature them on your own social media accounts
You might start off just re-tweeting their comments on Twitter, and end up asking them to answer questions during a live Twitter chat. Or, you might cross-promote content on your Facebook account. In some cases – such as with Snapchat and Instagram – brands have even asked top influencers to take over their accounts for a weekend, such as during a top industry event. In these social media “takeovers,” the influencer posts photos and updates on behalf of the brand.
Idea #2: Get them to write a guest blog
Guest-blogging is still a popular way to feature a “name brand” on your corporate blog. Even if this guest blogger does not specifically mention your products or services, they are essentially vouching for your products and services every time they appear on your blog. The best part about getting influencers to contribute a guest blog is that they will often use their own social media accounts to promote the blog post – so not only are you getting great content from them, you are also getting access to their promotional power.
Idea #3: Ask them to generate content for e-books and whitepapers
One easy way to leverage these influencers is simply to package up some of their quotes, insights and content for an e-book, whitepaper or case study. In a whitepaper, for example, you can use “pull quotes” to highlight an important point. Or, in an e-book, the influencer might contribute a foreword or introduction to the book, helping to set up the overall context.
Idea #4: Host live video chats or hangouts
Given the popularity of video today as an engagement tool, getting top industry influencers to participate in a live video hangout is one way to get several top thought leaders together at the same time. If you are actually using a tool like Google Hangouts, you can then post this video to YouTube afterwards, making it an evergreen source of content.
Using each of these tactics, you can build or deepen your relationship with top influencers. In a best-case scenario, they will be able to use their credibility and reach to help you build awareness for your brand and boost the number of sales leads that you are generating.
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.