{"id":14038,"date":"2017-04-17T14:38:13","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T18:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/?p=14038"},"modified":"2017-04-17T14:54:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T18:54:28","slug":"monday-myth-influencers-for-b2b-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/monday-myth-influencers-for-b2b-brands\/","title":{"rendered":"B2B Monday Myth: Working With Influencers Is Irrelevant for B2B"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"influencers<\/a><\/h3>\n

The Myth: Only B2C Brands\u00a0Can\u00a0Benefit From Working With Influencers.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Truth:\u00a0Influencers May Play a Different Role, But Can Be Equally Valuable for B2B Brands.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When someone says “influencer,” perhaps\u00a0you the imagine a Kardashian promoting weight-loss tea on Instagram. This type of strategy surely can’t work for your B2B brand, can it? As it turns out, there are a number of strategies to help your business identify proper influencers (even if they aren’t Kardashians) and have them play a beneficial role in advocating for your company. Here’s a quick guide:<\/p>\n

What Are Influencers for B2B Brands? And Why Work With Them?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Let’s start out with a definition we can all agree on. An influencer is, simply put, a person who has the power to influence many people\u00a0via social or traditional media. This comprises everything from bloggers, vloggers, and Instagrammers, to industry analysts, thought leaders, and writers for trade publications.<\/p>\n

The relationship between influencer and brand is symbiotic. It’s easy to see why you’d want to\u00a0work with one: you have a product or service you want to market; influencers have a built-in audience. But influencers have their own brand they need to uphold \u2013 themselves. A large part of this image\u00a0relies upon fresh, relevant content that keeps their followers interested and informed. From simple product mentions to expert interviews, with the right strategy, your brand could be a source of reliable, non-advertorial content that influencers value. Or they may produce it themselves based on what they learn from you. It varies from influencer to influencer.<\/p>\n

Keep Your Niche In Mind.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Consider\u00a0working with micro-influencers, who may not be the most popular, but hold the most knowledge, expertise, and influence within an industry or particular vertical. These are individuals\u00a0who have probably gained their influence organically over time. They value their audiences enough that they want to provide them with good information.\u00a0And because of that, they are seen as trustworthy. Your company can\u00a0work with thought leaders, industry analysts, bloggers, or writers for trade publications. It’s important to note that these micro-influencers are authentic advocates. And while their audience may not be\u00a0huge<\/em>, you can bet it’s very interested in the niche<\/a>. So you’re getting quality over quantity.<\/p>\n

What Your Influencer Wants.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Not everyone is motivated by the same incentive.\u00a0Some will operate for as little as $50 and a gift card. Others get paid in the millions. And everything in between<\/a>.\u00a0This person has valuable industry insights. No matter what you offer to pay them, they will not promote a product or service they don’t believe in. After all, they have a reputation and industry cred that they’ve built up over the years.\u00a0The key is to let them know how you’ll contribute to that credibility and reputation in a positive way. What’s even more important is that you do your due diligence before partnering with someone.<\/p>\n

Think Long Term.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Remember that working with an influencer is about building a relationship, which takes time. This is not a one-time transaction. B2B brands\u00a0usually work with much more complex products, so your influencer needs to have a full understanding of your industry and your products before they begin advocating for you. Before you enter into a partnership, get to know the influencer as well as you can. Invest some time \u2013 it will be worth it. And above all, makes sure you communicate openly and authentically, every step of the way.<\/p>\n

There are a multitude of ways you can work with an influencer, \u00a0whether\u00a0you have them share\u00a0or collaborate on content, speak at\u00a0your event, or blog about your product. When you work with micro-influencers within your niche\u00a0and approach them with a long-term relationship in mind, you set your company up for success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Myth: Only B2C Brands\u00a0Can\u00a0Benefit From Working With Influencers. The Truth:\u00a0Influencers May Play a Different Role, But Can Be Equally Valuable for B2B Brands. When someone says “influencer,” perhaps\u00a0you the imagine a Kardashian promoting weight-loss tea on Instagram. This type of strategy surely can’t work for your B2B brand, can it? As it turns out, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507,188,169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b2b-monday-myth","category-public-relations","category-social-media-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14038"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14087,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14038\/revisions\/14087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}