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What LinkedIn’s New Influence Report Tells Us About Building Trust in B2B Marketing
By Nick Nelson LinkedIn just released its new 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark: The Influence Report (pdf) featuring in-depth analysis from authors Mimi Turner and Jann Schwarz.
It’s another great piece of original research from our friends and clients at LinkedIn, and within the report there are plenty of revealing insights for B2B marketers who want to better understand:
What buyers really care about
How brand trust is built in meaningful ways
Why B2B influencers are pivotal in shaping perceptions
The full report is very much worth diving into, but here we’ll unpack a few of the findings we found most striking, while adding context via our own B2B marketing agency perspective and data.
The big takeaway: “There’s no such thing as being trusted in secret”
This is the primary message that the report aims to get across. Trust-building doesn’t happen on its own, and it’s not merely a tactic but rather a philosophy that should guide marketing strategies throughout the funnel.
LinkedIn’s benchmark data shows that nearly 94% of B2B marketers believe building trust is the most important factor for achieving success as a brand. That’s not surprising to us – we’ve been writing about this vital marketing objective for many years — and it’s probably not surprising to you, but the mechanics of influence and trust are changing alongside the new digital landscape.
Here’s where Turner and Schwarz advise setting your strategic gaze.
Set up your strategy to showcase social validation
According to the report, “marketers believe that social validation from customers and peers has more influence on whether brands are trusted than product attributes, price competitiveness or brand awareness.”
Again: no big surprise here. It only makes sense that customers would lend more credibility to what actual customers and users are saying versus what a company says about itself. And yet, so many brands are overwhelmingly focused on talking about themselves.
Having said that, attaining customer testimonials, case studies and endorsements is not always easy. It can be a big ask. But remember: if you’re doing a good job, your satisfied customers will want you to stay in business and be successful. They will be happy to share their experience with your brand. As uor CEO Lee Odden has said for many years, “The best investment you can make in marketing is the quality and experience of your “product”. So don’t be afraid to broach the conversation in an honest way and explore what’s possible.
One approach we recommend in situations like these is creating proof content that treats your customer as the hero, as much as (or more so than) your own brand. Think about case studies as dual marketing assets that showcase the capabilities of both your company and the teams you helped overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. This not only reduces friction when it comes to getting approvals on publishing the content, but can also compel customers to share it out in their networks more enthusiastically.
In tandem with working to secure and showcase this social validation content from customers, you can also work to establish relationships with well-known and respected voices …read more
Source:: Top Rank Blog
