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The Rise of Influence in B2B: 10 Timeless Examples of B2B Influencer Marketing
By Lee Odden From AI Overviews on Google to many of the business applications we use every day, AI is changing how business information is discovered, consumed and acted on in ways that few could have imagined just a few years ago.
With the rise of AI tools and content, B2B marketers face an interesting paradox: trust is harder to earn, but more important than ever. Buyers are tuning out generic brand and AI-generated content and tuning in to the voices they trust, that speak their language, share their challenges, and tell stories they can relate to.
This is where influencer marketing is playing an increasingly important role for B2B companies to humanize the brand by working with influencers, to inspire creativity, and drive more meaningful vs. mechanical engagement. With engagement comes connection and the trust needed to take action.
So what does an action-inspiring B2B marketing influencer campaign look like? From Lenovo’s late-night tech talk show to Sprinklr’s “Socialverse” masterclass and LinkedIn’s #MyMarketingStory initiative, each of these programs leaned into storytelling vs. selling. These campaigns also share a simple truth: influence in B2B is about connection. It’s also about making complex ideas relatable and human. And when done right, influencer marketing for B2B can win the hearts and minds of your customers as well as drive business results.
Lenovo – Late Night I.T. – After-Hours Tech Talk Show
Approach: Lenovo created Late Night I.T., a first-of-its-kind, after-hours “tech talk show” web series hosted by futurist and comedian Baratunde Thurston. The show featured 8 episodes with tech industry leaders as guests that turned complex IT topics into entertaining, easily understood conversations. Lenovo promoted the series across paid, owned, and earned social channels to engage IT decision-makers in a fresh, humorous way.
Results: The campaign outperformed benchmarks significantly, generating 300 million impressions (70% above industry norm) and 72 million video views (11× the benchmark). It also lifted brand consideration by 7 points and attracted interest from “thousands of large enterprises.” The series became so popular that a major TV network picked it up for a summer broadcast.
Sprinklr – “Across the Socialverse” Influencer Masterclass
Approach: Customer experience platform Sprinklr teamed with TopRank Marketing to launch “Across the Socialverse,” a documentary-style masterclass event hosted by respected social media thought leaders. Influencers like Ann Handley, Jay Baer, Mari Smith and senior executives from Sprinklr were featured in live and video sessions demonstrating Sprinklr’s new AI-integrated Social Self-Serve product. The fully integrated campaign included a virtual event on Social Media Day, influencer-led video content, blogs, email, and extensive social amplification by the influencers, Sprinklr, and even partner organizations.
Results: The Socialverse campaign was a “resounding success” globally – it attracted over 5,000 registrations from B2B marketers across North America, EMEA, APAC and ME regions. Promotion by the influencers (organic and paid social posts) led to 23.4 million in reach and nearly 100,000 engagements, far exceeding benchmarks. The campaign also generated a strong pipeline of qualified leads (contributing to new revenue) and was internally hailed as Sprinklr’s “Campaign of the Year.”
LinkedIn – #MyMarketingStory Social Campaign
Approach: To humanize …read more
Source:: Top Rank Blog
