Relationships, Narratives, and Signals: A Guide to B2B Influencer Marketing for Tech Brands

Influencer marketing exploded in the B2C space, but the common formula doesn’t fit B2B technology companies. Widen’s, VP, Jake Athey, shows how B2B brands can create relationships, tap into narratives, and leave signals that make influencer marketing authentic and powerful 

Digital influencer marketing found a natural fit with consumer brands, which pay or incentivize social media heavyweights to post content. That same formula doesn’t work for B2B technology companies. An Instagram star won’t drive customers to buy a $30,000 platform by taking glitzy pictures with the user interface.

CONTENT THAT CONNECTS: WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING IS THE FUTURE OF GEN Z ENGAGEMENT

Gen Z is a business opportunity you can’t afford to miss. As 40% of the population commanding upwards of $40 billion in spending power, modern marketers need to build compelling strategies to engage with Gen Z.

Download

In my experience, B2B influencer marketing is about relationships, shared narratives, and signaling . We can explore these concepts with three questions:

1. What relationships shape decisions in your space?

For B2B technology companies, influencers come in three main varieties: experts, implementers, and users. Each one plays a role in the purchase journey.

Industry analysts are the best-known experts. Companies connect with analysts to conduct briefings and be considered for reports. These connections illuminate the trends in an industry and shape how buyers compare the players (that’s what ‘quadrants’ are all about). Experts define why a space matters and who belongs.

Implementers tend to be consultants or third parties contracted to vet, set up, and teach software systems . While they don’t force a system upon their clients, they have favorites. Consultants define the criteria for quality and decide how a software solution should be used. They have authority in that arena because they’ve seen how dozens of clients use each system.

Finally, the influential users are those who choose platforms, log in regularly, or administer the system. They define perceptions of the experience. Buyers trust them to comment on customer support, ease of use, value, and qualities that become apparent with time. They are the most relatable influencers because they share the buyer’s job titles, roles, and responsibilities. 

The goal is to build relationships with each of these parties. Beyond developing a high-quality product (a prerequisite), there is a lot you can do.

2. How do you support the influencers’ narratives?

When you work with experts, implementers, and users, you deal in narratives. Fundamentally, your product is 0s and 1s with a name. It becomes something more to B2B influencers when it connects to their stories about the industry and their work.

The narratives of analyst firms often become household terms. We can attribute the ubiquity of terms like “customer experience” and “intelligent content” to analysts that researched and promoted them. A more recent example is “atomic content,” the idea that creative content should be divided into the smallest parts (the atoms) so that it can be curated, repurposed, and personalized in novel ways.

The B2B company seeking influence establishes a connection to these narratives by talking about them in public forums – blogs, white papers, social media, conferences, and so on. The message to analysts is, “I hear your ideas and take them seriously – so much so, in fact, that it has become central to our product roadmap and marketing.”

Consultants have a narrative about what their clients need from a software system and how they’ll use it. As consultants, they must perform and show results, so your role as a software provider is to make them look good. The technical resources, educational material, and training modules that enable consultants to achieve the full potential of your product are critical.

For users, you are trying to create a ‘hero’s journey,’ the tale of a person who took a chance, overcame obstacles, and achieved something valuable for his or her organization. The users are the heroes; your product is a magic sword they picked up along the way.

While content plays a role in building relationship with experts and consultants, service is the key to turning customers into influencers (or advocates, as they’re often called). Users who feel supported in their experience are eager to serve as references and rate your company on software review sites. They feel a sense of community with your team members, not the product itself.

3. How do influencer relations change your signal to the market?

As you build these relationships with experts, implementers, and users, you create a series of signals. The influencers aren’t there to ‘push’ your product like they do in B2C marketing . As your prospects go on their journey to buy, they see signals that your platform is what they seek. It goes like this:

First, the buyer is researching solutions to a problem and stumbles upon a category of software. The experts explain what the category is, why it matters, the big trends in the space, and who the top players are. You’re listed there. As the buyer starts researching products – and searching buzzwords the analysts offered (e.g., atomic content) – your marketing content shows up. You meet expectations established by the expert.

Second, the buyer may consult with people who implement systems like yours. The consultant, who feels supported by your team and successful with the product, suggests your system. The buyer has now seen you in analyst reports, read some of your marketing content, and hears that a consultant prefers your product. The signal is strengthening.

Third, the buyer visits software review sites where people have shared their experiences with various software companies, including yours. They see the good and the bad, which is reassuring because people struggle to trust perfect reviews. If your flaws are minor, they create comfort. “I can live with that,” thinks the buyer, “given how overwhelmingly positive the majority of reviews are.” A high volume of reviews also instills confidence by showing that you’re well-known and tested.

The signals tell buyers that your software is recognized by experts, trusted by consultants, and valued by users. That is influencer marketing at its best.

The Role of Martech

I recommend this B2B influencer marketing approach to companies that sell relatively high-cost software in long sales cycles. Your existing martech systems likely support the relationships I described. My team uses CRM to record and segment influencers, marketing automation to distribute content, and digital asset management (our product) to manage the creative workflow, organize content, and measure how it performs.

I recommend building one-on-one relationships with B2B influencers. Personal emails, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations make all the differences. The common thread in these relationships is to make your influencers successful in their role. Influence is just a byproduct of doing the right thing for the people in your business community.