Believe the hype: Influencer marketing is mainstream in B2B

There’s been a lot of hype about the potential of influencer marketing in B2B, not least from LinkedIn, who have productised this via their platform, but also from the likes of Ogilvy and others. But hype doesn’t always equal reality. Except in this case, it does.

Following the excellent discussion that I had with Katy Howell of IF and Kevin Sutherland of Volume Agency on this very topic, I wanted to see what the data from the hundreds of entries into the B2B Marketing Awards 2024 showed when uploaded into our AI analysis tool. And I was frankly staggered by the results.

The findings reveal that influencer marketing has become a significant component in B2B marketing strategies, with 51.33% of campaign entries incorporating some form of influencer marketing. Key insights include:

Influencer marketing is most prevalent in the following categories: thought leadership programs, content marketing campaigns, and brand initiatives.
Industry experts and executives are the most commonly utilized influencer types
Content creation and social promotion are the dominant collaboration approaches
Budget allocation for influencer activities ranges from 3.1% to 53% of total campaign spend – a wide variation with demonstrates inconsistency in commitment.
Measurable ROI includes both engagement metrics and direct business outcomes, with some campaigns reporting specific revenue attribution.

Methodology

This analysis examined hundreds of entries across the 23 campaign categories in the B2B Marketing Awards 2024, which excludes categories related to agencies or marketers of the year. Entries were analyzed for mentions of influencer marketing using specific keywords related to influencers, ambassadors, thought leaders, key opinion leaders, and subject matter experts.

The analysis focused on:

Identifying the prevalence of influencer marketing across different campaign categories
Analyzing the types of influencers used in B2B marketing campaigns
Examining how brands collaborated with influencers
Assessing budget allocation for influencer activities
Evaluating measurement approaches and reported results

Prevalence of influencer marketing

Of the campaign entries analyzed, 51.33% incorporated influencer marketing in some form. This significant percentage indicates that influencer marketing has become a mainstream strategy in the B2B marketing landscape, rather than a niche tactic.

Distribution across categories

The prevalence of influencer marketing varied significantly across different campaign categories:

Category % of category entries

Best thought leadership programme 88%

Best use of content 77%

Best brand initiative 71%

Best use of social media/influencer marketing 64%

Best omnichannel programme 65%

Best use of creative 63%

Best ABM campaign 58%

Best use of live events 56%

Best public relations campaign 53%

Best lead generation campaign 50%

This distribution demonstrates that influencer marketing is most heavily utilized in campaigns focused on thought leadership and content, where industry expertise and credibility are particularly valuable. Even in categories not traditionally associated with influencer marketing, such as omnichannel programs and creative campaigns, influencer integration was prominent.

Types of influencers utilized

The analysis revealed distinct patterns in the types of influencers leveraged across B2B marketing campaigns:

1. Industry experts and thought leaders

Industry experts were the most commonly utilized influencer type, appearing in 70.1% of influencer-focused campaigns. These individuals typically have established credibility through industry experience, published works, speaking engagements, or technical expertise.

Example: In the "Take on Tomorrow" podcast by PwC, the campaign leveraged recognized industry experts across various sectors to discuss future business challenges, establishing credibility through association with these authoritative voices.

2. Executives and leadership figures

Executive influencers were featured in 82.2% of influencer-focused campaigns, making them the second most common influencer type. This category includes CEOs, founders, and other C-suite executives who bring organizational authority and industry clout.

Example: The "EY.ai Transformation Experience" at MWC Barcelona 2024 featured prominent executives from major accounts, including the CEO of Aramco Digital as a keynote speaker, to highlight EY's leadership in AI-powered business transformation.

3. Customer advocates

Customer advocates appeared in 89.7% of influencer-focused campaigns. These influencers provide authentic testimonials and use-cases that resonate particularly well in the B2B context where peer recommendations carry significant weight.

Example: The "6sense 2023 Inspire UK" event sourced speakers primarily from their customer base, leveraging their real-world experiences and success stories to influence potential clients.

4. Employee ambassadors

Employee ambassadors were utilized in 50.6% of influencer-focused campaigns. These internal influencers help humanize B2B brands and provide technical expertise in specialized fields.

Example: Several campaigns, particularly in the technology sector, featured internal subject matter experts delivering thought leadership content that demonstrated company expertise while building personal brands.

5. Social media influencers

Traditional social media influencers were rarely used, appearing in only 2.3% of influencer-focused campaigns. This reflects the specialized nature of B2B marketing, where technical expertise typically outweighs general audience reach.

Example: The "Making dog poo splat across the headlines" campaign by Cirkle for Vetoquinol utilized farming influencers on Instagram and TikTok, including @RedShepherdess and @Seanthesheepman, to reach younger pet owners with messages about tapeworm treatment.

6. Micro-Influencers

Micro-influencers appeared in only 0.6% of influencer-focused campaigns, suggesting limited application in the B2B space during this award period.

Collaboration approaches

The analysis identified several distinct approaches to collaborating with influencers:

Content creation (95.4% of influencer campaigns)

Content co-creation was the most common collaboration approach, with influencers contributing to:

Thought leadership articles and whitepapers
Video content and interviews
Podcast episodes
Research reports and industry analyses

Example: SAP Concur's influencer program worked with six influencers across three key sectors (finance, HR & employee experience, and travel) to create content in various formats including LinkedIn articles, videos, webinar participation, and email marketing campaigns.

Social promotion (95.4% of influencer campaigns)

Social promotion leveraged influencers' networks to amplify campaign messaging through:

LinkedIn posts and articles
Twitter/X discussions
Video sharing
Email newsletters to subscriber bases

Example: Honeywell's retail technology campaign with Steve Dennis and Miya Knights used the influencers' personal social channels to extend reach and credibility, achieving an average LinkedIn CTR of 1.1% and average engagement rate of 1.31%.

Speaking engagements (75.3% of influencer campaigns)

Event-based collaborations included:

Keynote speeches
Panel discussions
Webinar presentations
Workshop facilitation

Example: In the "EY CXO Forum" at MWC Barcelona 2024, industry thought leaders delivered keynotes and participated in panel discussions, generating interactive discussions on emerging technologies.

Co-branding (35.6% of influencer campaigns)

Co-branding partnerships included:

Jointly branded research reports
Collaborative content series
Shared audience initiatives

Example: The "The Future of Luxury Retail" campaign produced a video series for $560k, partnering with industry leaders to create co-branded thought leadership content.

Advisory roles (42.5% of influencer campaigns)

Advisory collaborations involved:

Expert input on product development
Consultation on industry trends
Strategic guidance on campaign messaging

Example: The "The Sustainable CTO" campaign established an Advisory Board LinkedIn group for ongoing expert engagement, demonstrating a long-term approach to influencer relationships.

Budget allocation

The analysis of budget information revealed varied approaches to influencer marketing investment:

Overall budget allocation patterns

Based on the campaigns that disclosed budget details, influencer marketing typically accounted for:

15-25% of total campaign spend when used as a primary channel
5-10% of total campaign spend when used as a secondary channel

Specific campaign examples

SAP Concur Influencer Program Influencer costs: 53% of total budget ROI: 90 leads generated, with 5 deals closing
Honeywell Retail Technology Campaign Influencer fees: 6.5% of total budget Results: Target of marketing-influenced pipeline exceeded by 32.8%
Travelport ‘7 Wonders Challenge’ Influencer costs: 3.1% of total budget Results: 6x increase in leads, 42% increase in platform adoption.

These examples demonstrate significant variation in budget allocation, with specialized B2B campaigns often investing a higher percentage in industry expert influencers compared to mainstream B2C campaigns.

Key Budget Considerations

The analysis revealed several factors that impacted budget allocation:

Influencer Type and Reach: Industry experts and executives typically commanded higher fees Specialized technical experts often required specific compensation structures Long-term partnerships generally provided better value than one-off engagements
Content Production Requirements: High-quality video content required significant additional production budgets Co-created research reports included data gathering and analysis costs Webinar and event participation included supplementary technical expenses
Campaign Integration Costs: Measurement and analytics infrastructure Content amplification across multiple channels Ongoing relationship management

Measurement and ROI

The analysis identified varied approaches to measuring influencer marketing effectiveness and ROI:

Engagement metrics

Most campaigns (95.4% of influencer campaigns) tracked standard engagement metrics including:

Impressions and reach
Social media engagement (likes, comments, shares)
Content views and consumption metrics
Click-through rates

Example: SAP Concur's influencer program reported 107,185 impressions, 3,644 total engagements, and 21,980 video/article views.

2. Lead generation and pipeline impact

A significant number of campaigns (73.6% of influencer campaigns) measured more concrete business outcomes:

Lead generation metrics
Pipeline influence
Sales acceleration
Direct revenue attribution

Example: Honeywell's campaign generated exceeded pipeline by 32.8% and marketing-influenced revenue by 80%.

3. Brand awareness and perception

Brand-oriented metrics were tracked in 64.4% of influencer campaigns

Share of voice improvements
Message penetration
Audience sentiment shifts
Brand perception changes

Example: The "SHOCKED" campaign measured brand awareness uplift as a core metric, demonstrating the campaign's impact on market perception.

4. Conversion Metrics

Direct conversion metrics were reported in 50% of influencer campaigns:

Content downloads
Form completions
Demo requests
Event registrations

Example: SAP Concur's influencer-driven email campaign generated 90 visitors completing a form to download gated content.

5. Revenue attribution

The most advanced measurement approaches included direct revenue attribution, reported in 23.6% of influencer campaigns:

Closed deals attributed to influencer touchpoints
Revenue directly linked to influencer-generated leads
ROI calculations based on revenue vs. influencer spend

Example: SAP Concur reported that 5 deals closed from their influencer-generated leads.

Conclusions and further thoughts

This analysis demonstrates that influencer marketing has become a mainstream strategy in B2B marketing, with more than half of all campaign entries incorporating some form of influencer collaboration. The most successful campaigns strategically integrated industry experts, executives, and customer advocates into broader marketing initiatives, with a focus on content creation, social promotion, and speaking engagements.

While budget allocations varied significantly—from as little as 3% to more than 50% of total campaign spend—the campaigns that demonstrated the clearest ROI shared several characteristics: strategic influencer selection based on audience alignment, seamless integration with other marketing tactics, and development of long-term influencer relationships.

The prevalence of influencer marketing across diverse campaign categories suggests that this approach has transcended its origins as a niche tactic to become a versatile strategy applicable to a wide range of B2B marketing objectives. With over half of all campaign entries incorporating influencer strategies and some categories seeing adoption rates as high as 88%, B2B influencer marketing has clearly moved into the mainstream. As measurement capabilities continue to advance, the ability to demonstrate clear business impact from influencer marketing will likely drive further adoption and refinement of these strategies in the B2B space.