How to Use Influencer Marketing in Consulting

I’ve been working with B2B influencers for over 15 years, and here’s one of the most overlooked truths I’ve seen across industries, budgets, and brand sizes: 🚫 B2B influencer marketing fails when it’s treated like B2C hype marketing. It’s not about going viral. It’s not about follower counts. And it’s definitely not about turning over your authority to third parties as adverts. It’s about building trust with precision with the right people, at the right stages of your buyers' journey, so they hear your message. Here are the three filters I use to evaluate whether a brand is truly ready to succeed with influencer marketing: 1️⃣ Is your audience actively seeking credible third-party insight? If your buying market isn’t already asking questions, evaluating vendors, or seeking education from peers, then influencers don’t have fertile ground to work in. You can’t inject influence into a disengaged audience. You earn influence by helping buyers make sense of a noisy landscape. It's a matter of sending signals rather than creating more noise. If that dynamic isn’t already there, you have a messaging or market problem, not a campaign problem. 2️⃣ Are you choosing influence over reach? Too many brands confuse popularity with impact. That's not to say that reach doesn't help. But in B2B, the most valuable creators aren’t always the loudest, they’re the ones your buyers already trust. Think niche LinkedIn voices, podcast hosts, independent analysts, and community leaders, not always "creators" in the traditional, consumer sense, but powerful nonetheless. If your influencers aren’t known in the Slack channels, DMs, and dark channels where decisions get made… they’re not influencing much. It's in those private spaces where much of the influence is present. 3️⃣ What's your plan beyond getting content published? The best B2B influencer strategies don’t end with a few pieces of content. They are really just getting started with that. Think beyond content. Strategies with impact build connective tissue. Stuff like co-created webinars, interviews on podcasts, co-created ebooks, customer intros, event panels, and ongoing discussions. You’re not buying exposure. You’re building added credibility with presence and consistency. And you're building relationships with select opinion leaders. B2B influencer marketing isn’t a content hack (yes, an overused term, I agree). It’s a strategic asset to your marketing portfolio when it’s done right.

Most B2B companies aren’t even testing influencer marketing. Here’s how we hit 700k+ monthly impressions and $30 CPM with ours. Here’s how we built Storylane's influencer program from the ground up: 1/ Start with your customers The best influencers are the ones who already love your product. They know your brand, they’re authentic, and they’re trusted. Don’t overcomplicate it. Focus on customers who have a decent LinkedIn following and are active on the platform. Reach out, make it easy for them to share their experience, and set clear expectations. How to find them? Check out Limelight - you can find LinkedIn influencers there and filter them out from the company they work at. 2/ Engagement > Followers Forget about big numbers. Micro-influencers (5k-50k followers) often outperform the big names. Why? Because their audience is more engaged. When you're targeting influencers, look for people who spark conversation and drive action, not just those with the largest following. 3/ Set your goals and budget Know exactly what you’re aiming for — brand awareness, lead generation, or conversions? Then, set a realistic budget. We started with $250 to $2,000 per influencer, depending on their reach and engagement. The key is to test a few influencers first, see what works, and scale from there. 4/ Focus on relationships, not transactions   Influencer marketing is about building partnerships, not paying for posts. We always start with a 3-month pilot with each influencer to see how well they fit with our brand and if the relationship could be sustained. This gave us time to see if they were genuinely engaged, and it also gave them time to create content that felt real. 5/ Track what matters Impressions are fine, but they don’t tell you much. Focus on what moves the needle: CPM (cost per thousand impressions), brand searches, and conversions. We use Google Search Console to track a surge in brand searches after influencer posts. We also have a “How did you hear about us?” form in our demo sign-ups that tracks when an influencer’s content directly contributes to conversions. 6/ The 80/20 Rule. 3 months of your most viral influencer content will drive more results than the rest of the year combined. But to get those 3 viral months, you need to grind through the other slow 9 months. Influencer marketing isn’t a quick win. It’s a long-term play, and if you stick with it, you’ll start seeing the payoff. Experiment, track what works, and double down on your top performers. Influencer marketing isn’t just for B2C anymore — it's working great in B2B. Start small, be patient, and focus on authentic relationships. If you’re ready to dive in, I shared more about how we built our influencer program at Storylane on the RevRoom podcast recently. Link in comments. Thanks for inviting me to your podcast Rachel Bryant (and thanks for making the introduction Vin Matano 🐝).

the biggest mistake B2B companies make with influencer marketing is not approaching how they work with a creator based on what type of content that person makes and what type of insights their audience follows them for instead, they treat the term "influencer" as a catch-all word where everyone gets the same brief and creative ask, regardless of what content they enjoy making, the nature of content their followers expect from them, and what the type of people that make up their audience here's how i approach influencer marketing instead: i break our influencers down into three categories based on the nature of content they create - industry leaders - subject matter experts - content creators this isn't about the creator, it's about the type of content they create think of it this way: - if you're considering working with an influencer, if what they usually share is unique POVs, intriguing stuff that makes you think, I'd put them in the industry leader category and have them create thought leadership content for us around our narrative - if they usually share more tactical content, breakdowns, teach you how to do things through actionable steps, etc., I'd put them in the SME category and have them create technical content for us - if what they usually share is entertaining video content, I'd put them in the content creator category and have them create memorable content around our brand, narrative, and/or product understanding which category the person you're working with on your campaign falls under helps you determine: - which segment of your TAM they can speak to - the messaging they can help you communicate - whether you need them to create content on the bigger picture (narrative), provide a tactical breakdown (product), or build mental associations through conceptual content (brand) so, for example, let's say you're launching a new feature: - an industry leader could talk about the overall process or scenario the feature is impacting or optimizing - an SME could break down how the feature works (functionality) and how they used that feature to accomplish something (capabilities) - a content creator could create a video skit poking fun at the pain points the feature is addressing having a balance of all 3 categories of creators simultaneously push out this variety of content is better than having a ton of people post a variation of the same thing, IMO i appreciate Typeform letting me share my unfiltered thoughts on influencer marketing as a part of their #GetReal survey I go into more detail on this topic in the video below, and you can use the following link to take the survey yourself: https://lnkd.in/gHQ-d2hf #sponsored #TypeformPartner #influencermarketing

Here is how I would build my influencer strategy to hit pipeline goals if I were a GTM leader. There are some great posts on the WHY, but let's talk about the HOW to make this a new GTM channel. 1. I would identify 1-3 Subject Matter Experts to be the face of my content. How you find SMEs is to start asking people in your space who they follow and respect. These can be your customers, internal leaders and external experts. The biggest mistake brands will make in the next 6-12 months is not identifying SMEs who can speak to their brand values and products. If you have people talking about your brand who don't align with your values and product, it won't be a good look in the long term. Find 1-3 people you find very credible and assign them to specific products or roles. For example, with Cognism I am integrated as their SME for sales. Gaetano Nino DiNardi 🇺🇦 does the marketing side. It's very specific, clear and the business gets way more value from this. Bonus points if you can create a program where they are rewarded for helping your customers. 2. Find the content delivery mechanisms that the SME is best at. This is the BIGGEST fail most people will have on this one. You will tell everyone they need to do a video when half the SMEs you have prefer to use something other than video. That's going to flop for your brand and flop for their audience. Identify which medium they can best deliver on and make sure they produce their content there. Multiple content avenues will hit multiple audiences which will lead to more inbound flow and awareness for the business. 3. Find ambassadors for specific product announcements. Now you might be like hold up, Morgan. You told us to get 1-3 SMEs, not 20-30 creators. Yes, SMEs for long-term partnerships and ambassadors for short-burst campaigns create some noise. Use many creators to announce a product update alongside your SMEs. This should create an amplification effect for your team. I think we need to start leaning more towards SMEs when we think about influencer marketing. It is a clear distinction we must start thinking about. What is your take on this? 

Think B2B influencer marketing is just a buzzword? It’s time to rethink how you connect with your audience. Here’s a key insight straight from my book B2B Influencer Marketing: Work With Creators to Generate Authentic and Effective Marketing (Page 37): "Don’t chase follower counts. Focus on creators who’ve built trust with their audience, no matter the size. Authentic, niche influencers often drive better results than big names because their communities are highly engaged and loyal." Why does this matter for B2B brands? Because influencer marketing isn’t just about reach; it’s about relevance. The days of throwing money at big-name influencers are over. Buyers are more skeptical than ever—they crave real connections and insights that feel personal and trustworthy. Here’s how to apply this: 1️⃣ Redefine ROI: Success isn’t just about impressions or clicks. It’s about the conversations sparked and the relationships built. Look for creators whose audiences engage meaningfully—not just scroll past. 2️⃣ Prioritize Alignment Over Popularity: When evaluating influencers, ask, “Do they genuinely understand my audience’s pain points? Can they authentically connect my solution to those problems?” An influencer with 5,000 engaged followers in your niche is far more valuable than one with 50,000 irrelevant ones. 3️⃣ Embrace Co-Creation: The best partnerships don’t treat influencers as mere distribution channels. They involve them as collaborators who can bring fresh ideas, perspectives, and authenticity to the table. Co-created content performs better because it reflects the influencer’s voice and the audience’s expectations. 4️⃣ Focus on Longevity: A single post won’t transform your pipeline. Long-term partnerships with influencers build trust and credibility over time, amplifying your brand’s authority in the process. Influencer marketing in B2B is still evolving, but brands that master this approach now will lead the way in redefining how businesses connect with decision-makers. Want to dive deeper into building real partnerships that drive results? My book covers everything from strategy to execution. Kogan Page Publishing is running a 30% off sale (ends today)—grab your copy from the link at top of my profile. Questions? Drop them below or DM me—I’d love to help you get started.