How and why are professionals becoming b2b ‘influencers’?

Some people still think influencer marketing can’t really work for b2b because ‘most people are employed’ or ‘true thought leaders’ don’t want to be influencers. We don’t see this as truth, but understand the curiosity and questions coming from marketers.
So how does one become a business ‘influencer’? And why would they want to partner with brands?

Here’s the most common archetypes we’ve seen surface from b2b creators after nearly 2 years of conversations:

They have proven success in their industry and have been on the conference and/or speaking circuit for over a decade. During covid, they grew their digital footprint. Well established thought leaders may already have a blog for when blogs were the only direct outlet available, as these people pre-date social media. They now have a large or very engaged LinkedIn following, and from that their blog may have turned into a newsletter. Maybe they guest write for trade press or bigger publishers (Forbes, Business Insider, etc.) and are open to working with brands more directly on think pieces or content. As the space evolves, and paywalls from premium publishers block more professionals out, they know they can and should meet readers where they are: on social media.

These people are industry-specific but ‘grew up’ inside a b2b brand’s marketing or sales team before branching out on their own. They not only accurately report on and analyse the industry they have experience working in, but they also understand great content. How to write it, what makes things engaging, and how to build communities organically. Again, some might write newsletters now with huge subscriber numbers, and have built out a small team that helps them do it. Or they started a podcast and have built that up over time, focusing on their passion – not necessarily getting sponsorships. When an interesting brand partner wants to collaborate, they are open to it because they are social natives who understand how marketing works.

They work or have worked at well known orgs and have grew their platform by sharing their career journey at that company. People started following these individuals because they want to know what it’s like to work at household names like Google. They often share useful insights and success stories about what it’s like to be a developer, or a product manager, or a data scientist. Maybe they’ve built a course out on a Youtube channel about how to land a job at a big company similar to theirs. They also still share a lot of product, people and culture-centred posts about their employer and may host their company’s podcast, too. If they are still employed, it’s a win-win for everyone because most of these creators find that balance between building their personal brand and strengthening their companies’. Partnerships may be a bit more restricted with these individuals, but not if the brand partner is complementary to the employer.