For technical B2B products, the influencer's role is not to be a salesperson or demo the product. Their value lies in building credibility and top-of-funnel interest with their trusted audience. The company is then responsible for nurturing those leads with product-specific details.

Instead of relying on generic databases, the most effective way to find relevant B2B influencers is to go to the source. Ask your existing customers which newsletters they read, podcasts they listen to, and experts they follow to build a highly targeted list of potential partners.

The traditional B2B marketing mix of SEO, paid search, and content is no longer sufficient. Modern growth relies on activating word-of-mouth through a superior product, leveraging founder social presence for authenticity, and investing heavily in the creator economy (especially YouTube) to reach engaged B2B audiences.

To ensure authenticity in B2B influencer partnerships, make regular product usage mandatory. If a potential partner isn't willing to use the product (even for free), they are likely just trading their audience for a fee. This litmus test filters for genuine advocates who will champion the product in private circles, where true influence happens.

Structure a 90-day influencer pilot program with distinct phases. Month one focuses on setup and learning, month two on activation and monitoring, and month three on analysis and adjustment. This methodical approach allows for iteration and proves value before committing to long-term partnerships.

Forcing brand messaging on an influencer leads to inauthentic content that fails to resonate. A better approach is to educate them on your product and collaborate on an angle that aligns with their established voice and topics. Authenticity drives distribution and engagement, making the partnership more effective than a boilerplate promotion.

Influencers aren't a monolith. Choose partners based on specific goals by bucketing them into four types: "Practitioner Experts" for deep niche authority, "Cultural Amplifiers" for broad trust, "Community Connectors" for targeted reach, and "Attention Drivers" for top-of-funnel awareness.

Over the last decade, many B2B media brands have disappeared, leaving a trust gap between buyers and sellers. B2B influencers are effectively filling this void. They act as the new intermediaries, providing the validation and proof points that buyers previously sought from industry publications.

Digitas CEO Amy Lanzi avoids the term "influencer" because it implies a transactional ad buy that audiences reject. Instead, she advocates treating "creators" as a "brand's best friend." They should be integrated into the marketing org to co-create authentically and use their community to feed the product development pipeline.