The conventional wisdom in marketing circles is that Influencer Marketing is a new spin on celebrity endorsements and celebrity endorsements are nothing new in the business world. One of the earliest ever celebrity endorsements was created by the pottery company, Wedgwood in the United Kingdom. The founder, Josiah Wedgwood used royal endorsements as a marketing device to show value in the company and promote its products in the 1760s.

One of the inherent problems with standard celebrity endorsements is that often the celebrity’s star status can mean that the focus becomes the celebrity rather than the product they are being paid to promote.  A good example of this is Michael Jordan’s endorsement deal with Rayovac batteries.

Influencer Marketing

When brands form strategic partnerships with individuals who have lots of online followers to promote their products or services, this is called Influencer Marketing.

These influencers with large online followings represents an improvement on standard sponsorships or celebrity endorsements because the introduction of Social Media means that they can now connect directly with their followers.

The emergence of influencers with audiences of their own on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook has elevated them to similar potential earnings levels as ‘old school’ celebrities. Consider this, Kylie Jenner now earns $1.2 million per post on Instagram.

I know what you are thinking, this is all very interesting in a general sense but Influencer Marketing is for business to consumer audiences, isn’t it? Kylie Jenner isn’t going to help me sell a SaaS product to middle -aged business executives,  is she?

Micro Influencers

You are right. Kylie Jenner would not the most strategically sound choice in that scenario. First of all, you must identify your target audience and your objectives and then partner with a micro influencer who is relevant for your target audience. A micro influencer has a smaller online audience than an influencer but they are usually experts in their field and have a tight-knit community of followers who trust and respect them.

Micro influencers are accessible and their followers take their recommendations seriously and will act upon them. Consider individuals with 10 -20, 000 followers online rather than millions and assess their engagement levels on their websites and social channels. Micro influencers are perfect for B2B focused businesses and can dramatically increase your company and brand’s exposure, bringing new leads to your business.

Take Action

Have you considered using Micro-influencers for your B2B business? Is this a step that you will now consider after reading this post ? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, let me know if you would like my help.

If you’ve liked this post you will also like the following posts:

LinkedIn: Advice for B2B Businesses Playlist

How to Increase LinkedIn Company Page Followers

Why I Stopped Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn: Company Page Followers No Longer Viewable

How I Follow Up With LinkedIn Searchers

LinkedIn: How to Approach Leads the Right Way

Is Steemit Dead? 

How to use Telegram for New Business – Part 1

LinkedIn: Inside an Engagement Pod – Part 1.

LinkedIn Storytelling: How to Tell Stories on LinkedIn

My Most Viewed Post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn: Advice For B2B Businesses – Playlist

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt

Founder, Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

Follow Mike on Twitter 

Subscribe to

Follow us on LinkedIn

This is blog post number 574

References:

https://www.campaignindia.in/article/blog-raising-a-toast-to-250-years-of-celebrity-advertising/447282#:~:text=The%20first%20product%20that%20used,hi%2Dquality%20pottery%20and%20chinaware.

https://adage.com/article/news/mj-fails-give-rayovac-a-charge/15493

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49124484#:~:text=post%20on%20Instagram-,Kylie%20Jenner%20is%20paid%20around%20%241.2%20million%20(%C2%A3960%2C000)%20for,to%20scheduling%20tool%20Hopper%20HQ.

The post Is Influencer Marketing Relevant for B2B Audiences? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

It’s not a new concept and the Latin phrase ‘quid pro quo’ essentially conveys the same arrangement. So if it’s not new and the Romans knew about it why I am writing about it many thousands of years later?

Reciprocity has so much relevance in the new media age. While it would be wonderful to think that your company or brands will rise from anonymity in one relentless surge to a position of leadership and then market dominance all by itself the truth is that when you do reach that position you will have done so with the help and co-operation of your own network of partners and advocates.

Furthermore those companies that are not co-operative in this sense or are only ‘out for themselves’ are easily identifiable with just a little online research – shrewd business people steer clear from such businesses. Convinced? Below are five ways you can use reciprocity to help your business to grow.

5 ways to use reciprocity to grow your Business

1. Referral link exchange – You include a link to your new partners website on your site and they do the same.

2. Database share – If you and your partner share the same target audience you allow them to speak to your audience and they allow you to the same.

3. Joint exhibition stand – Exhibition stands are generally not cheap and if you can share stand and costs with a partner it will be easier to get a return on your investment.

4. Combined product packages – It’s essential that these can deliver more value to your customers than you can do on your own, for example – a massage therapist partners with a beauty therapist to deliver ‘wellness & beauty days’ for an all in price.

5. Content inclusions – You and your partner can appear on each others You Tube Channel and feature in each others blog posts and this will broaden the marketing footprint for both partners.

If you are not doing so already put reciprocity to work in your business today and remember that the basis of any partnership can change. When Run DMC initially approached Adidas in the 1980s they basically wanted free products – fast forward to years later when Adidas was engaged in a marketing war with Nike and Reebok – the credibility of their long association with Run DMC held them in good stead. The track, ‘My Adidas’ by Run DMC certainly helped Adidas reach a key demographic but then along came Michael Jordan and literally changed the game.

Food for thought? If you would like our help building reciprocity into your business model or with any other aspect of your marketing requirements please give us a call on+44 845 2264247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com. We are a leading Content Marketing agency in London .

We hope you find this information useful.

Kind regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post Entrepreneurs – Do you believe in reciprocity? 5 ways to put it to use now appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.