The Rise of B2B Influencers on LinkedIn

Influencer marketing has made its way into the B2B playbook, transforming how brands build trust and connect with buyers. Brands are increasingly relying on creator-led content to leverage trust and credibility with buyers.

As a result, B2B buyers are turning to digital communities for clarity, credibility and insights that speak directly to their industry concerns. In a professional context, 59% of B2B buyers saying they consume creator content on LinkedIn— more than on any other platform.

To that end, LinkedIn’s ebook, Collaborate with Confidence: Your Guide to B2B Creator Marketing on LinkedIn, explored the changing world of B2B creators, and how brands are staying ahead.

LinkedIn Survey

The LinkedIn view are a result of 1,716 B2B buyers and key business decision-makers responsible for purchasing IT, telecom, and technology products and services in the US, UK, and India surveyed on the impact of B2B influencers on the buying committee at various stages of the decision-making journey.

The book details the rapidly rising engagement with B2B creator content stems from content meets a compelling need felt by B2B buyers and their colleagues. One of the topline views is B2B creators are driving an eruption in short-form video on LinkedIn, with video uploads increasing 34% year-on-year and 63% of buyers saying the format influences their decisions.

Content Creator

The content is filling a need as buyers are embracing B2B creator content at scale— 79% of B2B buyers responded they engaged with it at least monthly and 82% saying that it influences them.

The characteristics of creator content are rapidly reshaping how B2B audiences experience content gather insights and form opinions. In the process, they are providing them with more intuitive and more exciting ways to discover brands differentiate, solutions and consider their options. The creator types that B2B buyers are watching include industry experts (55%), analysts (43%), business leaders (43%), customers (33%) and employees (29%). Thought Leader Ads amplify creator content to a target audience of B2B buyers, with a 252% increase in click-through rate (CTR) compared to conventional single image ads.

Buyers are using these  insights from creator content at every stage of the buyer journey as 51% consume it  to stay on top of trends, 44% refer to it to justify pricing and, 38% connect with a salesperson in response.

The Changing Audience Expectations

As laid out by the authors, as new technologies and types of solutions are emerging at an accelerating rate, the buyer journeys that creator content makes possible are invaluable for helping professionals to function with confidence. Engagement with B2B creator content is rising rapidly because that content meets a compelling need felt by buyers and their colleagues.

The result is the characteristics of creator content are rapidly reshaping how B2B audiences experience content gather insights, and form opinions. In the process, they are providing them with more intuitive and more exciting ways to discover brands differentiate, solutions and consider their options.

All of this is re-energizing B2B marketing that results in B2B brands ever more closely with their audiences.

To read Collaborate with Confidence: Your Guide to B2B Creator Marketing on LinkedIn, click here to download the full guide now.