By Debbie Friez

Blind pitching rarely works. It sometimes works, but not to the level you need for a meaningful relationship. For real success in B2B influencer marketing, a real relationship is needed.

What motivates influencers to work with a B2B brand? Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs, said in the TopRank Marketing 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report she has to “Feel rapport with the brand and with the people behind the brand,” and “Like the people I work directly with.”

Finding that sweet spot where you can have a meaningful conversation and rapport with top thought leaders is where you will find real success in B2B influencer marketing. It’s just like knowing that that one place your kitten will let you pet, the one he likes more than anything, so you can make him purr on demand. That’s when you have found the sweet spot.

1 — Get to Know the Influencer Prospects

Several years ago, my friend, PR and marketing guru and Rutgers mega-fan Jon Newman wrote a blog post about the need to read the content of the reporters and publications media relations pros you pitch. He even suggested (gasp!) going to the library or bookstore to make it easier to get quick scans of several publications. I’ve always said media relations and influencer relations are cut from the same cloth. The skills transfer easily.

Where to start? I like to start with the influencer’s social media profiles. I read their posts, watch their videos and dive into their content. And, this goes without saying, I follow them on social media, so I can continue to keep up on their content.

But, beyond the basic social media review, actually reading their articles, blog posts or listening to their podcasts is where the real candy lies.

My colleague Alex White is great about sharing what he’s learned from reading an influencer’s blog post. His emails include questions and ideas from the article, so you can tell he didn’t just read the headline and first paragraph. It’s an automatic connection that sets a basis for an ongoing relationship.

Carrying that conversation from email to a call takes it to another level. Recently, we engaged an influencer to write about edge computing. It’s not a new concept to me, but I felt her blog post helped me better understand it. So, I asked her more questions the next time we talked. She lit up, and dove into helping me learn more about the technology. It was a win for all.

Just the other day, I was listening to a podcast from two of my favorite thought leaders. I was immediately inspired by the research they were discussing. I emailed the research lead and said we needed to pitch it to a client in the new year, and he agreed. It will be a win for the thought leader, TopRank Marketing …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

Author: Aaron