From AI Overviews on Google to lots of the enterprise functions we use each day, AI is altering how enterprise data is found, consumed and acted on in ways in which few may have imagined just some years in the past.
With the rise of AI instruments and content material, B2B entrepreneurs face an attention-grabbing paradox: belief is tougher to earn, however extra necessary than ever. Consumers are tuning out generic model and AI-generated content material and tuning in to the voices they belief, that talk their language, share their challenges, and inform tales they’ll relate to.
That is the place influencer advertising and marketing is enjoying an more and more necessary function for B2B corporations to humanize the model by working with influencers, to encourage creativity, and drive extra significant vs. mechanical engagement. With engagement comes connection and the belief wanted to take motion.
So what does an action-inspiring B2B advertising and marketing influencer marketing campaign appear to be? From Lenovo’s late-night tech speak present to Sprinklr’s “Socialverse” masterclass and LinkedIn’s #MyMarketingStory initiative, every of those applications leaned into storytelling vs. promoting. These campaigns additionally share a easy fact: affect in B2B is about connection. It’s additionally about making advanced concepts relatable and human. And when achieved proper, influencer advertising and marketing for B2B can win the hearts and minds of your prospects in addition to drive enterprise outcomes.
Lenovo – Late Night time I.T. – After-Hours Tech Speak Present
Strategy: Lenovo created Late Night time I.T., a first-of-its-kind, after-hours “tech speak present” net sequence hosted by futurist and comic Baratunde Thurston. The present featured 8 episodes with tech trade leaders as company that turned advanced IT subjects into entertaining, simply understood conversations. Lenovo promoted the sequence throughout paid, owned, and earned social channels to have interaction IT decision-makers in a recent, humorous approach.
Outcomes: The marketing campaign outperformed benchmarks considerably, producing 300 million impressions (70% above trade norm) and 72 million video views (11× the benchmark). It additionally lifted model consideration by 7 factors and attracted curiosity from “hundreds of huge enterprises.” The sequence turned so in style {that a} main TV community picked it up for a summer season broadcast.
Sprinklr – “Throughout the Socialverse” Influencer Masterclass
Strategy: Buyer expertise platform Sprinklr teamed with TopRank Advertising to launch “Throughout the Socialverse,” a documentary-style masterclass occasion hosted by revered social media thought leaders. Influencers like Ann Handley, Jay Baer, Mari Smith and senior executives from Sprinklr had been featured in stay and video classes demonstrating Sprinklr’s new AI-integrated Social Self-Serve product. The absolutely built-in marketing campaign included a digital occasion on Social Media Day, influencer-led video content material, blogs, e-mail, and in depth social amplification by the influencers, Sprinklr, and even associate organizations.
Outcomes: The Socialverse marketing campaign was a “resounding success” globally – it attracted over 5,000 registrations from B2B entrepreneurs throughout North America, EMEA, APAC and ME areas. Promotion by the influencers (natural and paid social posts) led to 23.4 million in attain and practically 100,000 engagements, far exceeding benchmarks. The marketing campaign additionally generated a robust pipeline of certified leads (contributing to new income) and was internally hailed as Sprinklr’s “Marketing campaign of the 12 months.”
LinkedIn – #MyMarketingStory Social Marketing campaign
Strategy: To humanize its model and enhance engagement, LinkedIn Advertising Options labored with TopRank Advertising on a social-first influencer marketing campaign referred to as “My Advertising Story” (and a parallel #MySalesStory). LinkedIn invited revered trade influencers to share private profession tales, struggles, and classes immediately on LinkedIn Showcase Pages, relatively than in off-site content material. This always-on program leveraged influencers’ genuine voices to achieve entrepreneurs and gross sales execs in-channel, with LinkedIn encouraging dialogue by tags, hashtags, and interactive posts.
Outcomes: The marketing campaign exceeded all benchmarks for LinkedIn’s social content material. Influencer posts noticed +239% reactions and +348% feedback above common, with shares up 150%. Each taking part influencer actively promoted the content material (100% activation fee), extending the marketing campaign’s attain by an estimated 5.84 million past LinkedIn’s personal viewers. This system not solely drove huge on-platform engagement but additionally strengthened long-term relationships with 75+ trade influencers for LinkedIn.
Dell – “Knowledge Paradox” Analysis Report
Strategy: Dell Applied sciences teamed with TopRank Advertising to amplify its Knowledge Paradox analysis report in partnership with trade influencers. The marketing campaign centered on an interactive eBook highlighting the examine’s findings, with commentary from 8 tech trade influencers. To drive consciousness and lead-gen amongst CIOs and IT leaders, Dell executed a multi-layer content material technique: broad-reaching thought management posts plus area of interest, funnel-deep property. All promoted by 39 social posts on Dell channels and movies utilizing the hashtag #DataParadox, with coordinated shares by the influencers.
Outcomes: The influencer content material achieved 2× larger engagement than earlier campaigns, driving over 8,000 touchdown web page views (≈ 276% of the prior benchmark). On social media channels, the marketing campaign generated 1.7 million+ impressions by influencers’ shares. Dell’s personal posts noticed 1.1K clicks and 1.6K interactions, and the marketing campaign considerably deepened influencer relationships for Dell’s model.
Adobe – Analytics Champions Marketing campaign
Strategy: Adobe Advertising Cloud executed an EMEA-wide influencer content material marketing campaign to advertise its analytics and buyer expertise options. TopRank Advertising helped Adobe enlist a number of distinguished information and martech specialists (e.g. Ronald van Loon, Bernard Marr, Neil Hughes, David Raab) to contribute insights for a flagship content material piece (an in-depth information/eBook). This “influencer hero asset” was then amplified by a mixture of paid and natural techniques, together with the influencers sharing it with their networks, focused LinkedIn adverts, and e-mail aimed toward 900+ goal accounts in Europe.
Outcomes: By tapping credible trade voices, the marketing campaign boosted engagement for Adobe round its analytics and buyer expertise options. The influencer-driven content material generated 2× the engagement of Adobe’s typical campaigns and 150% extra LinkedIn kind completions (lead captures) than earlier efforts. Adobe’s advertising and marketing group lauded this system’s success, noting that the influencer collaboration successfully expanded attain and drove viewers curiosity in Adobe’s analytics portfolio.
SAP – Tech Unknown B2B Podcast
Strategy: SAP launched Tech Unknown, a branded B2B podcast, to have interaction a number of area of interest audiences on rising expertise subjects. So as to add authority and broaden its attain, SAP labored with TopRank Advertising to arrange and produce the podcast in addition to combine trade influencers and inside specialists as visitor voices all through the podcast’s episodes. The content material technique positioned the podcast as an “influencer hub,” the place an influencer host, Tamara McCleary, interviewed thought leaders and shoppers to debate developments (AI, IoT, and so on.), and SAP in flip leveraged the influencer host and visitor followings through social shares and featured them in associated weblog content material.
Outcomes: The influencer-infused podcast paid off in each engagement and attain. In comparison with its earlier season, Tech Unknown noticed a 66% enhance in downloads and achieved 101% above the trade common obtain fee for enterprise podcasts. Because of in depth sharing by the featured specialists, the podcast content material amassed over 52 million impressions through social media. This not solely drove model consciousness for SAP’s experience but additionally helped place its executives. shoppers and influencer companions as go-to authorities of their fields.
Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise – IT Vanguard Awards
Strategy: Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise partnered with TopRank Advertising to launch the IT Vanguard Awards, an initiative aimed toward recognizing excellent leaders in IT networking and enterprise communications. The marketing campaign unfolded in two phases:
- Nomination Part: A name for nominations was issued to establish exemplary IT professionals. A panel comprising 5 judges together with trade specialists, influencers, and an ALE govt was assembled to guage the submissions. These judges actively promoted the nomination course of by their networks, collectively reaching over 90,000 connections.
- Recognition Part: Publish-selection, the marketing campaign spotlighted the achievements and insights of the 11 honorees. A devoted, interactive microsite was developed to showcase the winners and included commentary from the judges, enhancing this system’s credibility and attain.
Outcomes: The judges’ promotion led to 52 high-quality nominations. Subsequently, each judges and honorees shared the outcomes throughout their social platforms, leading to hundreds of views and important third-party recognition. Notably, native governments, college boards, and corporations acknowledged the honorees, additional amplifying the marketing campaign’s affect. The marketing campaign not solely elevated ALE’s model visibility but additionally inspired significant conversations with potential shoppers. A number of honorees had been potential shoppers, and the initiative contributed to producing a number of six-figure offers, with ALE attributing roughly $3 million in pipeline income to the marketing campaign.
Semrush – Influencer Weekend
Strategy: search engine optimisation platform Semrush borrowed some B2C techniques to shake up their strategy by internet hosting an “Influencer Weekend” retreat in London. They invited advertising and marketing influencers for an all-expenses-paid weekend of inventive challenges, sightseeing, and collaboration. The occasion not solely generated enjoyable, shareable content material, but additionally constructed relationships. Semrush then launched its first consumer convention, Highlight 2024, that includes the influencers as keynote audio system and content material companions, successfully turning them into model ambassadors who would convey their very own audiences to the occasion. The convention was designed with “social-first” experiences (visible venues, interactive actions) to encourage attendees and influencers to put up throughout LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram.
Outcomes:
- 3.1 million natural impressions from a single influencer’s put up, after teaming with a life-style creator to advertise the occasion
- 1,000 attendees on the Highlight 2024 convention (double the anticipated turnout), pushed partially by influencers inviting their followers
- 500+ social posts generated by occasion attendees and audio system, considerably amplifying Semrush’s attain through LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok
- Neighborhood buzz: The marketing campaign “sparked natural social media buzz” and deepened relationships with trade creators, proving that B2B advertising and marketing could be inventive, community-driven, and enjoyable
Salesforce – “Dreamforce Goes Company”
Strategy: CRM big Salesforce in partnership with Collectively, partnered with comedic company influencers to amplify its Dreamforce convention. The marketing campaign, led by satire personas @Company.Bro and @CorporateNatalie, built-in humor and schooling, mixing on-site skits and informative posts about AI to demystify new tech and showcase the Salesforce “Salesblazer” group. Content material rolled out on Instagram and LinkedIn, mixing lighthearted behind-the-scenes Reels with professional insights, efficiently driving viewers to Salesforce’s occasion streaming platform (Salesforce+).
Outcomes:
- 16.6M paid and natural impressions
- 22.63% natural view fee
- 1.3M paid and natural engagements
- 4.83% natural engagement fee
- Excessive viewers resonance: The humorous but informative content material “resonated strongly” with the target market, boosting model visibility and reinforcing Salesforce’s picture as an innovator in AI
Ajinomoto – “Dinner with Goop” – MSG Repute Marketing campaign
Strategy: Meals-tech firm Ajinomoto (makers of MSG) orchestrated a daring influencer/PR marketing campaign to fight the “MSG is unhealthy” delusion. They hosted an MSG-packed connoisseur dinner and invited journalists and famed “clear consuming” influencer Gwyneth Paltrow (founding father of Goop) as a visitor of honor. As anticipated, Paltrow didn’t present up – and Ajinomoto turned her absence into the story. The narrative of “Goop snubs MSG dinner” garnered huge media consideration, permitting Ajinomoto and an ally (comic Jenny Yang) to publicly name out Goop’s unscientific claims about MSG.
Outcomes: The intelligent marketing campaign earned widespread press protection and sparked conversations throughout the meals trade. Goop’s group even corrected or eliminated false anti-MSG statements from its web site. Comply with-up analysis revealed that the trouble shifted client sentiment. An estimated 24.3 million extra Individuals now agree that MSG is “clear” and suitable for eating after the marketing campaign’s buzz.
For those who’re a B2B model and wish to be taught extra about the best way to put influencer advertising and marketing to work for your corporation, try our 2025 B2B Influencer Advertising Analysis Report, or be taught extra about how TopRank Advertising works with B2B manufacturers to seek out, have interaction, activate and handle essentially the most trusted voices within the trade to co-create genuine content material experiences in your prospects.
