How CMOs Use Influencer Marketing To Drive Sales

Influencer marketing is the latest trend in marketing, and for good reason. It's a powerful way to reach your target audience and build brand awareness.

More importantly for marketing executives like you, influencer marketing drives sales.

B2B influencer marketing generates 3 times as many leads as traditional marketing. And, according to some of the latest research, B2B companies that use influencer marketing report an average ROI of $6.50 for every $1 invested.

But how do you do it right?

Here are a few tips from Nicole Ponce, Influencer Marketing Manager at Semrush:

1. Set clear goals. What do you want to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign? Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or generate leads? Once you know your goals, you can start to identify the right influencers to work with.
2. Identify the right influencers. Not all influencers are created equal. When choosing influencers, you'll need to consider their audience, their reach, and their engagement. You'll also need to make sure that their values align with your brand's values.
3. Create a mutually beneficial partnership. Influencer marketing is a partnership, not a one-way street. In order to be successful, you need to create a partnership that benefits both you and the influencer. This means providing the influencer with the tools and resources they need to create great content, and rewarding them for their efforts.
4. Measure your results. It's important to measure the results of your influencer marketing campaigns so that you can see what's working and what's not. There are a number of ways to measure the success of an influencer marketing campaign, including tracking website traffic, social media engagement, and sales.

So, what are you waiting for? Start using influencer marketing today to reach your target audience and build brand awareness.

But wait, there's more!

Here are a few additional tips to help you develop successful influencer marketing campaigns:

• Be creative. Don't just ask influencers to post about your product or service. Get creative and come up with unique ways to partner with them. For example, you could host a contest or giveaway, or you could create a branded hashtag.

• Be authentic. Influencer marketing is all about authenticity. People want to see real people using your products and services. So, make sure the influencers you work with are genuine and believable.
• Be patient. Influencer marketing takes time. Don't expect to see results overnight. Just keep at it, and you'll eventually start to see the benefits.

For more resources on influencer marketing, click here. Or message me if you have specific questions.

But... What About CMOs Who Have Tried Influencer Marketing Before?

CMOs who have tried influencer marketing in the past should think about the following:

• What worked well? What were the most successful aspects of your influencer marketing campaigns? What did you learn from your successes?
• What didn't work well? What were the challenges you faced in your influencer marketing campaigns? What could you have done differently?
• How can you improve your influencer marketing campaigns in the future? Based on what you learned from your successes and challenges, how can you improve your influencer marketing campaigns in the future?

Here are some additional thoughts for CMOs who have tried influencer marketing in the past:

Influencer marketing is a long-term strategy.

Don't expect to see results overnight. It takes time to build relationships with influencers and to create content that resonates with their audience.

Influencer marketing is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

What works for one brand may not work for another. It's important to experiment and find what works best for your brand.

Influencer marketing is not a silver bullet.

It's one part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. Don't rely on influencer marketing alone to achieve your marketing goals.

Overall, influencer marketing can be a valuable tool for CMOs who are looking to reach new audiences, build brand awareness, and drive sales. However, it's important to be strategic and to measure the results of your campaigns so that you can see what's working and what's not.

Still not convinced influencer marketing, particularly for B2B SaaS companies, is a struggle worth overcoming? Start here.

Want to learn more? Listen to the full interview with influencer marketing expert, Nicole Ponce, here, Partnership Unpacked episode three. Or read the transcript.

Latest Episode

How SaaS Companies Find and Leverage B2B Influencers w/ Justin Levy

At the Social Pulse Summit: ROI Edition event that I hosted in March, I asked attendees of the influencer marketing panel what their biggest challenges were. 31.8% reported that measuring and proving ROI was their greatest challenge, while 22.7% said finding and working with the right B2B influencers was their Achilles heel.

Does that resonate with you?

Perhaps you, too, have struggled to find great influencers to work with, the kinds of influencers whom you can rely on to follow-through on campaigns and drive real revenue.

That’s what we’re covering in today’s episode of Partnership Unpacked with Justin Levy of Demandbase.

🎧 Listen or Read

Upcoming Episodes

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Know a CMO or partnership leader who has leveraged partnerships for great success, and would make a great guest? Message me.

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About Mike Allton

Mike is an international keynote speaker, an award-winning consultant & author at The Social Media Hat, and Head of Strategic Partnerships at Agorapulse where he strengthens relationships with social media educators, influencers and partner brands. He has spent over a decade in digital marketing and brings an unparalleled level of experience and excitement to the fore, whether he's delivering a presentation or leading a workshop.

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