The term “influencer marketing” is often associated with lifestyle influencers promoting products such as makeup and shoes to consumers. Should such influencers also promote cybersecurity platforms, employee training services, or corporate lease accounting software?
Yeah, probably not. To be fair, the B2B tech brand, the influencer, and their followers would all be displeased with such promotions!
The proper match between influencer and brand is vital. But is the concept of influencer marketing a fit for B2B brands?
B2B influencer marketing is growing, consistent with the common pattern of marketing practices becoming widespread in B2C before expanding to B2B. Despite this growth, many misconceptions around B2B influencer marketing still persist. We’re highlighting the most common myths and debunking them with the facts, so you can consider adding this impactful, effective marketing tactic to your mix.
Myth #1: Influencer Marketing Drives Emotional, Impulse Buys & is Therefore Irrelevant to B2B
B2B buyers are making decisions that impact the future of their careers. While consumers might seek approval and validation from friends, B2B decision-makers desire the approval and validation of their professional peers.
Thomas Ordahl, chief strategy officer, of Landor Associates, states, “B2B buyers are making decisions every day that can change their careers. That’s inherently emotional – more than we even like to admit.” 71% of buyers who see a personal value in a B2B purchase, will end up buying the product/service.
While B2B purchases are often less impulsive than B2C, it’s still important for sellers to tap into buyers’ emotions while building trust. Interpersonal connections are particularly vital. “92% of B2B decision-makers trust a person more than a brand even if they don’t know the person.”
Myth #2: B2B Decision Makers Don’t Pay Attention to Influencers
This myth persists because of a common association with the term “influencer” with people like Kim Kardashian. Sure, people aren’t consulting beauty influencers when selecting a cloud computing provider. But B2B decision makers do consult a variety of subject matter experts.
According to Forrester, B2B buyers go everywhere for information. “They talked to peers, industry experts, and various provider representatives to get their specific questions answered. They also did a lot of self-directed research checking all sorts of sources, from social media to syndicated content to category- or industry-specific resources.”
As Nielson stated further in its report, “expert content has a greater impact than brand content in the stages like brand familiarity and affinity.” Gartner reports that B2B buying groups spend 27% of their time conducting independent online research. B2B buyers are increasingly relying on guidance from peers throughout decision-making processes that are growing longer. The Demand Gen 2022 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey asked respondents about changes to their buyers’ journeys. The added processes include spending more time using social media to research vendors and solutions (31%) and relying more on peer recommendations/review websites (29%).
Myth #3: There Are Too Few B2B Influencers Available for My Brand to Do Influencer Marketing
You don’t need many influencers; you just need the right one(s).
B2B influencer marketing is more feasible than many perceive it to be. When you partner with the right voices in a well-structured campaign, individual people can make a difference and change the narrative to your brand’s advantage.
There are likely multiple thought leaders in your industry who create helpful content your target audience relies upon… but they simply aren’t partnering with brands. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t team up with your brand. You simply need to approach them and negotiate terms, including having a well-structured process and agreement. That’s where relying on the expertise and the enriching B2B creators network of an agency like Kingfluencers can set you up for success.
A well-structured campaign includes reinforcing your brand’s key messages across multiple channels, including your owned properties. You can use multiple voices to discuss the challenges your audience faces, so you address multiple factors that impact their decision. Most importantly, you already have B2B influencers… your employees! Which brings us to our next 2 myths.
Myth #4: We’re Working to Build Our Brand’s Digital Influence. There’s No Place for Individual People to Share Our Messages
People want to see authenticity and real people – even B2B buyers. A people-centric approach can make a big difference, particularly as your brand stands out among the overload of bots and obviously automated, impersonal social selling. In particular, the consistent engagement of senior leadership on social media can have numerous benefits for your brand.
56% of professionals stated that a business executive’s presence on social media positively influences their purchase decisions.
Individual employees working as ambassadors don’t detract from your efforts to build your brand’s digital influence. As employees, their contributions positively enhance your brand’s digital influence, working synergistically. By engaging on social media, employees can provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse, authentically revealing how engaged and happy employees are. In turn, this demonstrates how motivated staff is to develop quality products, provide good service, and remain with the company to deliver consistency.
Myth #5: Employees Must Be Trained! We Can’t Use Our Staff for Influencer Marketing
If an employee is going to be interviewed by the press or speak at a conference, we definitely recommend they are press trained! But many employees can be recruited to help amplify your messages and build digital influence. Employees in various departments can be among your various ambassadors, each adding a specific angle and unique value. Additionally, you can opt to provide comprehensive training to selected staff in order to help them become brand power voices.
B2B Influencer Marketing Myths. Employees Must Be TrainedB2B Influencer Marketing Myths. We Can’t Use Our Staff for Influencer MarketingB2B Influencer Marketing Myths. Myth #5B2B Influencer Marketing Myths. Comprehensive training
Kingfluencers Helps You Build B2B Digital Influence
Reach out to Kingfluencers and let’s discuss how we can help you:
Select influencers to reach and engage your target audience
Negotiate terms and execute well-structured agreements
Build personal branding campaigns for selected executives and employees
The buyer’s journey is often classified into 3 stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. These can be visualized as a funnel or flow chart, progressing from one stage to the next. However, according to Gartner’s B2B Buying Journey, “Buying jobs don’t happen sequentially but more or less simultaneously. And if we were to map out a real B2B buying journey, it would look a lot less like a step-by-step linear process and a lot more like a big bowl of spaghetti.”
HubSpot describes a “flywheel” cycle in which customers become advocates and promoters who feed growth as they move through the phases of attract, engage, and delight.No matter how you visualize it, navigating this spaghetti wheel is challenging for buyers. B2B influencer marketing adds value, supporting buyers throughout this complex process.
Working with Influencers Solves B2B Sales & Marketing Challenges
Influencer marketing is often viewed as a way to get in front of an audience, similar to traditional television advertising. In reality, IM can deliver a much broader scope of benefits for all types of brands. (We’ll cover this and other myths in our upcoming article, “Top 5 B2B Influencer Marketing Myths BUSTED.”) For B2B brands in particular, IM can solve many pressing, current challenges.
Gartner identified six B2B buying “jobs” that customers must complete in order to finalize a complex purchase. Buyers, “use both digital and in-person channels with near equal frequency to complete each of the six B2B buying jobs more or less simultaneously.” “Every one of these moments is a potential driver of looping, revisiting or re-evaluation. As a result, customers are trapped repeating each job over and over until all six are locked in simultaneously.”
Problem identification
Solution exploration
Requirements building
Supplier selection
Validation
Consensus creation
In Winning The New B2B Buyer, Forrester writes, “Your job is no longer to convince customers to buy, but rather, to help them buy.”
To help buyers throughout their journeys, B2B brands must deliver:
Frictionless experiences with immediacy
Open access to information
The support of information connectors
Peer validation
Technical and industry knowledge
1. Frictionless Experience with Immediacy
Assisting buyers includes making the entire journey as frictionless as possible. Particularly once your prospects have begun evaluating vendors and are aware of your brand, they should be able to access the information needed both quickly and easily.
Some ways you reduce friction and provide immediacy are with helpful chatbots, virtual assistants, and third-party marketplaces. Influencers can also serve to provide this vital assistance, even directly enabling transactions.
2. Open Access to Information
Forbes Business Council writes about the impacts of buyers conducting more independent research online. “This transition [between marketing and sales] has become fuzzier as more buyers are reliant on self-serve, online research. This often results in pressure placed on a company’s online presence to do the heavy lifting for both the marketing and sales teams.”
With this added pressure on your online presence, partnering with influencers provides additional ways to educate your audience on the value of your solution.
70-90% of the B2B buyers’ journey is complete before engaging a vendor
Consumers engage with an average of 11.4 pieces of content prior to making a purchase
In Winning The New B2B Buyer, Forrester writes that B2B buyers “expect to be treated as equal partners, through experiences that are increasingly open, connected, intuitive, and immediate.” Empowering buyers with open access to information displays a respect for their preference for a self-guided experience… and a recognition of their ability to understand that info.Working with influencers to share information further demonstrates how your brand is open and transparent. Influencers who are well-informed about your solution can connect with your target audience, helping facilitate and develop connections to your brand.
3. The Support of Information Connectors
“Helping B2B buyers buy isn’t a sales problem, it’s an information problem,” as Gartner states.
It might appear that the solution to such a problem might simply be… more information! Not so fast.
Simply dumping yet even more information on buyers isn’t the solution. Rather, Gartner research shows that successful sales reps focus on “helping customers sort through information already available — acting as a kind of ‘information connector’ to provide the frameworks and tools customers desperately need to efficiently organize and align their thinking.”
To succeed, brands must drive purchase ease, which requires curating information.As subject matter experts, influencers can bring this crucial support to your buyers by curating information and providing their unique perspectives on your industry. In the, “B2B Buying Journey,” AIMultiple writes, “Customers desire adjustments that address the complexity of B2B buying, like obtaining a personalized account with modified catalogs and exclusive pricing along with consideration to product availability.”
4. Peer Validation
The reviews and insights of peers are vital components of the buying process, B2B included. “To demonstrate their empathy with and commitment to customers, organizations will need to ‘enable’ buyers, just as they currently enable their sellers, with new perspectives and tools, such as facilitating more peer-to-peer conversations.”
Active online communities exist for every type of enthusiast – including buyers making purchase decisions. People can connect with peers to compare notes and gain insights. Forrester notes, “As the B2B buying ecosystem expands, third parties, not vendors, are becoming the buyer’s preferred sources of information.” The role of millennials in B2B buying continues to expand, and they also prefer peer insights and validation over vendor claims.
5. Technical and Industry Knowledge
Marketers of all kinds are accustomed to the challenge of capturing our audience’s attention. B2B brands are faced with additional complexities, including shortcomings in the capacity of sales staff.
In, “Future of B2B sales: The big reframe,” McKinsey notes, “Talent needs to be reassessed as businesses face both the attrition brought on by the pandemic and hyper-informed customers expecting more.”While your employees should be the best subject matter experts on your product’s specifications, leveraging thought leaders outside of your company can help fill industry knowledge gaps. In particular, influencers can show how your solution fits in your customers’ organization within a broader solution scope.
Build Digital Influence to Support Your Buyers’ Journeys with Kingfluencers’ Full-Service Approach
To learn more B2B IM, check out our 2-part series, “4 Reasons Why You Should Do B2B Influencer Marketing (Part 1)” and “How.” Contact us if you’d like to explore how we can help you build your brand voice with B2B Influencer Marketing and beyond. Kingfluencers pulls it all together in a way that’s impactful for your brand.
Social Media – the platform for inspiration, motivation, information, and entertainment. The goal: to open the app and feel good about it. At least that’s how it should be. But what is really behind it? What is the real picture behind all the faces we see on our smartphones day by day?
It is clear that behind every smiling person there is also a person with doubts and problems and that not everything is always as it seems.
With our new format “Mental Health Check-in”, we at Kingfluencers want to draw attention to the topic of mental health and share very personal and close experiences with our community.
In this article, we introduce you to our new format, which we launched in January this year, and take a look at our topics covered so far.
Our mental health series
Comparing yourself on social media
We dedicated the first post to a widespread and above all current topic on social media: “Comparing yourself on social media“. We invited content creator Greta and had the pleasure of interviewing her about her personal experiences. We captured the whole campaign in a reel. «It’s quite normal for people to compare and use filters on social media», says Greta. She has also often experienced that she has compared herself with other influencers. She told us of the time she met an influencer she followed regularly who suddenly looked completely different from her Instagram pictures. When using filters and editing pictures, it’s very easy to distort reality and turn yourself into a completely new person and suddenly you think you look beautiful only with filters.
According to statistics from the University of Alberta, about 90% of all women compare themselves with other social media users. For men, this number is 65%. Almost 40% of these people have developed a negative self-image because of comparisons on social media.
#NoFilterFeb
In light of numbers like these, Greta and we at Kingfluencers called on our community to take part in the #NoFilterFeb challenge. The result of us can be seen in our Instagram post: Kingfluencers in the office. Authentic, spontaneous, without any form of preparation or briefings – just us, completely real and free of any editing or filters.
In Part 2 of our 1st Mental Health Campaign “Comparing Yourself on Social Media”, we discussed what it can look like behind the scenes, even if the story on Instagram conveys happiness and joy. We talked about how to deal with the pressure to post content continuously and gave ideas for when you run out of inspiration.
Greta says that compared to the past, people on social media are now much more open and authentic and also admit when they are not doing well. It is important to see and recognize that you are not alone in this. Influencers like Mimoza or Fiona have started to share authentic and real pictures, such as messy rooms or mental health problems.
The pressure to post constantly is also enormous. A survey of ours showed that 90% of content creators feel pressured to keep their community entertained.
Here are a few tips from us: Just show your community your relaxing Sunday at home, your new favorite series on Netflix, or treat yourself to a day off. The most important thing is to stay authentic. «Just the fact that you admit when something isn’t working can help,» says Greta.
Social Media Consumption
In March, we talked about social media consumption in part 3 of the Mental Health Format. It was important for us to address the need to be aware of the impact that social media has, especially on our energy and well-being. Because social media should always “work for us and not against us”.
According to Statista, about 7.29 million people in Switzerland use social networks. Of these, two-thirds are active on social media every day. Due to this high number, we have listed the following tips and tricks for you in an Instagram post on how to build a healthier relationship with social media:
Schedule fixed social media times
Delete apps when you realize that consumption is too high
Unfollow people who are not good for you and mute posts
Turn off push notifications
Realize that you are not missing out
Replace bad habits
You are a role model for respect and empathy
The months of April and May were dedicated to the topic of “being a role model“, including our partner @consciousinfluencehub. We are all role models in one form or another. But especially influencers and creators who take others with them and inspire them in their everyday life have a great role model function.
We talked about role models in our Instagram post. Ramin, Content Creator, and Chief of TikTok & Trends at Kingfluencers told us in a video that as an influencer you have to take on the role of a role model. You are automatically a role model for your community and especially for the younger followers. Respect and empathy are expected from role models. You should therefore not only think about what you communicate, but also how you communicate it, because you inspire others with your behavior and your content. A little tip: Think about what you would like your role models to do, because now it’s your turn!
We are aware of our responsibility because as the center of successful campaign implementations and a link between brands and creators, we feel obligated to also create awareness for unpleasant topics and to pick up where others look away. «In addition to successful campaigns, it is even more important to us to convey the right values and guidelines and to serve as a support for creators in order to professionalize the Swiss influencer market,» says Tamara Glück Gonzalez, Senior Influencer Strategist at Kingfluencers.
Whether on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok: Hate comments and hate speech are widespread and unfortunately already part of “normality” nowadays. We want to set an example against hate speech and organized the influencer event “With Kingfluencers against HateSpeech” to bring more attention to this important topic.
Together with Kris Grippo, Taulant, and other influencers and social media experts from Kingfluencers, we were able to launch a super important event. Jan from 20 Minuten was also there and conducted an interview with some of the creators, in which they shared their personal experiences of how they deal with hate speech. In the video, you can find out which hate comments reach the creators and how they deal with them.
We are super proud of our successful event and share the following tips that content creator Kris Grippo presented at the event:
1. Don’t ignore the issue of hate speech, but ignore hate comments if they bother you 2. Remain polite and objective 3. Block or report the hate comment 4. Seek support 5. Set an example
A format that raises awareness
We are extremely proud to have created a format that draws attention to an extremely important issue that should not be looked away from. You see hundreds of smiling faces on social media every day, but you can’t tell if the smile is real or just posed for the photo. Therefore, it is of even greater importance to look behind the facade and draw attention to problems that everyone faces.
Chiara Rago, founder of our Mental Health Check-in format says: «Social Media can be an amazing place with lots of opportunities. However, mishandling its power can lead to harm. My purpose was clear – to raise awareness of the struggles and risks and to make an impact for the better.»
Anja Lapčević, Influencer Expert at Kingfluencers, is also pleased with the format:«I very much welcome the initiative, especially since it arose from a need of the creators but also of our employees. I am happy to be able to support the team with my expertise from the Conscious Influence Hub and I am looking forward to the upcoming topics.»
If you’re excited to learn more about our Mental Health series, follow us on Instagram to stay up to date. Help raise awareness and be a role model by showing your community the importance of mental health.
Author: Tijana Simic, Marketing Support @Kingfluencers
In Part 1, we examined the reasons digital influence is a powerful tool for B2B brands, including the measurable impact of B2B influencer marketing, how it addresses difficult business challenges, and integrates with your existing marketing initiatives. B2B audiences are highly engaged and working with influencers can bring your brand’s core messages to life and create stronger connections with your communities.
The reasons why B2B brands should do influencer marketing are clear – but how to do it successfully requires knowledge and skill. We’ll dive into the key components of successful B2Binfluencer marketing campaigns to give your brand a personality and voice and generate digital influence to positively impact your business. Just as influencer marketing continues to grow and rise, so will B2B influencer marketing experience its growth. Globally, spending in the influencer advertising segment is estimated at around €24.59 billion in 2022. Experts suggest B2B influencer marketing could account for 40-50% of the influencer marketing sector revenue over the next 3 years.
Establishing digital influence means communicating information, ideas, and viewpoints to target audiences with the potential to impact their views and preferences. Digital influence can benefit not only your brand but ultimately your audience – by helping them in their information searches and decision-making.
The Demand Gen 2022 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey describes how, “Buyers are taking the responsibility into their own hands by conducting independent, anonymous research, reaching out to peers for advice, and keeping an eye on social media.” Gartner reports that B2B buying groups spend 27% of their time conducting independent online research.
Developing your true potential digital influence requires building on every element that defines the true impact of your brand and message.
Discover your brand’s voice
Establish trust and a closer connection with customers and prospects
Create a cornerstone for your organizational and commercial success
So now we’ll dive into the “how” part.
The Building Blocks of B2B Influencer Marketing
Progressively build your brand’s digital influence with a well-structured process from preparation, through execution and optimization, starting with the following building blocks:
Purpose & Values Define your brand’s purpose, the foundation for your brand’s voice and influence
Clear Goals A key component of successful influencer marketing campaigns is to first of all set clear objectives and overarching goals
Credible Advocates Identify your internal and external brand advocates and storytellers who can effectively communicate and credibly amplify your messages and boost your credibility
Storylines Build purpose-centric storylines that allow your audiences to gain insight into your brand, become informed, and feel part of your brand’s journey
Message Craft the different messages you want to convey to your target audiences
Digital Presence Map the right channels and formats to reach your audiences and establish digital influence
Verify Conduct due diligence to verify that potential ambassadors reach the right audience
Consistency & Continuity Establish continuous learning and improvement, generating ever more benefits and growing positive outcomes for your brand
Analyze & Optimize Measure outcomes and track KPIs
Support Complex Purchase Decisions with Knowledgeable, Credible Advocates
Let knowledgeable people speak for your brand in an authentic and credible way, boosting awareness and visibility and generating tangible returns.
B2B buyers are increasingly relying on guidance from peers throughout decision-making processes that are growing longer. The Demand Gen 2022 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey respondents indicated that the newly added processes to their buyers’ journeys include:
Using more sources to research and evaluate purchases (32%)
Spending more time using social media to research vendors and solutions (31%)
Relying more on peer recommendations/review websites (29%)
Partnering with B2B influencers who can provide guidance to your prospects can alleviate some of the burdens of the purchase process.
Having the right partner is even more crucial when credibility is the key to success. Kingfluencers’ well-structured process delivers B2B Influencer Marketing in a synchronized way.
Strong In-house B2B Community With our extensive creators’ network, we can help you find and onboard your right influencers
Exclusive Collaboration with Kcore Analytics We use AI and social network structures to identify influencers from massive real-time online data
Quality and Performance-Driven Outcomes We assure great outcomes with rock-solid procedures and a proprietary campaign management platform with innovative AI forecasting
Distinct Storytelling & Narrative Tracks Working with various advocates, we can build multiple storylines and establish different storytelling tracks
Use of Direct & Indirect Channels Our B2B services leverage both direct (corporate channels) and indirect (via employees and others) networks on social media channels like LinkedIn and Twitter.
Selecting Ideal Brand Ambassadors
B2B influencers deliver authority, focus, and purpose. Multiplying these key attributes delivers real impact for your business. B2B Influencer Marketing campaigns must combine ambassador categories, with platforms and formats.
Making perfect influencer matches is vital. Influencer choice must align with your brand’s message and values, as well as your campaign objectives. Consider working with numerous brand ambassadors from the following categories:
Internal
Brand leaders (C-level)
Internal voices (your employees)
Partners (suppliers and tech partners)
Clients/ customers
With comprehensive training, you can turn your potential advocates and ambassadors into brand power voices.
External
Credible category professionals
Topic specialists
Thought leaders with affinity
Content creators with specific focus
It’s also crucial to work with credible influencers who are respected experts in their field. There must be a clear link between your brand and the person in order to keep your influencer marketing campaigns real. Trust and authenticity cannot be compromised upon. People connect with people and trust stories, not logos.
Target those with deep industry knowledge, individuals who can influence corporate buyers and tap into business-to-business conversations. Be sure to conduct due diligence, and consider which influencers are the right match with your platforms of choice.
B2B Influencer Marketing Success Cases
Financial service provider American Express hired a design industry blogger and a lifestyle presenter to promote acceptance of Amex credit cards to small businesses. Global technology company the Voith Group provides equipment for hydroelectric power plants. The company traveled with several energy experts to power plants in Europe and documented the tour to share on four different social networks. Würth featured carpentry on YouTube with Manni Dirsch. The tone appealed to the craftsmen and women who work with the tools and materials from Künzelsau.
Turn Presence into Digital Influence with Kingfluencers’ Full-Service Approach
Building digital influence is achieved by developing a credible narrative and activating powerful brand advocates and supporters who help amplify your message and give it additional impact. Kingfluencers delivers a hassle-free approach, with a standard process to generate the best outcomes for your brand. Our team provides you with a full service including every aspect of social media.
While there are distinctions between the B2B and B2C decision-making processes, digital influence remains a powerful tool for both. Influencers can bring your brand’s values and core messages to life and create stronger connections with your audience, moving your brand from supplier to ‘friend.’
B2B Versus B2C Influencer Marketing
Although the core principles of influencer marketing are almost the same for B2C and B2B, there are some differences that warrant a distinct B2B approach.
B2B sales processes are often more complex and require more information on both sides
The sales funnel consists of multiple, distinguished stages
Numerous people are typically involved in the decision-making process
The typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves six to 10 decision-makers
Building a trusting relationship with the vendor’s representative is much more important
1. B2B Influencer Marketing is Impactful for Business and Will Move the Needle
B2B influencers deliver credibility, focus, and purpose. Multiplying these key attributes delivers real impact for your business, making it an important addition to your toolkit.
Credibility: B2B content creators and thought leaders have recognized expertise in their field. Their opinions are highly valued by their peers.
Relevance: When a professional decides to follow a B2B influencer, there is usually a very high interest in that influencer’s content and opinions, so followers are attentive (often higher than B2C).
Focus: Their content is often very focused on a specific topic, with the aim of providing guidance to fellow professionals.
Reach: B2B influencers can connect with your target audience, particularly at crucial times when they’re actively seeking info about the solutions you offer.
Understanding the important role of content creators, the Amazon Web Services Heroes Program “recognizes a vibrant, worldwide group of AWS experts whose enthusiasm for knowledge-sharing has a real impact within the community.” As the Marketing Director at a serverless security startup, Kingfluencers’ writer Megan Bozman reached out to several Heroes, including Yan Cui and Forrest Brazeal, who participated in our podcast.
Named a LinkedIn Top Voice in 2020 and 2022, Zurich-based Selma Kuyas also works as a resume coach and LinkedIn learning instructor. Also based in Zurich, Bertrand Blancheton, currently works as Head of Marketing at Braavos Crypto Asset Management, and writes about the metaverse, Web 3.0, crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi), and NFTs, including participating in LinkedIn Audio.
B2B brand ambassadors bring a lot to the table, including a unique point of view that can resonate strongly with your target audience. Original thought leadership makes your brand more visible and more desirable, positively impacting your target customers’ decision-making process.
94% of B2B marketers who’ve tried influencer marketing feel it’s highly effective. Swiss B2B marketers indicate that B2B IM is higher on the agenda for 2023 than webinars (55%).
2. B2B Influencer Marketing Audiences are Highly Engaged
Marketers need to not only reach their target audience but engage so their messages are received and understood.
Professionals decide to follow a B2B influencer due to an interest in that person’s opinions, making followers very attentive. This increases the impact of B2B IM content, making it particularly effective. This is especially the case when the thought leader’s content is sought after as part of the research phase in a decision-making process. You can overcome even more difficulties by working with an agency. 9 out of 10 B2B companies prefer to let an agency manage their B2B IM efforts with a main focus being on content creation (55%).
3. B2B Influencer Marketing Integrates Very Well With Your Existing Marketing Initiatives
62% of Swiss B2B marketers say IM is high on the agenda for coming years, higher than webinars for example. 57% of marketers plan to fully integrate influencer relations into their activities by 2023.
B2B influencers are also relatively more likely to have in-person contact with their communities by speaking at conferences, trade shows, and local business and networking events. Their authentic professional credibility can help provide answers to your audience’s pain points and boost consideration and conversion.
B2B IM can even result in synergies, boosting other marketing initiatives such as SEO. You can repurpose content you’ve already created with various storytellers to amplify outcomes. For example, the content generated by influencers from IM campaignscan provide additional value with secondary or tertiary goals, such as increasing awareness.
IM content can enrich traditional content across various channels, such as owned communities or other advertising platforms such as webinars. Repurposing existing content enables you to achieve your goals while also saving money. 74% of B2B marketers agree that influencer marketing improves customer and prospect experience with the brand. Kingfluencers can help you tie it all together with a holistic approach.
4. B2B Influencer Marketing Can Generate Competitive Advantages
B2B IM may be on your agenda as a hypothetical future possibility, but now is a great time to start. As the leading full-service social influence agency in Switzerland, Kingfluencers has established the tools, processes, and resources to do B2B IM efficiently.
Partnering with influencers is a marketing tactic many of your competitors may not be leveraging yet. Getting started now can generate unique competitive advantages for early movers. Most B2B organizations (85% of respondents to a study with TopRank Marketing) are planning influencer marketing campaigns. Additionally, the professionals, platforms, tools, and processes for IM are already well-established, lowering barriers to entry for B2B brands. B2B brands should capitalize on this opportunity and take a page from the well-established B2C playbooks in order to achieve similar successes.
Kingfluencers Delivers a Hassle-Free, Full-Service Approach
Our services guide B2B IM in a synchronized way, from strategy to ongoing community management. We help you develop your true potential social influence, building on every element that defines the true impact of your brand and message. Contact us and we’ll take a holistic approach to develop your brand voice and give that voice a positive impact, generating digital influence that goes beyond (B2B) influencer marketing.
More than 85% of the Swiss population can be reached on social media and 40% follow influencers. Can they be influenced to make purchases through these channels? Our study on where and how Swiss consumers find inspiration and information about products and brands today, with an added focus on influencer marketing and the luxury industry, says yes.
Influencer and advocacy marketing can nowadays be identified as Influence Marketing producing the pinnacle of purchase decision drivers, electronic Word of Mouth or eWOM. eWOM is impacting consumers through recommendations that feel as relevant as those of a friend or an expert. It’s therefore no surprise that, according to our data, every third inspiration via a social media channel or influencer leads to a purchase in Switzerland.
We address the ongoing debate about authenticity and marketing power of influencers – do consumers trust them? Can they really sell products? We found that in the lifestyle and luxury sector, 78% of Swiss consumers who noticed paid influencer ads were inspired by them, and 40% stated they’ve made a purchase because of them. In other words, influencer marketing is a powerful form of marketing in Switzerland where authenticity and commercial opportunity co-exist.
In our Consumer Study Report about “The Power of Digital Influence”, you will find profound insights into online channels, platforms, and content creators that inspire Swiss consumers and act as key decision-making levers in the purchasing process.
If you have missed our exclusive summary of the study in our public webinar with marketing.ch, where key results and insights have been presented by our CEO Yoeri Callebaut and Chief Strategy & Digital Influence Officer Eric Amstein, you can find the full recording here.
Free Consumer Study Report – The Power of Digital Influence: What inspires and influences Swiss consumers
We recently wrote about how retail expanded from brick-and-mortar stores to include ecommerce and has been expanding further to also include social and livestream commerce. Many attributes of Switzerland and the Swiss people make us an ideal audience to target with new retail initiatives.
What trends are we now seeing within this new, broad scope of retail?
Merging the Point of Inspiration with the Point of Purchase
With the inclusion of social commerce and even AR, brands aren’t selling to distinct, separate audiences with isolated tactics. New retail involves connecting with your audience in innovative ways and merging the point of inspiration with the point of purchase.
The third trend includes a blurring and blending of physical and virtual worlds. “It is certainly true that some consumers who shopped online in 2020 and 2021 are likely to return to brick-and-mortar stores, and that the store of tomorrow will look very different… And what may be surprising is that people of all income levels and generations are interested in shopping for real-life products in virtual worlds.”
39% of consumers have had a consultation in a virtual or augmented reality environment on topics from health and wellness to DIY projects. In agreement with our own guidance, Accenture advises, “The metaverse has arrived, and the best thing that retailers can do today is starting to experiment.”
Collaborate Cohesively
Deloitte also emphasized the need for cohesion. “Social commerce trends are not only reshaping consumer shopping experiences, but unlocking new opportunities for platforms, brands, and creators. Social commerce success depends on collaboration and integration of key players in the ecosystem.”
Deloitte provides social commerce services that solve operational and technical challenges, including architecting technology stacks to integrate brand and retailer e-commerce systems with platform systems.
Influencer Marketing Success Case
Cohesive integration of marketing campaigns between brands and influencers is equally important.
Kingfluencers recently executed a campaign in which influencers discussed how to start your day successfully with SUPER SHOTS by hohes C, while taking their communities along for the day. The communities showed high qualitative interest with an engagement rate of over 5%, and the influencers received many questions on where to buy the SUPER SHOTS. In addition to indicating high trust in the brand and the creators, this reveals how social campaigns can drive purchases from brick-and-mortar stores.
Anna PfisterGiulia SteingruberLinda Fäh
Fusing Digital & Physical Experiences
While we may think of ecommerce and retail stores as distinct modes of shopping, Deloitte’s 2022 Retail Industry Outlook describes the accelerating fusion of digital and physical experiences. “Over the next five years, leaders are buying into the prospects of digitization of the physical world, such as voice commerce, staff-free cashier-less stores, and the selling of digital goods.”
Burberry opened a shoppable digital version of one of its flagship stores. Customers can navigate themselves around the virtual store and purchase items by selecting digital icons.
Experiential Retail and Flagship Stores
To attract new customers and build loyalty, retailers are developing immersive shopping experiences and building innovative flagship stores. Athletic apparel brand On’s first-ever flagship store, On Labs, is situated beneath its Zurich-based headquarters and features a foot scanner that details your shoe size to within 1.25mm of perfection. Kingfluencers’ team was part of the flagship store launch, sharing the good vibes, sporty challenges, and benefits of joining the club for running lovers with content creators like HaVy Nguyen. The campaign achieved over 1.6M impressions and a 3.11% engagement rate.
Zurich is also home to the Freitag tower, made from used freight containers. The flagship store sells recycled, one-of-a-kind products, such as bags, smartphone cases, and wallets. Additionally, consumers can personalize their bags by becoming involved in the production process at the Freitag Sweat-Yourself-Shop.
Social Commerce on Instagram
Social commerce usually takes place on the move, i.e. via smartphone or tablet, as social media offers are preferably used via mobile devices. Brands can excel by building a social media strategy optimized to cash in on the movement and avoid losing out to competitors.
Instagram enables you to use real-time and pre-made content to create an interactive, visual shopping experience that deepens connections with your community. With Instagram Shoppable posts, you can sell products directly from shoppers’ feeds. Product Tags let you highlight items from your catalog directly in your images and videos, so people can easily tap and learn more.
As part of our Instagram marketing services, Kingfluencers can help make your products easy to discover on Instagram. Earlier this year, Mondelez launched limited edition Oreos in collaboration with Warner Bros and the brand-new Batman movie. Kingfluencers ran a campaign in which influencers showed how biting the new cookies in a creative way can lead you from a serious world into a playful one.
Technology-Driven Convenience
Some retail trends originally expanded in response to COVID-19, such as self-checkout, buy online pick-up in-store (BOPIS), and contactless payment. These technology-driven experiences remain popular for convenience and their ability to reduce staff, (plus the preference of antisocial shoppers!).
Retailers must also consider macroeconomic trends, including inflation. On July 26, 2022, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wrote, “Several shocks have hit a world economy already weakened by the pandemic: higher-than-expected inflation worldwide – especially in the United States and major European economies – triggering tighter financial conditions.” Of course, inflation can lead to consumers buying fewer items and being more price-conscious about the items they do purchase. While many consumers worldwide are worried, CH inflation is expected to fall in the new year and Switzerland should avoid a recession.
Sustainability is Sought After
A 2022 report shows that two-thirds of consumers say they would pay more for sustainable products, and nearly three-quarters value product sustainability over brand name. Interestingly, retailers are largely unaware of the strength and prevalence of these preferences, creating a greenfield for savvy retailers.
Buying and selling secondhand products, referred to as “recommerce” is also on the rise, enabled by platforms such as Poshmark. In addition to helping buyers save money, it’s a sustainable practice. Some great options in Switzerland include Depop and Secondhandkiste for clothes. Tutti, Ricardo, and Brocki.ch are popular Swiss sites that offer a variety of items.
Kingfluencers also had the pleasure of running a campaign for Ricardo focused on communicating the brand’s USPs through interactive campaigns. Influencers were given various challenges when putting together hiking gear on Ricardo. The total engagement rate was 5.1%.To further encourage sustainability and low-waste products, Brocki.ch also worked with Kingfluencers on a campaign to promote their thrift stores all over Switzerland. Impressions were 41% higher than forecasted, and the total engagement rate was 5.0%.
What’s Emerging and What Should Brands Be Doing About it?
Last year, we published, “13 Social Media & Influencer Marketing Trends to Look For Now,” many of which are still relevant for 2023. So, what new trends are emerging now, and what’s changing? Most importantly, what should brands be doing about it?
1. Social Media is More Deeply Intertwined with Life, as People Share Everything
While people have long used social media to share life’s fun (and sometimes not so fun) moments, posts were often carefully curated and edited.
Social media is now becoming increasingly entrenched in people’s lives, as people share everything in the moment, on the go. Users are sharing every second via video on TikTok, SnapChat, and BeReal in ways that are less pre-planned and polished than typically seen on Instagram. On the popular Netflix show “Emily in Paris,” the protagonist livestreams her visits to popular tourist destinations – free of edits. The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau posted where to find the main locations in the series to help people see the city through Emily’s eyes.
For Pro Juventute, we organized a campaign against cybermobbing in which three TikTokers, including Kris G, authentically shared their experiences with cyberbullying along with tips on how to deal with offensive comments and messages.
The Takeaway: Create brand content and select influencers who embrace this instant authenticity people crave.
2. Moving Even More Toward Everything Video
In our 2022 guide, we noted that video is increasing in relevance and importance, leaving other formats less likely to be noticed. As platforms adapt, they’re converging on video, specifically on-the-go storytelling. Sprout Social predicts that businesses will put more money behind video production.
PPCexpo states the video is, “The single most important content marketing strategy today.” Both video and authenticity continue to grow in importance. Social Media management platform Later notes video content is already shifting towards casual, off-the-cuff storytelling. “Even video editing is becoming more about telling a story, like using multiple apps to create clever edits.”
The Takeaway: Allocate sufficient budget to video production and select influencers with proven ability to create engaging videos. Also consider innovative use of your influencer video content with Kingfluencers “Influencer TV Spot,” a new exclusive advertising format that we launched last year, to take storytelling to a whole new level.
3. Performance Marketing Grows in Importance, as Brands Focus on KPIs
Many brands are still struggling to figure out how to monetize their social media presence. Brands want to ensure their initiatives, including IM campaigns, pay off, but tracking KPIs can be challenging.
As 2023 progresses, IM will be more tuned into sales and focused on conversion. Kingfluencers’ Head of Creative Strategy, Larisa Topalo, stated, “Conversion will begin to overtake awareness as the key goal.”
Eric Amstein, Kingfluencers’ Chief Strategy & Digital Influence Officer, stated, “Brands need to use every digital communication channel more and more strategically. Getting ahead of the narrative across all stakeholder interaction will be crucial to stay relevant and commercially successful. These investments will drive stronger results in digital brand building, digital reputation, positive eWOM, driving better performance of marketing activities and ultimately conversion rates.”
Fohr, influencer marketing agency and platform provider, also predicted, “Brands this year will be highly focused on ways to track conversion and their return on ad spend (ROAS).” In addition to a prioritization on conversion, Fohr predicts a rise in multi-touch attribution models that follow a longer customer journey.
The Takeaway: Allocate some of your campaign budgets to performance marketing (boosting organic content to reach even higher KPIs). Establish specific campaign goals and closely monitor quantitative KPIs, in addition to nuanced measurement with qualitative analysis. Consider multi-touch attribution models and use every channel more strategically.
4. IM Content Gains More Ground
According to a study from eMarketer, “Influencer marketing spend is projected to grow 23.4% in 2023 and 15.9% in 2024.” But we don’t expect IM expenditures to be restricted to traditional campaigns.
Instead, IM content will continue to spill over into other domains and serve as the basis for performance marketing campaigns. Brands will use the power of that content to convey their value, get attention, and further capitalize on their IM investments.
Larisa said, “We’ll see more influencers, more content, more platform changes. Integration of influencers into traditional marketing activities will continue, for example PR events, capsule launches, product co-creation, TV advertising. There is a lot of room for creativity, and we’ll see even more unusual collaborations, viral campaigns, and clever integrations.”
Influencer marketing will also continue to expand beyond consumer products, impacting B2B purchase decisions and integrating the influence of corporate leaders. We expect B2B influencer marketing to take off, but it needs the requisite tools and processes. It can be time-consuming and difficult to find B2B influencers, making the support of agencies that much more vital. (And yes, Kingfluencers is already part of this take off!)
The Takeaway: Allocate funds for IM as an integral part of your marketing efforts. Yoeri Callebaut, Kingfluencers CEO, advises, “Take the time needed to strategize, plan, and allocate budgets. IM can’t be an afterthought at which you throw leftover budget. It’s important for brands to have a diversified and smart approach to social media and constantly reinvent how they communicate, spending more time on content to stand out. The storytelling train is moving fast. You need to get on now and come with brand stories, characters, and room for influencers to be creative.”
5. Social Media Platforms & Creators Continue to Innovate… Beyond TikTok
Platforms have long been accused of copying one another, which we expect to continue. However, some innovative channels are still emerging and growing as they target unique niches, such as Twitch.
Larisa expects IM campaigns to become more creative, complicated, and elaborate. GoPro demonstrated their trust in the unbridled creativity of influencers at the recent GoPro Creator Summit. The brand invited 42 creators to a four-day, all expenses-paid jaunt to Interlaken, Switzerland, an experience one summed up, “A brand threw me out of a plane.” GoPro didn’t give creators any specific assignments or content mandates.
In collaboration with Street Parade Zurich, we created an exclusive Kingfluencers VIP Stage and shared the experience with over 250 influencers. Under the hashtag #KingfluencersXStreetparade, the influencers shared the unforgettable day live with their communities. The creators published a total of 71 posts on Instagram and TikTok, achieving over 1.8 M impressions.
The Takeaway: While it’s important to stay informed of the latest platform innovations, brands must move toward a community-centric approach. Focus on your target community and build an approach that includes which platforms to use to reach them. Think beyond Meta (Instagram) and TikTok and include other platforms like Twitch (especially for men), Pinterest (especially for women), and YouTube. Kingfluencers will continue to help you stay informed with our new upcoming study coming out mid-March with insights into digital influence on Swiss consumer behaviors like inspiration searches, purchase decision-making, and platform usage.
6. TikTok Remains a Driver, as Platforms Strive to be More Entertaining and Engaging
Fohr thinks, “TikTok will stay as a cultural engine, as the platform matures, creators could bring their communities elsewhere.” The agency and platform provider has seen reports of slower follower growth and fewer views on creator content, which means new opportunities for YouTubers, bloggers, newsletters, or live streaming.
TikTok has been banned in government agencies due to cybersecurity risks in several US states. Fear of TikTok bans persist, but restrictions are likely to remain limited to government agencies or individual corporations.
“In my opinion, other platforms now see the entertainment approach is working, and are launching more features to make the platform both more entertaining and more engaging. Impacted by TikTok’s success, platforms are striving to create community feelings and engagement, stimulating interactions with features such as chat, video calls, groups, and audio rooms. These are big factors that make people stick to the platform, contributing to the success of social media,” said Yoeri.
“Sparking connections between people over what they find,” is among Instagram’s priorities in 2023, alongside inspiring creativity, and discovering new things.
The Takeaway: TikTok remains a vital channel to connect with consumers, and don’t disregard the opportunities for engagement elsewhere. Entertaining content is great, but people stay when they can connect and interact in a community.
7. Focus on User Generated Content (UGC)
Nearly 80% of consumers surveyed say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions. Recognizing this value, brands are making increasing efforts to capture a greater variety of voices, such as consumers and employees. Through consumer advocacy efforts, they’re working to capture UGC and use it wisely, building a squad of voices to deliver a broad range of support.
Salesforce is one very impressive success case. The brand revamped their social ambassador program and turned 25,000 employees into social brand ambassadors in 21 months by leveraging Haiilo.
The Takeaway: Make plans to capture and leverage UGC. Don’t leave it to chance. Give your consumers creative freedom to showcase how your product can solve a key pain point of your community. The authenticity of such real stories makes IM powerful and can result in highly successful campaigns.
8. Scrutiny & Oversight of Platforms + Influencer Guidelines
Recent events at Twitter have unleashed many questions and increased scrutiny. Specifically, how do platforms really operate? How fragile are they? What impact do they have on democracy?
Social media is becoming a topic of geopolitical interest, amid growing concerns about the power and instability of platforms. We’ll likely see increasing demand for more oversight and regulation.
Greg notes that Twitter could become more interested in the creator economy to generate new revenues. While some brands have reduced their Twitter marketing spend, the platform still provides great opportunities. For example, Shakira sang about her ex Gérard Pique’s new girlfriend, “You traded a Rolex for a Casio.” Casio responded and has been having great fun on Twitter.
Anja Lapčević, Kingfluencers Co-CEO & Chief Influence Officer, stated that France is now another country that has planned to implement guidelines for influencers. “We will also focus on further developing the Code of Conduct and expanding the Conscious Influence Hub, in addition to recruiting more creators, agencies, brands, and individuals to work with association. We believe that as a community we can use the positive power of social media to strengthen digital togetherness.”
Sprout Social wrotehow brands talk about sustainability, specifically, will change, with many opting for a quieter approach amid fears of being called out for greenwashing.
The Takeaway: Contribute to social media as a force for good. Ensure public statements are always transparent and sincere.
9. Brands Will Hire Influencers to Run Their Accounts & Work Onsite
Shopify states, “If an influencer has a track record of going viral with their own accounts, chances are they can replicate the success for a brand.” In addition to their knowledge of what engages communities on social platforms, they also have friendships with other influencers that can further help brands extend their reach.
Kingfluencers manages Manor’s TikTok account, where our team also engages with their communities via the creators T-Ronimo and Ericwdrae. Another successful example is influencer lala who creates TikToks for the German grocery store EDEKA.
10. In-Store Influencers
Based on their global consumer study, the Qualtrics XM Institute has declared 2023, “the year businesses rediscover the human connection.” “But in the rush to digitize everything, and drive operational efficiency, many companies left their humanity behind. And now, they’re paying the price as consumers demand deeper, more human connections with the companies they buy from.”
Influencers can play a part in building more human connection. As published by Trend Hunter, “Brands are inviting influencers to their brick-and-mortar retail locations for more interactive and engaging partnerships. These collaborations are often realized as consumer-facing marketing resources, or a way for the brand to help influencers supercharge their social media content.”
Consumers are increasingly looking at influencers for insights into different products or services, as they are often shown in the moment or in use. Both, brand and influencers, ensure through in-store creator events to provide real, authentic experiences instead of putting the purchase decision in focus.
Some of our influencers participated in such a in-store creator event for the opening of the On Running flagship store in Zurich, together with other talented content creators. It was a fun (and sporty!) event, full of laughter, music, good vibes, and refreshing drinks.
Brands will increasingly focus on reviving brick-and-mortar retail experiences, especially with influencer opening events or visits, because that makes retail fun and more human-centric! Even employees can act as in-house influencers and become a crucial part of your branding.
The Takeaway: Consider enabling creators to manage your account or just take it over for a day. Give creators freedom to generate content for your brand. While influencers are often associated with social media, consider partnering with them for in-store collaborations.
11. Need to Compete with AI (Artificial Intelligence)
New use cases for artificial intelligence seem to occur on a daily basis. Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT is a chatbot that’s shockingly decent at creating unique content. Social Media Today writers suspect that many websites will use AI-generated content for generic overviews, helping cut down on SEO time. “The end result, then, is that people – like, actual, real humans – will be less and less engaged by the generic, which could open up more opportunity for better copy to stand out.”
On the other hand, the OpenAI Terms of Use states, “Due to the nature of machine learning, Output may not be unique across users and the Services may generate the same or similar output for OpenAI or a third party.” Therefore, by using AI-generated text, you could end up with duplicate website content, thus incurring Google penalties.
AI-generated art has also been growing, with some unique results such as every country as a super villain.
AI may be progressing in creating text and imagery, but it doesn’t seem capable of making fun TikToks… yet.
Content, whether for SEO, email, or social posts, must resonate with people. As reiterated by many surveys we’ve quoted here, people crave authentic human connection. It’s crucial to share emotional, sincere posts from real people that consumers can relate to. AI can’t come close to achieving that vital depth of connection.
The Takeaway: Influencers will have to compete with AI in creating content. Brands should carefully vet influencers – especially writers – so you can be certain the content they’re creating is unique. Real people are needed for real human connection. But also consider including some fun, fascinating AI-generated imagery as a complement to your authentically human campaigns.
12. Preventing Burnout & Improving Mental Health Will Be Priorities
With all the new trends and innovations, it’s important to maintain a focus on wellness, both physical and mental. Behind every smiling face on social media is a person with doubts and problems. That’s why we’re introducing a new format on our channels: Monthly Mental Health Check-in. We at Kingfluencers want to bring attention to the topic of mental health and share very personal and close experiences. Our January topic was comparing yourself on social media and was extended in February with our #NoFilterFeb Challenge. In our 2nd part of the Mental Health Campaign, we highlight how social media distorts reality and provide tips and tricks.
Talking to The Media Leader, Phil Rowley, Omnicom Media Group’s head of futures, commented on the need for social media to positively impact mental health. “We love social media, but we hate it too, and we certainly can’t stop using it. So the only long-term solution is to find a model that scratches all of our itches but doesn’t make us feel terrible in the process.”
The Takeaway: Consider how your social media interactions will impact anyone who encounters them. Refer to the Conscious Influence Hub Code of Conduct for guidance.
Soon, But Not Now:
Live Commerce
Live commerce is gaining ground worldwide, although it’s not yet common in DACH. The Drum reports a recent shift in understanding and engagement of live shopping in Europe.
Many platforms offer their own shopping features – with social commerce, brands can handle the entire customer journey within one platform – from the initial inspiration to the purchase of a product. This gives social commerce an advantage that traditional online commerce cannot offer and also increases the impulse of purchases. According to the Swiss Mail Order Association, which brings together more than 320 online retailers generating around 50% of Swiss B2C online sales, manufacturers and brands are investing heavily in their online format to increase sales and improve the customer experience.
Although the topic is still very young in Switzerland, it will become increasingly relevant and also be used more and more.
Metaverse and Web 3.0
Fastcompany says: “In 2023, the Metaverse is likely to grow exponentially, becoming more immersive and more expansive. With advances in technology, we are likely to see more realistic avatars—the figures that represent you in the Metaverse—that allow for more complex interactions in virtual worlds.”
At Kingfluencers, we expect the metaverse to grow significantly in 2023 both on the side of brands and users presence – although perhaps not at the speed sources like Fast Company predict just yet. In Switzerland and DACH, we assume that it might still take a little while and foresee the boom rather as of 2024-2025 for a number of reasons such as complexity for people to get involved in areas like NFTs (requiring NFT wallets etc) and general access to the Metaverse with multiple ‘Metaverses’ like Sandbox existing without any of them being the true leading one. We do believe that in the next 2 years clearer dominance of certain Metaverses will become apparent, which will help adoption as people and brands will know where to go – Metaverse-wise. Furthermore in order for Metaverse to become more popular and gain traction, access to Metaverse and Web 3.0 should be simplified and potential users need easily accessible guides and information or education concerning how to participate – from buying NFT’s to generation avatars and being ‘on the Verse’. Once how to gain access is more clear or simplified consumers and brands are likely to find their way to the world of web 3.0 a lot faster and the exponential boom can begin (much like it happened with social media in general).
The real trend we expect is that specialized stakeholders in this industry such as web 3.0 developers but also some leading frontrunner brands outside the web 3.0 technology zone will make access to the Metaverse and Web 3.0 easier or more attractive in order to stimulate adoption. This will be done for example by simplifying systems and procedures related to access and ownership of digital assets, so that more people will find their way to it without much ‘technology hassle’. Some of this will require real ‘reengineering’ of certain systems and processes related to these fields. Forward looking companies and brands will continue to invest in innovation in all areas as well as NFTs throughout the year and with good reasons.
Supporting Your 2023
If you have any more questions about the emerging trends listed or would like to chat about other trends on the horizon, feel free to contact us right away.
Here are six actionable strategies to drive up engagement of your social media community:
Welcome new members. Have a way to open up the conversation with those who are just joining you. This could be a post tagging new members and asking them to introduce themselves. Or it could be a direct message to anyone who is new (manual or automated). Making people feel welcome and warming them up for active participation is one of the best ways to create engaged community members.
Post at the perfect time. This requires looking at your analytics for when most people interact with your content. Time zones and audience demographics play a big role in when exactly that is. If you figure out the best time to post, more fans will be there to engage with your content right away. The increased initial engagement then encourages social media algorithms to promote your content more – turning your time spent analyzing the best time to post into a double-win.
Encourage discussion: Share interesting third-party posts. People love discussing the latest events relevant to their niche of interest. By sharing selected pieces of content that are sure to get the conversation going, you can drive up your members’ engagement with your social media profile and with each other.
Make your content beautiful. Beautifully crafted posts and crisp images stand out from today’s sea of social media content. Everyone loves to consume, engage with, and share the most appealing things they come across online. If that’s your content – you can be sure people will love engaging with it.
Use video. Video just feels more real than other types of social media content and is still the most requested and most consumed content on social media. If you use it well, your followers will feel more connected to you. As a result, they’ll stick around longer and respond more positively. Using Video is a great way to keep your community going strong.
Gamify your content. Can you figure out a way for your fans to earn points, badges, or discounts for engaging with the community? That’s a perfect way to keep them coming back to your platform again and again. The increased fun factor is sure to keep your followers hooked – gamification can supercharge their community interactions.
Now, what are the exact tasks you have to do when you manage your social media community?
We’ll dive into those below:
These are your tasks in social media community management
There’s four distinct types of tasks you have to carry out to manage your community well.
If you do these right, and keep up your efforts over time, your fans will stay happy and you’ll continue to reap the brand-boosting benefits:
Task #1: Monitor
This means you’ll listen to any conversation in any way relating to your brand. There’s so much to glean from these:
Are your members venting about their unsolved problems?
Are they praising certain positives – that you could double down on in the future?
How are they talking about your competitors?
How is the general vibe, how are your fans relating to each other? Could you do something to facilitate their conversations?
Are they passionate about your brand’s offer to the world?
By staying “on the pulse” of your community, you remain agile – ready to pivot and implement new strategies in response to the insights you gained.
A good social media community manager can read into what he’s monitoring, and quickly devise new tactics based on his learnings. In addition, a good manager keeps an eye on everything happening – are negative comments being spread or is there even a shitstorm approaching or something similar that should have been handled? You should always be able to react immediately.
Task #2: Moderate
As mentioned above, a social media community manager must respond quickly. Many people think of “moderating” first when they hear the term “community management”:
The removal of comments using foul language, harming your brand, or otherwise misleading your community members.
And indeed it’s an important part of the manager’s job. Additionally, you’ll need to address bad customer feedback and calls for support.
Handle these well, with short response time, and your honorable attitude in dealing with criticism and dissatisfied customers will strengthen your reputation.
Task #3: Engage
The most fun part of social media community management: The (sometimes serious, sometimes playful) back-and-forth with your community members.
Creating an actual connection with your fans. Making them feel like they’re part of the tribe.
While it’s a good idea to let your followers talk among each other without jumping into every conversation, you should strive for 100% engagement if someone directs a question at you or tags you in any way – within reasonably short response time.
It’s just another aspect a great community manager is tasked with: Showing the members you really care.
Don’t leave any question unanswered. And draw attention to your profile by commenting on other creators’ or brands profiles and leaving funny comments.
Task #4: Measure
To measure is to make management much easier – that’s why this is one of your most important, but also most beneficial tasks as a community manager.
Click-through to your sales page or product listings
The use of analytics is a powerful way to stay on top of managing your community. You’re able to see the full picture of how your community is doing. And you’re able to react swiftly if some of the data show room for improvement.
When you manage communities on social media, there’s certain things you have to get right to have everything run smoothly – the so-called best practices. You’ll now learn what these are, so you can make sure to implement all of them successfully.
Do you want us to take care of it for you? We have deep expertise in managing online communities. We’ve been a full-service digital marketing agency since 2016 and have helped many prominent brands with their social media community management.
Community management best practices: How to get it right
What are community management best practices?
Best practice #1: Outline rules and guidelines
Before people start taking part in your community, it’s considered best practice to make them aware of the rules they’ll have to respect and the guidelines they’re expected to follow.
Your standards for acceptable behavior might be different from other communities they’ve participated in in the past – so it’s only fair to let your fans know beforehand. Also, having strict boundaries as to what’s allowed for members and what isn’t makes them feel part of a special in-group:
Not only does it make your community easier to manage, it’s also great for creating group identity and cohesion.
Best practice #2: Generate new members
It should always be your goal to find new users to join you. Managing a social media community well also means making sure it doesn’t shrink, but always keeps growing.
So it’s best practice to use different strategies to make people aware of your community and entice them to join: Make sure to frequently share posts to new outlets – and encourage your members to share, too. Explore other outreach methods: Publish links to your community on your company’s website, or promote it to your email list.
The ultimate way to generate new members is of course to manage your community so well that people are delighted to refer their friends by word-of-mouth marketing.
Best practice #3: Check your ratings
At least every month, make sure to monitor what people have said about being part of your community on review sites like Google, Yelp, etc. You want to be able to address any negative feedback you might have gotten.
If you then visibly work to improve on what was criticized, it says a lot about how much you value keeping your fans happy.
Again, people don’t like to see unanswered reviews. Take a stand on negative comments or just say thank you on a positive review.
Best practice #4: Reward your fans for interacting
Above and beyond actually reading every post in your community and responding with a “like” or other response emoji – let your community managers show your fans even more love for their regular engagement with your content and your followers:
Respond with a GIF or meme
Write out a few thoughtful sentences
Gift them a coupon or discount code
Share their post or mention them in your own
Follow the best practice of authentic, attentive interaction with your fans, and you’ll cultivate a wonderful feeling of community among your followers.
More than other platforms, Facebook is all about two-way communication. So to manage your Facebook community well, it’s recommended you take the time to type out thoughtful responses to each post – consistently and in a timely manner. This shows your audience that you care. And it’ll keep your community engaged for the long run.
By the way: Open communication with fans in your Facebook group or page will give you great insights into what your brand is doing well, and what could be improved when dealing with prospects and customers.
If only for this benefit, investing effort in proper community management on Facebook should be worth it to you.
5 tips for effective community management on Facebook
Publish educational posts. Only sharing links to your website or content you found elsewhere is not the best way to manage your community on Facebook. On the other hand: Create content that genuinely aims to teach your fans something and to improve their lives, and your community will be much more engaged.
Ask your community’s opinion. Make your members actively participate in the group. This is the key to managing social media communities well: Have people actually be social. If you encourage (constructive & cordial) discussion, you’ll help your fans connect with each other. As a bonus, the added interaction will push your content from an algorithm standpoint, giving your posts a much greater reach.
Answer in Facebook Messenger. Some of your customers will try to contact your business page or your community manager’s account through Facebook messenger with questions, remarks or concerns. If you attend to these messages quickly, respond in a friendly way, and try your all to help them out, it’ll do wonders for your community’s reputation and levels of engagement. Your fans will be thankful you care about helping them, so they’ll reward you by sticking around and possibly promoting your Facebook community to others.
Have employees share updates. The community likes to gain a more private insight into the workings of your brand. Having your employees frequently share updates about what’s happening in your business will give your fans the feeling they’re a special part of everything. If your team members then share these posts on their personal profiles, you’ll also be gaining more reach for your Facebook community.
Check your Facebook analytics. Inside the Facebook Creator Studio you get great tools to inform your community management efforts. You can track the performance of each piece of content you post in your Facebook group or to your business page:
Views
Engagement rates
Followers gained (or lost)
Also, it helps you filter, organize and respond to messages and comments all in one place.
By frequently checking and analyzing your analytics, you can see what worked and what didn’t, and use what you’ve learned to manage your Facebook community even better in the future.
Instagram community management: It’s all about approachability
On Instagram, creators are highly accessible to their audience. To manage your Instagram community well, you should be ready to interact on a whim.
It’s also important to “keep it real”:
The audience skews younger than Facebook, and they appreciate simple, down-to-earth communication. It’s common for even bigger accounts to still respond to DMs, sometimes even go through their followers’ profiles, like their posts and leave thoughtful or funny comments.
If you want to excel at community management on Instagram, you could adopt the same strategy.
How to build a community on Instagram
Make your IG profile beautiful, interesting & helpful
The first step in building a community quickly is to create an outstanding Instagram profile.
This will drive up your conversion rate: A higher number of those who visit your profile will choose to start following you if your content is both visually appealing, educational and/or entertaining. It’ll amplify all your other growth strategies, because a higher percentage of the traffic you’re driving to your profile will convert into followers.
Search popular hashtags
When you’re first starting to build your community on Instagram, go where your target audience is already interacting. Join the conversation, comment on other people’s posts, and add your own relevant content under the same hashtags.
Follow the most relevant hashtags, and be sure to participate where you can. If your own profile is somewhat enticing, people will start following you.
DM people in your niche
Once you’ve identified those who are engaging with topics in your industry, you can strike up conversations with them via Instagram’s DM feature. These can be bigger accounts, but also your regular would-be customers who are active in your niche.
You’re starting to make real connections – creating the beginnings of your thriving Instagram community. Not only will the algorithm preferentially show your content to those you’ve interacted with via DM, but you’ll start an even more valuable relationship with your followers and peers.
Real interactions are how community is built. Be it in real life or on Instagram.
Work with influencers
To jump-start your community building, consider working with influencers in your niche.
You can have them promote your account on their Instagram profile, sending people over to your brand community. Or have them take over your own account to drive up the engagement there and spur new growth. Instagram influencers can lend instant credibility to your budding community and help you “humanize” your brand
And they’re experienced at building social media accounts – so it could make sense for you to borrow both their authority and their expertise to grow your own.
Engage your audience using stories
Instagram stories are a great way to engage your existing followers, but also to build your community by reaching new people.
Every time your brand is tagged in someone’s story, a percentage of their followers will click on the tag to visit your profile. If they like what they see, they’re going to stick around – some of them might become your most engaged fans in the future or buy your products.
Make your stories real, fun, and informative:
Present your products or services in an interesting way
Show insights into the day-to-day behind the scenes
Educate your audience about popular topics in your niche
Tag your fans
Do you have “Superfans” inside your Instagram community?
Those who like every post, always add insightful comments, and share all of your content?
Then make sure to tag them from time to time in your stories and profile posts. It’ll make their day – and they’ll continue to feel great about being your brand ambassadors.
Also, if anyone mentions you in their post or story, be sure to repost.
Engage with your Instagram followers, authentically, as friends. You’ll build a strong, lively community.
TikTok community management – It’s all about engagement
Your brand shouldn’t think of your TikTok community as just another social media outlet to be managed in a one-way fashion.
It’s an entertainment platform where people dive deeply into connection and co-creation with others.
If you show up as someone real, i.e. your brand acting as an authentic person – participating daily in conversations inside your community – you’ll see the best results on TikTok.
Here are a few actionable ways to make that happen:
Host hashtag challenges
Your TikTok community will thrive on user-generated content (UGC).
How do you manage to have your fans create UGC around your brand’s niche? You come up with your own ideas for hashtag challenges. If your challenge goes viral – which happens frequently with TikTok’s algorithm – you could grow your reach exponentially. Not to mention how it’ll make your followers grow closer as a community. One example of this is the THOMY Mayonnaise dance challenge, where influencers like Kevin Bannier and Faye Leonie challenged their community to share their #thomyhappydance as well.
Hop on TikTok trends
Likewise, people love to take part in the latest trends across TikTok. You can ride that wave and gain a lot of momentum with your TikTok community. As there’s always new trends emerging on the platform, you’ll never run out of opportunities to engage your community.
Brands that know how to attach themselves to trends on TikTok, win.
Show your products in an entertaining way
Be it with special dance moves, unique outfits and makeup, or the specific way you speak about your product: You’ll engage your TikTok community if you manage to present your offers to your audience with fresh, engaging, and creative content that spreads your brand’s unique message. Manor provides a good example: on their TikTok channel, they publish recipe ideas, the hottest outfits, makeup tips and much more, and also interact with their community through quizzes.
Organic TikTok content can be a fantastic way to showcase your products and services to your audience – whether on its own or supplemented by paid advertising methods.
Build a narrative
Beyond fun, building a story connecting you and your fans can turn your TikTok community into something special that people want to be part of.
One important aspect of community management is keeping that story alive with each new piece of content you publish and each conversation you have with your fans.
A feeling of community goes deeper than superficial social media metrics.
Do you want our help turning your community into a thriving, engaged environment – priming your followers to become loyal customers and brand advocates? Then take advantage of Kingfluencers’ community management services.
Stay tuned for Part 3, where we’ll dive into 3 great examples of a brand’s social media community management.
Retail, formerly the exclusive domain of brick-and-mortar stores, expanded many years ago to include e-commerce. New retail has expanded again and now includes social commerce and livestream commerce as well. Many attributes of Switzerland and the Swiss people make us an ideal audience to target with new retail initiatives.
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce differs from social media marketing in that users are able to make purchases directly through social media networks, rather than being redirected to an online store. Social commerce makes the link between social media storytelling and revenue generation with clever shoppable features like:
Swipe up
Linked shoppable product catalogues
Temporary flash promotions
With well-structured campaigns, brands can leverage social commerce to engage with potential customers and drive revenue.
Social Commerce is on the Rise
Social commerce is expected to grow to a $1.2 trillion industry by 2025
70% of European shoppers are interested in at least one form of “shoppertainment”
In Switzerland, the social commerce industry is expected to grow by 26.7% annually.
Social commerce capabilities and features are evolving and advancing quickly. Platforms and influencers alike are investing in social commerce and experimenting with new approaches. In July 2021, Pinterest announced its first set of tools to let content creators earn money with affiliate links.
TikTok introduced Shopping Ads, a new three-in-one commerce ad solution with new formats brands can adopt and combine: Video Shopping Ads, Catalog Listing Ads, and LIVE Shopping Ads. Shopping Ads aims to simplify the media buying experience and include new automation features. Billions are spent annually on TikTok live-stream commerce in China. TikTok is still working through its livestream commerce integration, in efforts to increase uptake with western viewers, and published a new overview of the brand opportunities of TikTok Live.
The Washington Post recently wrote about how more Gen Z and millennial shoppers are turning to TikTok and Instagram to find and buy gifts. For example, TikToker Savannah Baron can make as much as $5,000 per month from affiliate links and brand deals. Jens Knossalla alias “Knossi” recently hosted a gaming event on behalf of Kaufland. The event, live-streamed on Twitch, also included his streamer colleagues Sascha Hellinger (Unsympathisch TV), Starlet Nova, SelfieSandra, Sascha Huber, Shpendi, and Aaron Troschke. The theme was that all guests are on Santa’s “naughty list” and must convince him otherwise in order to celebrate with Kaufland’s mulled wine. More than 661,000 spectators followed the event live.
Livestream Commerce
Livestream commerce is a specific type of social commerce. With livestream shopping, consumers are able to interact with the host in real-time and make purchases directly through the live video promotion. With the immediacy of the interactions, livestream shopping helps brands connect with consumers and reduces barriers to purchase.
Livestream commerce is also on the rise. Surveys show more than 40% of European consumers are interested in buying electronics during livestreams on e-commerce sites or apps, and 34% are interested in fashion shopping via social media livestreaming. Amazon has begun paying a sales commission to influencers on products featured in its livestreams.
Swiss retailer About You is presenting the latest styles via regular live streams hosted by popular influencers. On 8 December, the “NIKE Gift Guide” hosted by Nardos also included a special Christmas surprise. Betty Bossi also features live shopping events with themes such as spicy cooking and grilling. According to Forrester Research, 70% of European shoppers are interested in at least one form of “shoppertainment,” defined as, “an emerging form of e-commerce that provides consumers with a more personal, interactive, and engaging shopping experience by leveraging pictures, videos, interactive games, and/or livestream events to ultimately drive transactions.” Social commerce and livestreams present an opportunity for additional revenue for brands and influencers alike.
Social Commerce in Switzerland
Switzerland is an ideal location for e-commerce and social commerce. As of 2022, the internet user penetration rate in Switzerland was 91%. Additionally, Swiss people can rely on the local delivery infrastructure. “In 2021, sales in Switzerland of Swiss online retailers continued to grow faster than those of their foreign counterparts. In total, Swiss residents spent CHF 13 billion ($13.35 billion) in local online shops in 2021, and around CHF 2.1 billion ($2.16 billion) in foreign online shops.”
Social Media is a Prime Purchasing Channel
A brand’s social media profiles have become some of their most essential storefronts. Among millennials and Gen Z, social media is becoming a prime purchasing channel. 97% of Gen Z consumers use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration. Additionally, data generated by social commerce platforms can also provide insights that can be used to optimize campaigns and improve performance.
Social Commerce on TikTok
“TikTok has invested more heavily in commerce capabilities, recently introducing tie-ups with retailers including Walmart that allow consumers to purchase products without leaving the app.” The TikTok Pixel, a small piece of code that you place on your website, helps you find new customers, optimize your campaigns and measure ad performance.
On 27 October 2020, TikTok announced a global partnership with Shopify to help merchants create and run campaigns geared toward TikTokers. Shopify is a subscription-based software that allows anyone to set up an online store and sell their products. The partnership makes it easier for Shopify merchants to tap into the creativity of the TikTok community, be discovered, and optimize their marketing campaigns.
TikTok stores are not yet allowed in Switzerland, although they are in the US. Check-out in-app is not currently available in Switzerland, but we expect it to be soon.
Social Commerce on Instagram
Instagram enables you to use real-time and pre-made content to create an interactive, visual shopping experience that deepens connections with your community. With Instagram Shoppable posts, you can sell products directly from shoppers’ feeds. Product Tags let you highlight items from your catalog directly in your images and videos, so people can easily tap and learn more. As part of our Instagram marketing services, Kingfluencers can help make your products easy to discover on Instagram.
Connect with your Audience via Social Commerce
With Switzerland being an ideal market for new retail, contact us to explore how Kingfluencers can amplify your brand messages, helping you generate revenue with influencer marketing.
