B2B businesses need marketing just like anyone else, but it can be hard to wrap your head around the idea of B2B affiliate marketing. When you think of affiliate marketing, you imagine the user scrolling through and seeing your marketing and deciding that it’s for them. You’re not imagining that they are thinking about what’s best for their business, especially if they found it via an influencer or a blog. And yet that’s the only real difference. B2B affiliate marketing is essentially B2C marketing with a different target, but that other target has different priorities and different behaviour online. In order to get the most out of them, you have to know how to target them
That’s where we come in. We’re breaking down how you can better target B2B companies with affiliate marketing.
Why do B2Bs need affiliate marketing?
Did you know that B2B makes up 70% of all industries? That is a massive pot for marketing to get into. And like anything else, you make an item or service, you need to market it. This time you’re simply marketing to other people who make items and services.
And it doesn’t matter who you’re marketing to, affiliate marketing is still the most effective form of online marketing. TopRank Marketing recently released a report on B2B marketing that said that 86% of B2B brands consider their affiliate marketing successful, over 70% of those who changed marketing strategies due to the effects of the pandemic said that affiliate marketing became more important, and it’s expected to grow, with over 73% reporting an increase in interest in affiliate marketing over the past year and 80% saying they expect it to grow over the next 12 months.
Choosing your affiliates
None of these tips are particularly new. They simply need to be tweaked for the sake of a B2B marketing campaign. Much like any B2C company, you have to be selective with what affiliates you are working with to get the best results.
So, who is buying B2B? Other businesses of course. This means targeting business-focused blogs and influencers is a given. But what are the cousins of business? Because you can hit all of them too. Finance, technology, and subgenres of lifestyle are all prime for marketing. For example, if you were to invest in influencer marketing, you might want to look at influencers who specialise in financial advice, business advice, entrepreneurial advice, and even hustle culture, which are all prime targets for B2B marketing.
It’s worth pointing out that a lot of these influencers might not have the same sort of numbers that you would expect from a lifestyle or health influencer, but that’s a good thing. Micro-influencers are known to have a more dedicated fanbase. Their audiences trust their advice and are going to take it seriously.
Curated content
Curated content is a great asset for B2B marketing, as it’s usually by definition B2B content. You are giving someone a shoutout that will in turn give your company a shoutout. Do it enough times and you’ll soon have a network of B2B content that is sharing audiences across your social media accounts.
It’s a good way to fill a gap in your content calendar. Post about the work you’ve done with a company, why you like them, etc. and they are likely to share it on their profile, fulfilling your half of the deal and sending their audiences to you. The other half of the deal is when they do the same for you.
Authenticity
It’s no secret that authenticity is the name of the game in social media marketing in 2022. TikTok is defined by it, users are tired of “fake” influencers, brands strive to be “#relatable”, etc. But how do B2B companies come off as any more authentic than they already are?
Well, TopRank Marketing’s report detailed that employees sharing posts tend to get 8x more engagement and a whopping 561% of the reach that brand posts do. Lean into your staff and your workspace. Don’t rely on improving your brand image with brand posts. Think “show, don’t tell”. Show that your brand is worth rooting for with content featuring the people behind it, rather than telling your audience just how great you are.
If you want to show off your products and services, show the people who are behind them and have them explain why you went that way.
If you’re interested in gathering some more affiliate and social media marketing insights, take a look at our blog, or for a more personalised approach, book a free call with a member of our team.
Or, for advice that comes from industry peers at the top of their careers, take a look at the content from our Elevate Summit. Over 14 hours of content is available featuring advice from talks, panels, and workshops for you to gain all the best advice.
