With all the talk about AI in marketing, there’s one place that no one’s looking. And I think it’s about to take over B2B.

Influencers.

It’s been a common tactic in B2C for decades – Kylie Jenner promoting makeup, Shaq pushing GoldBond, Snoop Dogg endorsing a smokeless grill. 

B2C brands have partnered with smaller “micro influencers” to promote products as well. It clearly works. 

But why hasn’t B2B caught on? 

Two major shifts needed to happen. And I believe they now have.

Here is why I believe influencer marketing will become one of the most dominant channels in B2B over the next 5 years.

Shift #1 - The Rise of Personal Brands in B2B

The main reason we haven’t seen B2B influencer marketing take off is because we’ve had a major supply issue.

Up until a few years ago, professionals mostly kept their work personalities to themselves. It would have been rare to find an employee telling others what they think about their job online.

There was no such thing as a “personal brand” associated with your job. Only C-level executives at big name companies had one. 

But with the growth of LinkedIn, that has completely changed. 

Now, professionals share their opinions online freely, connect with other likeminded people in their field, and can build massive personal brands and followings. It also helps with getting hired, which is a big reason for its growth.

Companies have leaned into the trend too. Over time, they’ve realized having employees with large personal brands helps the business, so they’re allowing it (and sometimes encouraging it).

Combine those two things and you get an explosion of professionals building personal brands, and ultimately, B2B influencers.

And over the next few years, I predict the number of B2B influencers to grow. Which will create more “human marketers” with captive audiences that B2B brands will pay a lot of money to access.

Supply problem solved. That is shift number one.

Shift #2 - Access to Information Has Changed The Buying Process

An increase in the supply of influencers by itself isn’t enough to start an influencer marketing renaissance. Buyers have to actually want to consume content from influencers to make this all work.

That’s happening now too. Here’s why.

We are in the era of immediate access to information across all facets of our life – personal and professional. Whether it’s a new dinner recipe or enterprise-grade software, it’s never been easier to get information about it.

This access to information has fundamentally changed the way people purchase products. When a buyer wants information about something, they can easily turn to reliable sources to get that information.

Online communities, industry peers, social media content, and influencers are a few of these sources. And these sources can have a massive influence over their purchasing decisions.

Up until the mid 2010’s, buyers had to rely on company-generated content to get the information they needed about products. This information was mostly created and shared by the companies who sold those products.

But we all know – company-generated content is inherently biased. Which puts the burden on the buyers to decide what’s accurate and what’s made to persuade them.

But with social media, the information gathering process has completely changed.

Today, buyers can seek out information from sources they actually trust before ever engaging with a company. They can consult with peers and turn to experts in their space to get unbiased information.

See where this is going?

Buyers have also gotten privy to the marketing and sales tactics that are wielded against them when they engage with a company’s content (often a bombardment of emails and phone calls from a vendor). So they look elsewhere, which continues to widen the gap between company content and buyers looking for information.

Where are they looking? You guessed it – online communities, industry peers, social media content. This is often referred to as the “dark funnel.”

Demand problem solved. It’s the perfect storm for B2B influencers.

The Result: The Influencer Marketing Wave in B2B is Here

Now that we’ve sorted out the supply and demand discrepancies, it’s clear that the path for B2B influencers has been cleanly paved.

Combine the demand for trusted information with an increase in online personalities, and you get the perfect scenario for influencer marketing in B2B.

If you look around online, you’ll see it happening yourself. 

Companies like Clay and Hubspot recently launched creator programs that reward content creators and influencers with perks and revenue share for driving sales of their product. Hubspot even gives out a monthly investment to content creator partners.

They’ve realized the power of the reach and influence creators have on their audiences and are doubling down on the channel. By partnering with influencers, they get hundreds of thought leaders creating content about their product and sharing it with their followers. They pay them a commission on sales and the influencer gets to say they’re a Hubspot or Clay creator partner, giving them a ton of authority. It’s a win-win for all parties.

Two of the leading tech companies placing bets on a new marketing channel is enough for me to really pay attention as to what’s coming ahead.

What’s Coming: The Influencer Renaissance

While AI continues to dominate the headlines in every area (including B2B marketing), the influencer opportunity has been slowly growing in plain sight. At the same time, buyers are demanding more genuine, authentic interactions with brands than ever before.

There is more information available, creating less need (and desire) for buyers to engage with companies to get their information.

There are more influencers than ever, creating ease of access and lower costs for companies to partner with them.

And other factors, like the rise of Gen Z in the workforce and the explosion of short form social media content are supplementing this already growing trend.

And that’s why I believe influencers are uniquely positioned to take over in B2B.

Are we going to see multi-million-dollar superstars created like we do in media and professional sports? I doubt it. 

But will we see huge careers made from influencing B2B buyers and an increase in the influencer channel being used? Absolutely.

The road for B2B influencers has been paved and the takeover is happening. The question is, how big is it going to get?