CIO Year Ahead: The State Of Influencer Marketing In 2022

Influencer marketing continues to grow in popularity with every passing day. According to Statista, the industry has experienced a 500% growth in influencer marketing over the last 5 years from $1.7 billion in 2018 to $13.8 billion in 2021.

While B2C companies were the first to adopt it, B2B brands are starting to consider the potential benefit.  Brian Mogeni, CEO Wowzi, a platform that connects influencers with brands, projects that B2B businesses will use influencers more in 2022 to promote their offerings.

“B2C businesses have been leveraging on influencer marketing for years, B2B businesses can also do the same,” he said during a presentation at the CIO Year Ahead event.

Unlike B2C businesses that usually rely heavily on celebrities as influencers, B2B companies can reach their targets through nano influencers.

“B2B companies can promote their brands through nano influencers because that is where the real influence happens. Think of the chef, think of the banker. Think of the people in private and government centres,” Brian said.

He added: “Beyond creators and celebrities, leverage your customers, experts, professionals and staff as influencers.”

Companies can locate nano influencers on professional social platforms on LinkedIn then use them in both online and offline campaigns. Those that don’t want to do the hard work of locating and working with influencers directly can do so through platforms like Wowzi which help link influencers with brands.

“B2B businesses can leverage on unique platforms to do the donkeys work,” he said.