While influencer marketing is a well-trodden path in B2C, tech giant Siemens thinks influencers should look a little different in the B2B world.
Siemens considers its employees to be the brand’s “number one thought leaders”, according to Ophelie Janus. The tech giant’s global head of thought leadership describes staff as “influencers in their own right.”
When considering how to harness influencers within B2B, she advised companies to start with their own employees. Speaking on a panel at LinkedIn’s B2Believe event yesterday (15 October), she described colleagues as “your greatest assets” when it comes to thought leadership.
She defined employee thought leadership as shaping a community around the areas relevant to the brand, which in Siemens’ case are AI and the industrial metaverse – a digital environment simulating real-world systems such as factories and transportation systems.
Janus referenced the LinkedIn B2B Institute’s 95:5 rule, which finds 95% of B2B buyers are out-of-market at any one time. However, she believes harnessing colleagues as thought leaders on social media and at events helps Siemens stay “top of mind” and considered trustworthy when B2B buyers come to purchase.