Trust & Influence in B2B
Trust & Influence in B2B
Podcast Description
Trust is the biggest challenge facing B2B marketers today. Buyers have always been cynical, hard to reach and even harder to convince, and increasingly expect to be self-directed in their research. In other words, they only want to engage with you on their terms. As if that wasn't bad enough, media and content channels are fragmented whilst AI is opening the floodgates to a tidalwave of content of questionable quality and veracity. It all adds up to a crisis of trust in B2B.
In this podcast, I'll be interviewing innovative and inspirational marketers in the front line of addressing this challenge, providing deep insights into the context of this challenge, exploring new insights about its implications and looking at real world solutions and success stories.
We'll focus in particular on the topics of thought leadership and influencer marketing, but inevitably brand, advocacy and demand generation, and much, much more.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores topics such as thought leadership, influencer marketing, and brand advocacy, with episodes discussing real-world campaigns like Capgemini's 'Building Trust in Data' and Circana's insights on turning data into strategic conversations, as well as the findings of Edelman's Trust Barometer report
I’m Joel Harrison, founder of B2B Marketing.net (formerly B2B Marketing magazine) Propolis and the B2B Marketing Awards. It’s been my mission for the past 21 years to recognise, celebrate and evangelise for the amazing profession that is B2B marketing, which has evolved beyond that recognition in that time.
In this podcast, I’ll be exploring what I believe is the biggest challenge facing B2B marketers today: Trust.
Buyers have always been cynical, hard to reach and even harder to convince, and increasingly expect to be self-directed in their research. In other words, they only want to engage with you on their terms. As if that wasn’t bad enough, media and content channels are fragmented whilst AI is opening the floodgates to a tidalwave of content of questionable quality and veracity. It all adds up to a crisis of trust in B2B.
In this podcast, I’ll be interviewing innovative and inspirational marketers in the front line of addressing this challenge, providing deep insights into the context of this challenge, exploring new insights about its implications and looking at real world solutions and success stories.
I’ll be exploring this topic from every relevant angle and perspective, but I’m going to focus particularly on thought leadership, influencer marketing and advocacy as they have particular relevance to this challenge.
Is B2B influencer marketing finally ready for prime time? In this episode, host Joel Harrison tackles this question with two industry experts: Katie Howell (20 years B2B social media expertise) and Katie Martell (former B2B marketer turned successful influencer). Discover why 51% of B2B campaigns now include influencers, how LinkedIn’s new tools are changing the game, and why customer advocacy remains the most underutilized opportunity.
Key Highlights:
- Why 51% of B2B campaigns now include influencers and 90%+ of CMOs plan to increase spending
- How LinkedIn’s new advertising tools are changing the influencer game completely
- The surprising effectiveness of Facebook for reaching C-suite decision makers
- Why customer advocacy remains the most underutilized influencer opportunity
- The critical difference between transactional campaigns and relationship building
Guest Info:
Katie Howell has been a leading voice in B2B social media for two decades, helping brands develop influence strategies. Connect with Katie on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Katie Martell is a former B2B marketing executive now working as a top-tier influencer with brands like Adobe, Vimeo, and MailChimp. Connect with Katie on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Key Takeaways:
- B2B influencer marketing requires subject matter expertise, not just reach
- Long-term relationships outperform one-off campaigns every time
- Customer advocacy can generate millions in attributed pipeline when done strategically
- Platform strategy matters: C-suite executives may not be active on LinkedIn daily
- The future includes AI agents as part of the buyer journey
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Influencer Marketing in B2B
02:23 The Current State of Influencer Marketing
05:45 Maturity and Creativity in Influencer Marketing
08:04 Trust and Visibility in Influencer Relationships
10:30 The Role of Technology in Influencer Marketing
14:39 Exploring Different Platforms for B2B Influencer Marketing
17:48 Defining Thought Leaders vs Influencers
21:42 The Essence of Thought Leadership
23:55 Influencer Marketing in B2B
26:37 The Role of Customer Advocacy
29:45 The Future of Influencer Marketing
34:47 Practical Steps for Marketers
For sceptical CMOs
Both Katies recommend asking your buyers directly who they follow and trust for industry insights. Research shows 89% of buyers trust peer recommendations over brand messaging.
For marketing managers getting started:
Start with one influencer and focus on building a genuine relationship. Co-create content together and think long-term partnership, not transactional campaign.
Call to action:
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share the episode with friends! Subscribe to the Trust & Influence in B2B podcast for weekly episodes on influencer marketing, thought leadership, and building trust in B2B.
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Connect with Our Guests:
- Katie Howell: [Social Media Links]
- Katie Martell: [Social Media Links]
- Joel Harrison: [Social Media Links]
Disclaimer
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