Local Influencers Collaborations In Global B2B Content Marketing

Local Influencers Collaborations In Global B2B Content Marketing

B2B influencer marketing is driving the global and international content marketing success. By harnessing the reach and reputation of well-known SMEs in the local markets, B2B companies are able to amplify their international content marketing efforts, ensuring that their message resonates with diverse international audiences. Over time, SME collaborations allow B2B companies to cultivate a strong community around their brand, which could drive inbound leads and growth across international markets.

Why Involving Local Influencers & SMEs In International B2B Content Marketing Campaigns

B2B buyers are looking for a trustworthy source for confirming information found during their research. As such, partnering up with SME influencers is key to building up their crucial brand trustworthiness, especially if you are a global brand expanding into diverse international markets worldwide.

In fact, about 86% of B2B brands reported some measure of success with highly targeted influencer marketing. However, selecting the relevant influencers for the right market is key for content to resonate with local target audiences. For instance, a highly knowledgeable SME from New York City is unlikely to have much influence if you are targeting customers in Tokyo, on the other side of the world.

How To Identify and Build Relationships with Local B2B Influencers and SMEs

Step 1: Research people who matter to your local target audience

Firstly, research who your audience cares about. SparkTool, a free tool, is one of the easiest ways to identify who your target audience is following and trusting as a source of credible information. This is followed by curating lists of relevant SMEs for the market that you are looking to expand to. To give you a concrete idea, here is an example of a SparkToro search for a company providing consulting services and a SaaS tool for document automation.

Step 2: Identify ways to involve them that require little effort on their behalf

Once research is conducted and the relevant SMEs for collaborating with are identified within the local market, do determine how best to approach them. The most effective outreach strategy is one that makes it as easy as possible for SMEs to see the value in a partnership.

Step 3: Nurture relationships and provide ongoing value

At last, once you are connected with SME and convince them to collaborate, you need to maintain and deepen the working relationship, as this increases the chance of future collaboration opportunities. In fact, the influencer is likely to refer your B2B business to their network, if the relationship becomes a strong one, or even come back to you themselves as a customer. This is actually the long-term strategic value of such partnerships, as it directly impacts high-quality inbound lead generation.

Strengthening the ongoing relationships with SMEs includes regular engagement with their own content, by commenting on or sharing their updates, offering to mention them and/or link to their content in future content you create, offering to meet up for a coffee at in-person conferences, developing a partner referral agreement, and continuing to collaborate on marketing efforts together.

How To Apply B2B Influencer and SME Data To Both Global & Local Content Marketing Efforts

Various types of content marketing are applied both globally and locally

Panel Discussions & Co-marketing Webinars

Panel discussions are a highly effective method for beginning engagement with SME influencers, as they need little to no preparation time for the participants. Additionally, nearly every market, industry titans enjoy conversing with their fellow experts for sharing insights and recommendations with listening audiences.

Panel discussions can be both live or virtual events, regardless of the format, and are a great resource, elevating the authority of your own brand to your audience due to the SMEs.

Whitepapers

Whitepapers are one of the most valuable resources in B2B content marketing, including original data and information that isn’t available anywhere else. Making a whitepapers with unique data by gathering information from SMEs.

Additionally, SMEs typically appreciate being cited in whitepapers as their personal brand is attached to that in-depth report, automatically elevating their own standing and credibility with their followers.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a heavily growing medium for B2B content marketing, enabling collaboration with influencers and SMEs on a podcast, tapping into their expertise and reaching new audiences through audio content that millions of people stream throughout their busy days.

Collaboration with SMEs to Win and Global and International Content Marketing

Using the knowledge and influence of SMEs is a potent tactic in the fiercely competitive B2B market, where reputation and trust are crucial. While working to establish yourself in foreign markets, working with reputable local influencers can make your content stand out, resonate, and eventually lead to success in your business-to-business activities.

Collaborations with SMEs eventually help you build a solid community around your brand in addition to producing trustworthy and quality content. establish as a thought leader in the B2B sector and a reliable source of information by providing educational and useful content.

Most significantly, B2B companies can generate inbound leads and promote expansion in foreign markets by using the networks of local and global influencers.