Making influencer marketing work for B2B (S2 ep 11)

Do you trust your Facebook feed?

Probably not.

Do you trust the first three results on Google? Only if you enjoy reading generic, SEO-stuffed prose designed by an algorithm, for an algorithm.

The modern B2B buyer is exhausted. They have been burned by "ultimate guides" that guide them nowhere and "webinars" that are thinly veiled sales pitches. As a result, we are seeing a massive migration of trust. Attention is shifting away from corporate channels and toward people—peers, experts, and creators who have built authentic voices in the market.

Yet, most B2B marketing teams are still pouring the majority of their budget into the same tired channels: paid search and display ads.

At Inverta, we often see marketing leaders hesitate to touch influencer marketing. They view it as a B2C tactic—something for selling energy drinks or makeup, not enterprise SaaS. Or, they assume it requires a budget that rivals a Super Bowl spot.

Madhav Bhandari, VP of Marketing at Storylane, disagrees. He built an influencer program from scratch that now drives over 700,000 monthly impressions. And he did it with a "bootstrapped" mentality, achieving CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) that make traditional LinkedIn ads look like highway robbery.

If you are tired of lighting money on fire with paid social, it is time to look at the alternative.

The Fallacy of the "Customer Advocate"

When you decide to launch an influencer program, your first instinct will likely be to turn to your customers. It makes sense on paper: they use your product, they love your product, and they have no reason to lie.

This is exactly what Storylane did in version one of their program. And it failed.

"We recruited a bunch of our customers... but we realized later on was that alright, these customers were posting about us, but they didn't really have an audience. They weren't really creators." - Madhav Bhandari, VP of Marketing, Storylane

The problem is not enthusiasm; it is distribution.

Your customers are professionals in their field, but they are rarely professional creators. They do not know how to structure a hook, they do not understand the nuances of the LinkedIn algorithm, and—crucially—they do not have the audience density to move the needle for your brand awareness.

The Pivot to Creators

Madhav shut down the customer-first program and pivoted to "Version Two": exclusively recruiting creators.

This distinction is vital. A creator is someone who has already done the hard work of building an audience. When you partner with them, you are not just buying a testimonial; you are renting their distribution channel and borrowing their credibility.

This does not mean you ignore your customers. Customer advocacy is for social proof and closing deals. Influencer marketing is for demand generation and brand awareness. Do not confuse the two.

The Two-Tiered "Funnel" Strategy

One of the most common mistakes in B2B influencer marketing is hiring people solely based on follower count. If you only hire the biggest names, you get reach but no relevance. If you only hire niche experts, you get relevance but no scale.

Storylane solved this by categorizing influencers into two distinct buckets, creating a balanced ecosystem of coverage.

1. Top of Funnel: The "Humor and Pain" CreatorsThese are creators with broad appeal. They might not talk about "demo automation software" specifically, but they talk about the pain of the people who buy it.

For Storylane, this means creators like "Corporate Ross" or others who make skits about the misery of being in sales or the frustration of buying software.

• The Goal: Massive reach and viral potential.
• The Content: Skits, memes, and relatable observations.
• The Result: One video in this category generated 1.5 million impressions.

2. Bottom of Funnel: The "Deep Dive" ExpertsThese are the subject matter experts. They have smaller audiences, but their followers hang on their every word regarding technical strategy.

• The Goal: Credibility and product education.
• The Content: Detailed playbooks, "how-to" guides, and deep thought leadership on specific categories (like demo automation).
• The Result: High-intent traffic and direct mentions in "How did you hear about us?" forms.

By balancing these two tiers, you ensure that your brand is seen by the masses and understood by the buyers.

The Economics: Arbitrage in the Wild West

Here is the part that should make every demand generation leader sit up straight.

LinkedIn advertising is expensive. After years of refining targeting and creative, Storylane sees a CPM (Cost Per Mille/Thousand) of roughly $65 to $70 on LinkedIn Thought Leadership ads.

In their influencer program? The average CPM is $25 to $30.

In their best months, when a post goes viral, that CPM drops to $1.50.

This is an arbitrage opportunity. You are buying attention at a 50-70% discount compared to the platform's self-serve ad network. Why the discrepancy? Because the influencer market is currently the "Wild West."

"There's no benchmark... It's sort of like a wild, wild west there right now... The best approach is you go to the influencer like, 'This is our budget. Are you gonna be okay with it?'" - Madhav Bhandari

Navigating the Pricing Chaos Because there is no standard pricing model, you will see wild variance in quotes. Madhav shared that one creator asked for $75,000 for a single LinkedIn post.

(For the record: Do not pay $75,000 for a LinkedIn post.)

To build a sustainable program, you need financial discipline. Storylane operates with a strict cap: they rarely pay more than $2,000 per post, with most engagements falling in the $500 to $1,500 range.

A simple pricing framework for beginners: If you are negotiating with a creator and need a baseline, consider this sliding scale based on follower count:

• 10k Followers: ~$500/post
• 20k Followers: ~$1,000/post
• 30k Followers: ~$1,500/post

This is not a law, but it is a starting point to keep you from getting fleeced.

Building Your Engine: A Practical Guide

If you are ready to move from "thinking about it" to "doing it," here is the operational framework for getting started.

1. The 3-Month Pilot Do not sign year-long contracts with influencers you have never worked with. Creators can be unpredictable. Their engagement can drop, or they might simply be difficult to work with.

• The Structure: Sign a 3-month deal delivering one post per month.
• The Evaluation: This gives you enough data points (3 posts) to see if they can create consistently and if their audience cares.
• The churn: Expect to churn. If you pilot 10 influencers, you might only keep 3 or 4 for the long haul.

2. The Contract Essentials This is a business transaction, not a favor. Your contract needs to be explicit about usage rights.

• Ownership: You must own the content assets. If they make a video, you need the right to download it and re-upload it to your company page.
• Paid Usage: You need the right to "whitelist" their account, meaning you can run paid ads from their handle. (This often performs better than ads from a brand handle).
• FTC Compliance: It must be mandatory for them to tag the post as a #Partner or #Ad. Hiding the sponsorship damages trust and risks legal trouble.

3. The "Hidden" Recruitment Channel Struggling to find creators? Look at your competitors or complementary tools. Search LinkedIn for people who list "Advisor" in their headline. Often, these are micro-influencers who have already signaled they are open to brand partnerships.

The Future: From Transaction to Partnership

The early days of B2B influencer marketing were transactional: "Here is $500, please post this image."

The future is integrated. As feeds become saturated with sponsored content, the brands that win will be the ones that treat influencers as media partners, not just billboards.

We are moving toward episodic content where influencers host shows, lead communities, and become the recurring face of the brand for specific segments.

The Takeaway
‍You do not need a Nike-sized budget to start. You need a budget for experimentation—what Madhav calls "Marketing R&D." Set aside a few thousand dollars next quarter. Find five creators who are already talking to your audience. Run a pilot.

The attention is out there, and right now, it is on sale.

Next Step
‍Review your current LinkedIn ad spend. Calculate your average CPM over the last 90 days. If it is over $50, it is time to pilot an influencer program. If you need help identifying the right voices in your market, reach out to us at Inverta.