I think it’s safe to say that in 2025, B2B influencer marketing has evolved from an experimental tactic to an embedded practice. Nearly two-thirds of B2B marketers we surveyed for our most recent B2B Influencer Marketing Research report having mature influencer programs, with the top 25% describing their programs as advanced.
Beyond our research, the optimism around influencer marketing for B2B brands is shared by many, including respected B2B marketing voices like Amber Naslund, from LinkedIn:
“The single biggest untapped opportunity in B2B marketing, bar none, is influence.
Having provided influencer marketing services to a variety of B2B brands for well over 10 years, TopRank Marketing remains on the front lines of this influence evolution, giving us a unique perspective into the growth of how B2B brands are engaging business influencers and creators. When marketing practices reach this level of maturity, it’s essential to understand the nuances of what’s actually working to ensure both short and long term success. This post leverages our research to answer important questions on budgets and best practices.
What does the research tell us about B2B Influencer Marketing best practices?
An always-on approach is the most important attribute for successful B2B influencer marketing
99% of teams using an always-on approach rate their programs as effective
Matching B2B influencers to the brand audience is challenging – and also necessary
48% of B2B marketers struggle with identifying, qualifying and engaging with ideal influencers
Influencer marketing budgets grow with the maturity of the practice within B2B marketing companies
72% of B2B marketing teams with the most advanced strategies have a dedicated budget that they expect to grow in the coming year
Unique content and creative campaigns give an edge for the most successful influencer programs
60% of highly effective B2B marketing teams use unique content and creative to differentiate their influencer campaigns
AI is an emerging solution for a number of challenges with influencer marketing
57% of B2B marketers are using AI to aid with content creation, with most targeting AI audience segmentation as the next solution to adopt
Integrating influencer content into broader marketing strategy is trending
49% of B2B marketers identified integration of influencer content into a greater mix of marketing tactics as the leading influencer marketing trend in 2025
What is driving B2B influencer marketing success?
As influencer marketing weaves its way into the fabric of the marketing strategies for most B2B brands, 43% of those we surveyed report outstanding results from their influencer programs, which is almost a 10% increase over last year. When we zoom in on the B2B marketers with mature influencer programs, the number reporting outstanding results jumps to 79%.
How do B2B marketers achieve the success of mature influencer marketing programs? Always On Influence.
Our research found that the most successful influencer programs are always-on. The companies that invest in cultivating long term relationships with influencers — and between their influencers and audience — are seeing the highest level of success. In fact, marketers who don’t use an always-on approach to influencer marketing are 17x more likely to report that their program is somewhat or very ineffective. O
- 81% of marketers reporting an advanced degree of maturity are using an always-on approach to influencer marketing, with consistent engagement and campaigns.
- 82% of those reporting the most success with influencer marketing are using an always-on approach, compared to 39% of all others.
Overall, 58% of B2B marketers report using an always-on influencer marketing approach. For those considering always-on, nearly half (49%) say that they plan to implement it in the coming year.
What is always-on B2B influencer marketing?
Definition: “The practice of ongoing relationship building, engagement and activation of a specified group of influencers to build community, content and brand advocacy.”
Consider this: when you’re trying to decide which AI tool to try, do you ask the pro marketer you’ve been following for great tech advice over the past year, or do rely on the advice of a famous marketing guru that has recently starting posting about AI tools?
Influence is about more than popularity — it’s about building trust and creating a relationship outside of the transactional nature of business. Your brand benefits from that ongoing relationship, and your customers benefit from having a trusted source to turn to for thought leadership and insights. That relationship-building is precisely what always-on influencer marketing helps to accomplish.
What challenges are B2B marketers facing with influencer marketing?
Year over year, we’ve seen two prominent challenges that B2B marketers have with implementing influencer programs:
48% of B2B marketers say identifying, qualifying, and connecting with ideal influencers is their number one challenge
47% of B2B marketers reported that measuring and reporting results is also a top challenge
40% of B2B marketers reported that managing relationships with influencers is one of their biggest challenges
The challenge of managing relationships with influencers held true for marketers regardless of how mature the program was or how satisfied marketers were with the influencers they worked with. This means that even when influencer marketing programs are strong, the scope of managing these influencer/brand relationships can be complex. Matching brands with the right B2B creators and influencers has been a consistent number one challenge across the multiple industry research reports we’ve conducted over the past 4 years. Luckily, we have advice on finding the right influencers here.
What are the trends with B2B influencer marketing budgets?
Our research found that most B2B marketing teams have budgets specifically dedicated to their influencer program and over half of those surveyed report that this budget is growing.
Does your influencer marketing have a dedicated budget within your marketing plan?
77% Yes and it is staying the same or growing
The correlation between maturity and budget – An interesting trend we noticed was that budget dedicated to influencer programs followed a steady upward trajectory when measured against program maturity.
Growing budgets dedicated to influencer marketing
72% of B2B marketers using the most advanced influencer marketing strategies are growing their budgets vs. only 26% in the exploratory phase
Notably, those in the C-suite were more likely (76%) than any other role to report that their influencer marketing budget was growing.
How are B2B marketers are growing influencer programs?
As B2B marketers look ahead to their future influencer marketing strategies, the influencer marketing functions they are prioritizing fall across a rather tight 11-point band. In line with the top challenges that marketers named, measuring performance and identifying the right influencers top the list of priorities for the coming year.
To gain clarity into which priorities may give influencer marketing programs an edge, we took a look at what the top-performing teams were doing. These best-in-class B2B marketers are prioritizing:
- Audience targeting/segmentation
- Creative-forward content development
- Technology and platform/app management
What role does audience targeting and micro-influencers play?
We asked respondents to name an influencer marketing tactic that’s been surprisingly or exceptionally effective. This was an open-ended question, so while the feedback we received isn’t statistically quantifiable, the responses were quite interesting. A trend we saw emerge from these responses was the use of precision audience targeting, hand in hand with the use of micro-influencers.
One respondent wrote:
“One surprisingly effective tactic is using micro-influencers who have smaller but highly engaged audiences. Their genuine, niche-focused content often drives higher engagement and trust compared to big-name influencers. They create a more authentic connection with their followers, which can lead to better conversion rates for brands.”
Another said,
“Identifying niche influencers has been very effective in reaching diverse audiences.”
As mentioned earlier, influence in B2B is about more than popularity. Reach is not the same as revenue and when it comes to engaging B2B creators that can actually influence action, micro-influencers tend to have more personal and meaningful relationships with their audiences. Here’s how to better engage and activate micro-influencers.
B2B influencer marketing continues to gain traction, with a growing number of marketers reporting strong results-especially those with mature, always-on programs. Nearly 80% of advanced programs show outstanding success, driven by consistent influencer engagement and long-term relationship-building. Despite this momentum, many marketers still face challenges in identifying the right influencers, measuring impact, and managing influencer relationships. Budget allocations are increasing in step with program maturity, particularly among C-suite leaders. As marketers plan their go-forward influencer marketing strategies, their top priorities include refining audience targeting, improving performance measurement, and leveraging creative content and micro-influencers to drive deeper engagement.
To see what successful B2B influencer and creator marketing looks like, be sure to check out 10 Timeless Examples of B2B Influencer Marketing.
This post was based on an excerpt from the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report.
