As I’ve blogged previously, I’m a passionate B2B (business to business) technology geek. Give me some complicated network infrastructure or some cloud-based enterprise software to pitch to reporters, and I’m a happy PR person.

What I enjoy about B2B-focused products and services is that they use a unique and specialized language to reach their target audiences, one that is often times a lot more nuanced than B2C (business to consumer)-focused offerings. Selling a multi-million-dollar network infrastructure solution is a vastly different process than selling, for example, gummy vitamins.

Likewise, using influencers to drive sales and build awareness of a B2B product is a very different process than consumer-based influencer marketing programs. What exactly makes up an influencer? Steve Olensky in Forbes describes influencers as “personalities who are perceived as having an impact, an influence, with a business’ purchasing client base.” For example, using a popular Kardashian or Jenner family member to feature your product on Instagram (#sponsoredpost!) seems like a no-brainer for consumer-focused offerings like detox tea and sneakers, but the same strategy might fall flat for more complicated B2B products and services.

As Kaya Ismail writes in CMSWire, “With B2B marketing, you aren’t always trying to grab the attention of the masses. Usually, you just want to catch the eyes of target clients and their respected gatekeepers and decision makers.”

Therefore, B2B companies looking to leverage influencers and thought leaders are learning how to modify their campaigns to reach their specific target audiences. Ismail offers some strong examples of elements that B2B companies can use as part of an influencer campaign to build their brands, and ultimately bolster revenues:

Marketing collateral and other assets backed by influencers and thought leaders – This can include whitepapers, case studies, industry reports or webinars that include quotes, data and other insights from sources like industry analysts and other credible third parties.

Employee word-of-mouth – As Ismail writes, “In a B2B environment, influencers aren’t necessarily A-list celebrities.” Leveraging your employees to spread the word about a recent press release or company launch helps to position them as thought leaders, and drives traffic to your website to get more information. Using social channels like LinkedIn and Twitter help employees to spread information quickly to their followers, and make it easy for those audiences to re-tweet and continue amplifying the news and information.

Case studies and client testimonials – If done correctly, Ismail notes “businesses can amplify each testimonial into a fully-fledged B2B influencer marketing campaign.” Using video, for example, can create a more personal and authentic connection to the customer’s experience, which can elevate a simple case study into a shareable piece of content.

Additionally, MarTech contributor Jake Athey recommends that for B2B technology companies in particularly, it’s a good practice to think of influencers across three main categories: Experts, Implementers and Users.

• Industry analysts like Gartner and Forrester, for example, are considered experts. As Athey writes, “Experts define why a space matters and who belongs,” which is why it’s important that companies brief analysts about their offerings regularly to be considered for their reports.
• Implementers are third-party consultants that are paid by a company to vet, set up and teach about the offerings. “While they don’t force a system upon their clients, they have favorites,” writes Athey. “Consultants define the criteria for quality and decide how a … solution should be used.”
• Finally, users are the individuals that actually choose the platforms, and either use or administer the systems. “Buyers trust them to comment on customer support, ease of use, value, and qualities that become apparent with time. They are the most relatable influencers because they share the buyer’s job titles, roles, and responsibilities,” says Athey.

Remember that a cookie-cutter approach doesn’t translate from the consumer-marketing world to the business arena. Gummy vitamins might seem easier to sell than B2B technology or services, but it’s all a matter of speaking your audiences’ language and reaching them on the channels they pay attention to. As with the basic components of marketing and public relations, the first step for a strong B2B-focused influencer marketing program comes down to identifying your target audiences, and knowing the key messages that will resonate.

Have you had success with an influencer program for a B2B company? What worked – or what didn’t? Tell us here in the comments!

I recently had the opportunity to go back to school and attend a professional development course at Harvard University’s Extension School. The specific course I participated in was Managing Yourself and Leading Others and entailed two full days on Harvard’s campus with a very diverse group of about 50 individuals.

The course was incredibly valuable, incorporating case studies, small group activities, class discussions, lectures and self-reflection. As someone just beginning to take on more management responsibility, this course was helpful in building foundational skills that I will be able to leverage for years to come. I want to share some of the most beneficial lessons I took away from the course.

Anyone Can Lead

One of the first things the Professor Jennifer Stine shared with the class was, “anyone can lead.” She went on to further explain that management and leadership are not one in the same, stating, “people can demonstrate leadership in a variety of situations.” As a young professional, this statement struck me. While I am beginning to gain more management responsibilities, both internally and externally, I felt this was an important distinction. Just because I didn’t manage entire accounts or a large team of people, didn’t mean that I couldn’t act as a leader.

Soft Skill Make a Difference

One of the first exercises we did was reflect on managers we had admired and respected. We then wrote down the qualities that had led to the admiration and wrote each one down on individual Post-It notes. Once we had about five items written down, we stuck each quality to a board, labeling it as either a soft skill or a technical skill. The qualities on the soft skills board overwhelmingly outnumbered the qualities on the technical skills board. It was clear that the managers who had had the biggest impact on people didn’t just have the expertise required to execute tasks, they had displayed respect, empathy and trust to cultivate meaningful relationships.

Professor Stine went on to explain that emotional intelligence becomes one of the best ways to differentiate yourself. Everyone will have a certain level of technical expertise—it’s required to obtain the position. However, after that, the ability to demonstrate leadership skills and build admiration amongst your colleagues will become an important skill that will help you get ahead.

Advocacy and Inquiry

Understanding others’ perspectives is crucial to a collaborative and cohesive team. Being able to voice your opinion is also vital to playing an active role on a team. So how do you ensure you’ve shared your perspective as well as listened to others? Learn to balance advocacy and inquiry.

It’s important to make and active effort to listen to others’ opinions and do your best to understand their point of view and the reasoning behind it. However, it is equally important to share your perspective, especially when you feel strongly about an issue. A team with no conflict (I don’t mean, yelling and throwing things across the room conflict), is a complacent team.

While this is a lesson that can be easily applied to your teams internally, it also seems to be incredibly applicable to relationships with clients. It is important that we do all we can to understand our clients’ objectives, wants and ideas, but as their consultants, they are relying on us to provide counsel around what we think will be most effective for them, even if it isn’t in alignment with what they’re proposing.

The Growth Mindset

We started on this topic by watching a TEDx talk called, The Power of Believing that You Can Improve, by Carol Dweck. In this talk, Dweck refers to a study done by the University of Washington, in which they monitored results from elementary and middle school classrooms that applied the growth mindset to grading. Rather than failing students on tests or assignments, teachers would write, “not yet.” Instead of positioning students as failures, it positioned students as novices with the potential to acquire the skills needed to succeed. This repositioning led classrooms that once struggled to keep up, to become some of the top performing classes in the nation.

Throughout a career, there are tests and challenges that may leave individuals feeling disheartened or frustrated, but maintaining a growth mindset can allow for a more positive perspective on failure and ultimately lead to growth.

The course offered by Harvard has already proved to be useful and applicable to my routine—I’ve already leveraged multiple lessons from the training. If you have the opportunity to attend this training, or another with positive reviews, I highly recommend it. It can be challenging to step out of the office for trainings when your to-do list never seems to get shorter. But taking time to reflect on your leadership style and focus on developing new skills can be an incredibly valuable experience that can ultimately make you more effective.

Pop-ups have surged in popularity in recent years, and it’s easy to understand why. With retail space at a premium and online retailers looking for a brick-and-mortar presence, pop-up shops have become a tried and tested business strategy. It’s no secret that pop-up shops can help fuel consumer engagement. Below are seven ways brands can leverage pop-up shops to make an impact with consumers.

Go to Where Your Customers Are

Instead of investing in a long-term physical retail space, go where the buzz is! Pop-up shops are installations which activate for short periods of time, so their maintenance costs are significantly lower than a traditional retail space. You can choose a space that fits your brand the best.

The location of your pop-up shop is arguably the most significant factor to consider. With very little time in public, pop-ups must be located in areas that will attract the right attention at the right time. The pop-up concept has been adopted by small boutiques and giants including the Pop-in@Nordstrom series, which provides consumers with a wide variety of offerings that Nordstrom might not otherwise carry.

Connect with New Customers

When you’ve strategically thought out and selected the location of your pop-up shop, you’re likely to engage with consumers who are willing and able to make a transaction with your brand. Pop-up shops are a great way to build brand awareness in a short period of time through experiential means. You can introduce consumers to your brand in a fully immersive experience, where an individual can sample and interact with your products, share on social media, purchase or just have a conversation to learn more.

One of the biggest examples of this is Microsoft, which leveraged pop-ups to help customers better understand their new surface tablets.

Establish Yourself as a Brand Leader

With so many brands competing for attention, sometimes it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd. Pop-up shops allow brands to establish themselves as leaders in sight of consumers who may be unaware of the brand’s activities. Many times consumers are unaware of what the brand is all about. All brands want to be known for something. What is it that consumers gain from your experience in particular? How will they be able to better understand your brand through this experience?

Lead Generation

It’s not all about what you’re doing here and now. Often you will want to create a way for your newly found customers to contact you later online, be that social media, email updates or your website. Make it easy for them, they shouldn’t have to ask. It’s a good practice to have kiosks or tablets available for customers to connect with your brand digitally on the spot.

Crowd Source Your Social Media Content

Pop-up shops provide consumers with a unique opportunity to take photos and share their experience with friends and family. Help them frame it in a way that’s photogenic, which you’ve designed. Curate and brand your content opportunities where applicable. People love to take photos and post to social channels, especially in cool settings, so give them one!

Offer an Indirect Service, Be Purposeful

Not all marketing activations or pop-up shops need to be directly selling your product but rather give a nod to your brand’s style, perhaps by introducing a movement via your brand. The Movember Foundation, for example, is an organization focused on promoting men’s health and in many cases would be an appropriate addition to an event to not only raise awareness for the foundation but help promote a brand for men by providing haircuts and hot shaves. It’s a win, win.

Haircuts, blowouts, hot shaves, massages, nails, whatever it is, make it authentic and relevant to the brand.

Market Your Shop Around Sales Cycles

In the nature of temporary stores and pop-up shops, you can tap into sales cycles such as the holidays, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. Leverage these opportunities to sell more merchandise with a pop-up shop. When you select a location to sell during these events you’re most likely going to get the most foot traffic and thus more sales. Harness the seasonal cycles to maximize profits and exposure.