Four reasons why B2B influencers can benefit your brand's AI visibility

By Julia Filsell-Chapman, Head of Digital at Speed

The case for B2B influencers is stronger than ever, but did you know that alongside supporting brand authority and credibility, they can also strengthen your AI visibility? With over 70% of B2B buyers using AI tools to research purchases, it is essential that your business shows up when a potential customer is using ChatGPT or Google AI overview to help the decision-making process. Here are four ways B2B influencers can make you part of the answer.

1. AI favours people over brands on LinkedIn 

Love it or hate it, LinkedIn is an essential source for B2B industry insights and news. When your target audience asks AI a question about a B2B topic, product or brand, it’s highly likely that their LLM of choice will return an answer that references LinkedIn for this very reason. One study from Profound showed that LinkedIn was the #1 cited source for professional queries in LLMs such as ChatGPT. But what kind of LinkedIn content is AI citing in responses? Overwhelmingly it’s content from individual members, with profile details indicating a more credible source, than branded, company content. This is where B2B influencers come into their own, giving your business huge credibility by proxy.  

2. Content with trusted expertise cuts through 

So, does a large following matter? No. Relevance is much more important than reach. In the meltwater study mentioned above, 51% of cited LinkedIn creators had fewer than 10K followers. In our experience, when the content answers the question confidently and directly, big follower numbers don’t come into the equation. 

The idea of expertise for B2B queries doesn’t begin and end with LinkedIn though. AI often looks beyond a brand’s own channels to other UGC platforms such as Reddit and YouTube. Reddit is hard to crack for brands, as users are highly suspicious of anything looking like self-promotion. However, YouTube is an easier space to enter, especially when working alongside trusted creators. 

But getting the platform right is only part of the answer; the content itself needs to be structured and specific, using facts, stats and providing clear takeaways.  

3. Freshness of content 

Like humans, LLMs appear to have a preference for fresh content. This makes sense; when you want to learn about something you probably don’t reach for a book that’s 50 years old. This is where long-term influencer collaborations come into their own. One–off campaigns can make a little impact, but where a brand works with a trusted influencer partner for months, or even years, they can provide a stream of interesting, authoritative content over time. What happens if there isn’t fresh content referencing your business? The LLMs may go searching elsewhere, for competitor or non-branded content, leaving you out of the picture. 

4. Multiple citation opportunities 

A strong influencer partnership paired with a compelling subject matter gives you the opportunity for multiple touchpoints. An influencer collaboration should never be a one and done approach; it should always look to get as much from the partnership as possible. We know that LinkedIn, Reddit and Medium are regularly cited by LLMs, so work with your influencer(s) on a package of cross platform content. On top of this, LLMs cite earned content above every other content type (84% of citations, MuckRack). Think about how you can fold influencer content into your earned media campaign. This could be key quotes, stats from reports they have authored or even full spokesperson interviews. The more ways you find to answer your customers’ questions, the more likely you are to be the answer they find.