2021 was a busy year for the B2B influencer marketing & social media marketing space, with lots of new updates and features from the social media giants. There were lots of company acquisitions, not to mention the boom of social audio platforms such as Clubhouse.

We reached out to the top experts in the influencer marketing space to learn what they think 2022 has in store for influencer marketing!

Shift to long-term partnerships

“We’re going to see a shift from tactical to long-term. We’re going to see influencers working with less brands on longer term projects. It’s going to be the year of the creator. They’re going to be connecting more into the strategies of these organizations to bring content to life, to their channels in a deeply authentic way.” Danielle Guzman, Global Head of Social Media, Mercer

“You’re going to see more, longer-term partnerships where an influencer is locked in to a brand over the course of a year or multiple years. I also see some B2B influencers becoming full-time creative directors and marketing directors, content marketing directors and managers within B2B companies, because a lot of B2B companies are struggling to produce their own real, engaging content.” Jason Falls, Senior Influence Strategist, Cornett

“When influencers are brand advocates, content co-creators and ecosystem allies, qualified leads will follow. So, sponsors that commit to long-term relationships will build a sustainable advantage.” Kathleen Kruse, President, Kruse Consulting

Focus on collaboration

“We’ve all seen content marketing become more collaborative over the years, but in 2022 including collaborators and influencers in your content isn’t going to be a nice-to-have, it’s going to become table stakes. If you don’t have a collaborative format with influencers and other points of view included, you’re going to be at a disadvantage.” Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Orbit Media Studios

“In 2022, we’re finally going to see that shift from those one-off efforts to more collaborative approaches and have influencer marketing fully shift to that influencer relations mentality.” Ian Gertler, Industry Thought Leader, Advisor, Founder & CMO, Symplegades

Social media savvy senior execs

“Senior execs are realising they can’t just be present on social, they need to have an opinion, they need to be saying something meaningful and building their own following. In 2022 we’re expecting this trend to continue, for senior execs to be integrated into more influencer programs and to become thought advocates for their brands.” Luke Brynley-Jones, MD & B2B Social Strategist, OST

“I predict that B2B leaders will see the value that contributing to and engaging in online conversations has, making it integral to their roles. They will rely less on communications teams or paying outside influencers, and instead do the work themselves of building and amplifying their influence. This more authentic social capital means better leadership platforms that are much more powerful and effective, and their organizations will hugely benefit.” Andrea Learned, Global Climate Influence Advisor, Learned On

Influencers will be used to drive sales

“The biggest difference we’re going to see in 2022 is moving from using influencers to create content, to using influencers to drive sales. Influencers can be integrated within sales calls, within sales meetings, within sales conferences in such a way that we’re going to be bringing value to the overall engagement process at a time when sales are in a balance.” Jim Marous, Owner & Host, Banking Transformed Podcast

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Read the full blog here.