B2B influencer marketing has evolved from an experimental tactic to an essential strategy, with growth in program maturity and effectiveness, according to new research from TopRank Marketing.
Nearly two-thirds of marketers now report having mature influencer programs, with the top quarter classifying their programs as advanced, the “2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report” reveals.
The research, conducted in partnership with Ascend2, surveyed 404 marketing professionals in managerial roles and above from U.S. organizations with a B2B focus and 100+ employees.
Always-On Approach Drives Success
The report identifies an always-on approach as perhaps the most important attribute for successful influencer marketing. Marketers using an always-on approach are 17 times less likely to report that their program is ineffective.
“Always-on is an integrated, continual strategy where influencer content is an essential part of your overall marketing strategy,” the report states. “In this approach, brands typically maintain long-term relationships with the same influencers, producing content beyond just individual campaigns.”
According to the findings, 99% of teams using an always-on approach rate their programs as effective. Among marketers reporting an advanced degree of maturity, 81% use an always-on approach with consistent engagement and campaigns.
The report reveals that 58% of B2B marketing teams currently use an always-on influencer marketing approach, while nearly half (49%) of those not currently using it plan to implement it in the coming year.
Integration Emerges as Top Trend
Integration with broader marketing efforts stands out as the leading trend heading into 2025, with 49% of marketers identifying the integration of influencer content across a mix of tactics as the top trend.
This focus on integration appears in multiple aspects of the research. When asked about the tactics they employ to ensure their influencer marketing strategies are differentiated within their market, 55% of all respondents cited unique content, and 56% mentioned creative campaigns. These percentages increase to 64% and 61%, respectively, among the most effective programs.
“It’s not enough to simply integrate influencer content with your brand content,” the report advises. “To make a truly impactful difference with influencer marketing, you need to integrate at the strategic level by both mapping out opportunities to involve influencers in other brand campaigns, and repurposing influencer content into various formats.”
Persistent Challenges in Influencer Identification and Measurement
Despite the growing maturity of B2B influencer marketing, significant challenges remain. Nearly half of marketers (48%) cite identifying, qualifying, and connecting with ideal influencers as their primary challenge, though this represents a decrease from 53% in 2023.
Other top challenges include measuring and reporting results (47%) and managing relationships with influencers (40%). For measurement specifically, evaluating ROI (54%) and tracking long-term impact (52%) are the greatest obstacles.
The report shows 52% of marketers rely on social media searches to find influencers, followed by recommendations from trusted sources (50%) and web searches (49%). Advanced programs are twice as likely as those in earlier stages to use Share of Voice and MQLs/SQLs to measure success.
“After expertise and innovation, the top cited benefit of working with an agency is finding the right influencers,” the report notes.
AI Adoption Accelerating in Influencer Marketing
The research finds that AI-powered solutions are gaining traction in influencer marketing. Approximately half of all respondents report using AI to help with various aspects of their influencer programs, from content creation to audience segmentation.
Image source: TopRank Marketing
Content creation leads AI adoption at 57%, followed by performance tracking (54%), data-driven targeting (55%), and influencer identification and selection (48%). An additional 24-39% of marketers plan to implement AI in these areas in the near future.
“Striking a balance between AI tools and human ingenuity is an excellent way to optimize your influencer marketing campaigns,” the report suggests. “Time-saving AI solutions expand the creative capacity of your team, allowing them to focus on the human side of things, like making right-fit connections with influencers and elevating content creativity.”
The report finds that those with very effective influencer marketing strategies are significantly more likely to have already incorporated AI, with effective marketers 1.5 times more likely to use AI for content creation and twice as likely to use AI for all other surveyed applications.
Budget Growth Follows Program Maturity
The correlation between program maturity and budget allocation appears throughout the findings. The research shows that 72% of marketers with the most advanced strategies have a dedicated budget growing in the coming year.
This growth pattern is consistent across maturity levels, with dedicated and growing influencer marketing budgets reported by:
26% of marketers in the exploratory phase
46% in the developing phase
54% in the established phase
72% with the most advanced strategies
Overall, 53% of all respondents report that their influencer marketing budget is growing, while 24% say it is staying the same—only 4% report budget reductions.
Technology (43%) and research and audience analysis (43%) were identified as the areas most in need of increased budget allocation to achieve influencer marketing goals, followed by performance measurement (37%).
Content Types and Compensation Models
Social media posts lead as the most effective content type for influencer programs at 56%, followed by in-person events (39%) and webinars/interviews/interactive content (34%).
Regarding compensation, the research finds that performance-based models (53%) are most common, followed by product/service compensation (47%) and pay per deliverable (46%). Teams reporting the highest satisfaction with their influencer relationships are equally likely (61%) to use performance-based and product/service compensation models.
“Performance-based compensation can align interests and measure results, [but] it presents challenges,” notes Rachel Miller, founder & CEO of Swayd, in the report. “Holding influencers to the same KPIs as traditional marketing campaigns can be limiting, as their impact often extends beyond quantifiable metrics.”
As B2B influencer marketing matures, the report emphasizes leadership alignment, creative content, audience alignment, proper metrics identification, strategic integration, and commitment to an always-on approach.
“It’s never too early to start employing the tactics that have made the most mature influencer programs successful,” the report concludes.
Nii A. Ahene is the founder and managing director of Net Influencer, a website dedicated to offering insights into the influencer marketing industry. Together with its newsletter, Influencer Weekly, Net Influencer provides news, commentary, and analysis of the events shaping the creator and influencer marketing space. Through interviews with startups, influencers, brands, and platforms, Nii and his team explore how influencer marketing is being effectively used to benefit businesses and personal brands alike.
B2B influencer marketing has evolved from an experimental tactic to an essential strategy, with growth in program maturity and effectiveness, according to new research from TopRank Marketing.
Nearly two-thirds of marketers now report having mature influencer programs, with the top quarter classifying their programs as advanced, the “2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report” reveals.
The research, conducted in partnership with Ascend2, surveyed 404 marketing professionals in managerial roles and above from U.S. organizations with a B2B focus and 100+ employees.
Always-On Approach Drives Success
The report identifies an always-on approach as perhaps the most important attribute for successful influencer marketing. Marketers using an always-on approach are 17 times less likely to report that their program is ineffective.
“Always-on is an integrated, continual strategy where influencer content is an essential part of your overall marketing strategy,” the report states. “In this approach, brands typically maintain long-term relationships with the same influencers, producing content beyond just individual campaigns.”
According to the findings, 99% of teams using an always-on approach rate their programs as effective. Among marketers reporting an advanced degree of maturity, 81% use an always-on approach with consistent engagement and campaigns.
The report reveals that 58% of B2B marketing teams currently use an always-on influencer marketing approach, while nearly half (49%) of those not currently using it plan to implement it in the coming year.
Integration Emerges as Top Trend
Integration with broader marketing efforts stands out as the leading trend heading into 2025, with 49% of marketers identifying the integration of influencer content across a mix of tactics as the top trend.
This focus on integration appears in multiple aspects of the research. When asked about the tactics they employ to ensure their influencer marketing strategies are differentiated within their market, 55% of all respondents cited unique content, and 56% mentioned creative campaigns. These percentages increase to 64% and 61%, respectively, among the most effective programs.
“It’s not enough to simply integrate influencer content with your brand content,” the report advises. “To make a truly impactful difference with influencer marketing, you need to integrate at the strategic level by both mapping out opportunities to involve influencers in other brand campaigns, and repurposing influencer content into various formats.”
Persistent Challenges in Influencer Identification and Measurement
Despite the growing maturity of B2B influencer marketing, significant challenges remain. Nearly half of marketers (48%) cite identifying, qualifying, and connecting with ideal influencers as their primary challenge, though this represents a decrease from 53% in 2023.
Other top challenges include measuring and reporting results (47%) and managing relationships with influencers (40%). For measurement specifically, evaluating ROI (54%) and tracking long-term impact (52%) are the greatest obstacles.
The report shows 52% of marketers rely on social media searches to find influencers, followed by recommendations from trusted sources (50%) and web searches (49%). Advanced programs are twice as likely as those in earlier stages to use Share of Voice and MQLs/SQLs to measure success.
“After expertise and innovation, the top cited benefit of working with an agency is finding the right influencers,” the report notes.
AI Adoption Accelerating in Influencer Marketing
The research finds that AI-powered solutions are gaining traction in influencer marketing. Approximately half of all respondents report using AI to help with various aspects of their influencer programs, from content creation to audience segmentation.
Image source: TopRank Marketing
Content creation leads AI adoption at 57%, followed by performance tracking (54%), data-driven targeting (55%), and influencer identification and selection (48%). An additional 24-39% of marketers plan to implement AI in these areas in the near future.
“Striking a balance between AI tools and human ingenuity is an excellent way to optimize your influencer marketing campaigns,” the report suggests. “Time-saving AI solutions expand the creative capacity of your team, allowing them to focus on the human side of things, like making right-fit connections with influencers and elevating content creativity.”
The report finds that those with very effective influencer marketing strategies are significantly more likely to have already incorporated AI, with effective marketers 1.5 times more likely to use AI for content creation and twice as likely to use AI for all other surveyed applications.
Budget Growth Follows Program Maturity
The correlation between program maturity and budget allocation appears throughout the findings. The research shows that 72% of marketers with the most advanced strategies have a dedicated budget growing in the coming year.
This growth pattern is consistent across maturity levels, with dedicated and growing influencer marketing budgets reported by:
Overall, 53% of all respondents report that their influencer marketing budget is growing, while 24% say it is staying the same—only 4% report budget reductions.
Technology (43%) and research and audience analysis (43%) were identified as the areas most in need of increased budget allocation to achieve influencer marketing goals, followed by performance measurement (37%).
Content Types and Compensation Models
Social media posts lead as the most effective content type for influencer programs at 56%, followed by in-person events (39%) and webinars/interviews/interactive content (34%).
Regarding compensation, the research finds that performance-based models (53%) are most common, followed by product/service compensation (47%) and pay per deliverable (46%). Teams reporting the highest satisfaction with their influencer relationships are equally likely (61%) to use performance-based and product/service compensation models.
“Performance-based compensation can align interests and measure results, [but] it presents challenges,” notes Rachel Miller, founder & CEO of Swayd, in the report. “Holding influencers to the same KPIs as traditional marketing campaigns can be limiting, as their impact often extends beyond quantifiable metrics.”
As B2B influencer marketing matures, the report emphasizes leadership alignment, creative content, audience alignment, proper metrics identification, strategic integration, and commitment to an always-on approach.
“It’s never too early to start employing the tactics that have made the most mature influencer programs successful,” the report concludes.
The full report is available here.