Influencers-In-Business-To-Business-Marketing-1.Pdf
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Table of contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. What is B2B influencer marketing? ............................................................................................................ 5 2.1. Literature review ................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Defining B2B influencers ...................................................................................................................... 9 2.3. Interests ............................................................................................................................................... 13 2.4. Business models ................................................................................................................................... 14 3. Legal implications regarding disclosure in B2B influencer marketing ................................................. 21 3.1. Disclosure in the context of unfair competition .................................................................................. 22 3.1.1. Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) .......................................................................... 23 3.1.2. Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive (MCAD) ....................................................... 26 3.1.3. The implementation of EU legislation at national level ................................................................. 26 3.2. Disclosure in the context of media law................................................................................................ 29 3.3. Disclosure and native advertisement in journalism ............................................................................ 31 4. Reflection and suggestions for improvement............................................................................................ 34 5. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................... 38 2 1. Introduction In 2016, Systems Applications and Products (SAP), a company that provides business solutions for small, big and international enterprises, decided to attract public attention to its annual technology conference called Sapphire, by inviting 11 influencers. Among them were business consultants, academics and authors, who conducted interviews throughout the event which were recorded and livestreamed through their own Facebook pages. With the help of the influencer community, Sapphire managed to reach over 80.000 online viewers, on top of the regular 20.000 attendees, which exceeded expectations.1 This is an illustration of business-to-business (B2B) or industrial influencer marketing. As such, influencer marketing is defined by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) as the leveraging of individuals who have influence over potential buyers and engage in marketing activities to drive a brand message to a larger market.2 The core idea of influencer marketing is that it is not the brand that directly promotes itself to potential customers, but rather an intermediary, namely a trusted individual, who spreads their positive experience with the brand within their own communities. In essence, this marketing strategy is based on word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising.3 In contemporary influencer marketing, influencers operate digitally and spread their influence though social media networks, which is often referred to as electronic word-of-mouth advertising (eWOM).4 1 Social Business Engine, Youtube channel (Youtube, 2016) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh8mwSdA5BU&feature=emb_title> accessed 4 November 2019. 2 American Marketing Association, ‘Definitions of Marketing’ (AMA, 2017) < https://www.ama.org/the- definition-of-marketing-what-is-marketing/> accessed on 3 January 2019. 3 Thorsten Henning-Thurau, ‘The Impact of New Media on Customer Relationships’ (2010) 13 Journal of Service Research 311; Yung-Ming Li, ‘Identifying influential reviewers for word-of-mouth marketing’ (2010) 9 Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 294; Christine Kiss, ‘Identification of influencers – Measuring influence in customer networks’ (2008) 46 Decision Support Systems 233; Angele Dobele, ‘Controlled infection! Spreading the brand message through viral marketing’ (2005) 48 Business Horizons 143; Walter Carl, ‘The role of disclosure in organized word-of-mouth marketing programs’ (2008) 14 Journal of Marketing Communications 225; Arch Woodside and Wayne Delozier, ‘Effects of Word of Mouth Advertising on Consumer Risk Taking’ (1976) 5 Journal of Advertising 12; Roger Mason, ‘Word of mouth as a promotional tool for turbulent markets’ (2008) 14 Journal of Marketing Communications 207; Ed Keller and Brad Fray, ‘Word-of-mouth advocacy: a new key to advertising effectiveness’ 52 Journal of Advertising Research 459; Ed Keller and Brad Fray, ‘The Role of Advertising in Word to Mouth’ (2009) 49 Journal of Advertising Research 154. 4 Christopher Vollmer and Geoffrey Precourt, Always on: Advertising, marketing and media in an era of consumer control (1st edn, McGraw Hill Professional, 2008); Thomas Gruen, ‘eWOM: The impact of customer- to-customer online know-how exchange on customer value and loyalty.’ (2006) 4 Journal of Business research 449; Soyeon Kim, ‘The influence of eWOM communications: an application of online social network framework’ (2018) 80 Computers in Human Behaviour 243; Tai-Yee Wu, ‘Predicting the effects of eWOM and online brand messaging: Source trust, bandwagon effect and innovation adoption factors’ (2017) 2 Telematics and Informatics 470; Thomas Reimer, ‘Not just for the recommender: How eWOM incentives influence the recommendation audience’ (2018) 86 Journal of Business Research 11; Kineta Hung, ‘The influence of eWOM on virtual consumer communities: Social capital, consumer learning and behavioral outcomes.’ (2007) 4 Journal 3 The use of social media influencers for marketing is rapidly gaining importance. In a report published by Influencer Marketing Hub, it was estimated that this industry had grown from 1,7 billion US dollars in 2016 to 6.5 billion US dollars in 2019.5 It is estimated that about 50% of all businesses who target consumers (B2C) use influencer marketing.6 Moreover, also businesses who advertise products and services purchased to other businesses (B2B), are increasingly using social media influencers as part of their marketing strategy.7 It is estimated that about 15% of all B2B companies already use influencers, and this number is increasing.8 Despite the increasing use of influencers in B2B commerce, the current academic literature mainly centers around B2C influencers. Even though B2B influencers make online content that is spread through their own websites or social media just like B2C influencers, influencers in B2B commerce are quite different from their B2C counterparts; they are established professionals, often with years of practical experience in their field and close ties to their audience. Because of this, they can exert a significant influence in their communities. In order to ensure their position, the B2B influencer needs to be perceived as an objective expert. Therefore, B2B influencers give a different shape to the business models that their B2C counterparts use. They engage in a wider variety of activities and do not only focus on advertising but also on independent commercial activities such as advising companies. Regarding these features and activities, B2B influencers sometimes even come closer to professional journalists than to B2C influencers. At the same time, the need for research on this topic is becoming more urgent, as many players in the B2B field are unaware of their legal obligations.9 With the growing use of B2B influencers, new questions on this topic need to be explored. Who qualifies as a B2B influencer? of advertising research 485; Yu-Hui Fang, ‘Beyond the credibility of electronic word of mouth: Exploring eWOM adoption on social networking sites from affective and curiosity perspectives.’ (2014) 3 International Journal of Electronic Commerce 67. 5 Influencer Marketing Hub, ‘Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report: 2019’ (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2019) < https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-2019-benchmark-report/> accessed on 10 November 2019. See also Richard Hanna, ‘We’re all connected: the power of the social media ecosystem’ (2011) 54 Business Horizons 265. 6 Mark Schaefer and Evy Wilkins, ‘The Rise of Influencer Marketing in B2B Technology’ (Traackr, 2017) < https://www.traackr.com/resources/influencer-marketing-b2b-technology> accessed 10 January 2020. Note that this is study conducted by a marketing agency, this number is not yet confirmed by academic research. 7 Omar Itani, ‘Social media use in B2b sales and its impact on competitive intelligence collection and adaptive selling: Examining the role of learning orientation as an enabler’ (2017) 66 Industrial Marketing Management 64. See also Nina Michaelidou, ‘Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of small and medium B2B brands’ (2011) 40 Industrial Marketing Management 1153. 8 Fn. 7. 9 For example, The Drum estimated that only 8% of B2B Marketers are aware of and understand the FTC guidelines. See Laurie Fullerton, ‘Are B2B marketers in compliance with FTC native advertising guidelines?’