How to Find a B2B Influencer on LinkedIn

What's Inside This Post:

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Leonardo DiCaprio's role in "The Great Gatsby" fit him perfectly. He embodied the wealthy 1920s New York socialite so convincingly, it seemed as if F. Scott Fitzgerald had written the character with him in mind.

Now, imagine replacing the actor's name with an influencer and the movie title with your company name.

Yes, even in B2B influencer marketing, certain profiles work better for specific projects, and some accounts align more naturally with your brand identity than others.

How do you find your "Great Gatsby" – the perfect LinkedIn B2B influencer for your brand?

Where should you look?

What strategies actually work?

If you're asking these questions, you're in the right place!

In this comprehensive guide, we'll share proven methods and expert advice for finding your ideal B2B brand ambassador on LinkedIn.

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b2b influencers linkedin — Ready to find your perfect ambassador?

Where to Find B2B Influencers on LinkedIn

A B2B influencer is a professional who actively shares insights on social media about their area of expertise, whether that's business strategy, HR, copywriting, social media management, or entrepreneurship.

This content is distributed across one or more platforms to keep their professional community informed about the latest industry trends and news.

According to a study by CMIT with Faber Content, B2B thought leaders are primarily active on three social networks:

Twitter: 87.6%

LinkedIn: 77%

Instagram: 29.7%

These platforms offer diverse opportunities for expression. Whether on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram, B2B influencers can publish posts, share videos, host live sessions, or create stories.

With 21 million users on LinkedIn in France alone, the challenge becomes clear.

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influenceurs btob linkedin — *How do you find the right B2B influencer among millions of professionals?*

So how do you identify the ideal ambassador for your influencer marketing campaign?

Today, we're focusing specifically on LinkedIn influencer discovery.

Several proven tools and strategies can help you find the thought leader who will showcase your expertise and attract new customers.

5 Proven Methods to Find B2B Influencers on LinkedIn

There are five effective approaches to discovering B2B influencers for your LinkedIn marketing campaign.

Whether you're seeking business managers, journalists, freelancers, or HR professionals, every professional profile can be found on the platform.

Here's how to locate them strategically.

LinkedIn Top Voices and Featured Influencers

The first method is leveraging LinkedIn Top Voices.

This ranking has existed for six years and is curated by LinkedIn's editorial team. It highlights the most influential profiles and thought leaders on the platform.

The list of selected voices is released at the end of each year.

In 2021, several talents from the Les Années Folles roster were included in the HR Top Voices.

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top voices 2021 linkedin — *Amélie Favre Guittet and Roseline Laloupe named in Top Voices 2021*

To create this ranking, LinkedIn evaluates various metrics including engagement rate, posting frequency, and subscriber growth.

Beyond this annual list, LinkedIn highlights "Influencer" profiles throughout the year. According to LinkedIn's official page:

"LinkedIn Influencers are selected by invitation only and comprise a global collective of over 500 of the world's leading thinkers, leaders, and innovators. As leaders in their industries and regions, they offer in-depth analysis of current topics such as the future of higher education, corporate culture, economic trends, and policy decisions."

Approximately sixty personalities hold this status in France, though most are politicians or executives of major corporations.

In the B2B influencer marketing sector, collaborating with them can be challenging because they're not neutral. They typically promote their own organizations and may not be inclined to discuss unfamiliar projects.

These profiles are easily identifiable by a blue badge and sometimes the "Influencer" designation on their profiles.

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Anne sophie pic influencer linkedin — At the top left, the “LinkedIn” logo means that this profile is one of the platform's influencers according to the social network.

Expert Content and Guest Posts on Industry Publications

To find LinkedIn B2B influencers, don't limit your search to the platform itself.

It's valuable to explore specialized industry publications and identify who's contributing thought leadership content.

These niche media outlets often feature industry experts through opinion pieces and guest posts. This content is easily identifiable by "Opinion," "Guest Post," or "Expert Forum" labels in the byline or introduction.

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By exploring beyond social media, you'll discover expert profiles who may not be omnipresent but possess genuine, deep expertise on specific subjects.

These hidden gems are particularly valuable for B2B influencer marketing campaigns, as they bring authentic credibility to conversations with your target customers.

Industry Events and Professional Conferences

Professional events are excellent venues for discovering speakers who could become brand ambassadors for your business.

During conferences, webinars, and industry gatherings, experts are invited to share their vision, discuss emerging trends, and present original analyses.

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This is an ideal way to discover new profiles who are comfortable speaking publicly about their profession.

Moreover, if they're invited to these events, they're already recognized for their expertise. Their LinkedIn followers read their posts attentively to stay informed about the latest industry developments.

LinkedIn and Facebook Discussion Groups

Professional discussion groups on LinkedIn and Facebook focused on various topics are constantly active.

These communities might center on entrepreneurship, social media management, HR, technology, or specific industries.

The purpose is to facilitate question and answer exchanges and spark meaningful debates that animate the group.

Don't hesitate to explore groups related to your specialty. Your next B2B ambassador might be the member who contributes most frequently or provides the most valuable insights.

Consistent, quality participation demonstrates they command attention and respect within their professional community.

Strategic Hashtag Research on LinkedIn

Finally, we'll share a time tested method: hashtag search on LinkedIn.

These keywords are invaluable and are regularly used by LinkedIn influencers in their posts.

This technique allows them to be discovered by new professionals in their field and helps build their LinkedIn visibility.

Take a few minutes to identify specific keywords in your niche and start searching for the ambassador you need. Use industry specific hashtags combined with terms like #ThoughtLeadership, #B2BMarketing, or your particular sector.

How to Use LinkedIn Advanced Search to Find B2B Influencers

LinkedIn's search engine is remarkably powerful for finding B2B influencers on LinkedIn. It enables highly targeted searches by incorporating multiple data points to find the perfect match.

Learn more about the Types of Influencers by downloading our free ebook!

LinkedIn Search Filters for Finding B2B Influencers

You can filter your LinkedIn influencer search by:

Keywords (job titles, specialties, topics)

Profile type (people, companies, groups)

Connection degree (1st, 2nd, 3rd connections)

Location (city, country, region)

Current company

Past company

Educational institutions

Language

Industry sector

Interests (volunteering, board membership, causes)

Service categories (consulting, marketing, digital)

Name variations

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find b2b influencers linkedin — All the criteria that can be entered for a search on LinkedIn.

These filtering capabilities are genuinely available on LinkedIn. According to the platform's help documentation, this feature "allows you to search for people, jobs, businesses, posts, and more."

"For content related searches on LinkedIn, you'll see LinkedIn Learning videos in search results. If you want to explore more videos related to your search, click 'See All' to the right of the learning video on your search results page, and you'll be redirected to LinkedIn Learning."

This tool reveals new profiles effectively, but only when you know precisely what you're seeking.

If you simply enter a broad keyword like "marketing," you'll discover countless people without clarity on who to approach.

How to Analyze a B2B Influencer's LinkedIn Profile

Once you've identified a potential thought leader for your influencer marketing campaign, don't reach out immediately.

Take time to consume their content by following them for several days or weeks.

This observation period allows you to evaluate whether their posts consistently receive engagement, understand who comprises their community, and track their daily subscriber growth.

Review LinkedIn Profile Activity History

After following their LinkedIn profile, begin by reviewing previously posted content. LinkedIn's activity history provides access to valuable data:

- All account activity: posts they've liked, commented on, and shared

- All their original posts

- All their published articles

- All their shared documents

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Review what this B2B influencer has posted over several months.

You'll quickly determine if their popularity is consistent or erratic. If engagement is irregular, your campaign may not achieve the impact you envision.

Conversely, if their publications consistently resonate with their audience, that's excellent!

Explore What Kind of Content B2B Influencers post on LinkedIn by reading this article.

Analyze LinkedIn Engagement and Comments

But before celebrating, examine the comments carefully:

Are the same people always commenting?

Do comments genuinely engage with the post's content?

Do followers share perspectives and ask questions on diverse topics?

By analyzing this engagement, you'll directly assess whether the B2B influencer's community is truly committed and, importantly, whether they trust the influencer.

If people regularly ask specific questions about the influencer's expertise area, you can deduce they're considered a genuine expert, someone their audience turns to for authoritative answers.

Understand the B2B Influencer's Audience Demographics

Analyzing these comments also provides insights into the influencer's follower demographics:

Do followers work in the same industry sector?

Are they relatively junior or more experienced professionals?

What are their job titles and responsibilities?

By understanding their community composition, you'll know exactly which professional profiles will be reached by your B2B marketing campaign through this influencer partnership.

Evaluate Content Quality and Brand Alignment

Finally, by thoroughly reviewing the quality of content posted by this opinion leader, you'll learn more about their values and approach.

You'll see directly if they share your brand values, align with your vision, and move in the same direction as your business objectives.

If they check all the boxes, they'll be an excellent brand ambassador for your company.

However, if they don't seem to convey aligned messages, they're not the right match. Continue your research to find the right thought leader!

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How to Avoid Fake Influencers and on LinkedIn

Taking genuine interest in content shared by a thought leader is essential before launching a B2B influencer marketing campaign.

The objective is to surround your brand with authentic profiles that will genuinely increase your business visibility and credibility.

Understanding Engagement Pods and Fake Influence

There's no value in partnering with someone who doesn't truly have influence or who participates in engagement pods. These are groups of users who artificially boost each other's posts through coordinated likes and comments.

These profiles inflate their engagement rate to attract business partnerships, but their influence is manufactured, not authentic.

Don't be fooled. Follow our analysis guidelines carefully!

Why Work With a B2B Influencer Marketing Agency

This is precisely why specialized agencies like Les Années Folles were created: to provide serious, expert support for brands in their influencer marketing initiatives.

Some companies choose to work exclusively with one carefully vetted profile for extended periods.

According to Cision research, 41% of companies collaborate with only one thought leader rather than multiple influencers to avoid encountering fake influencers.

Like casting for a successful film, finding the right B2B influencer takes time and requires a methodical approach.

You'll find your ideal ambassador by conducting patient, strategic research using the right keywords and evaluation criteria.

Find out more by reading our article on why should you work with a B2B Influencer Marketing Agency.

Start Finding the Perfect LinkedIn B2B Influencer for Your Brand

Finding the perfect B2B influencer on LinkedIn requires strategy, patience, and thorough analysis. By using these five proven methods and carefully evaluating potential partners, you'll identify authentic thought leaders who can genuinely amplify your brand message and connect you with decision-makers in your target market.

Don't rush the process. The right LinkedIn influencer partnership can transform your B2B marketing results and establish lasting credibility in your industry.

Need expert guidance in finding and partnering with B2B influencers? Contact Les Années Folles – we specialize in connecting brands with authentic LinkedIn thought leaders who drive real business results.