Most of us, when we hear the word ‘influencer’, picture someone reviewing the latest makeup products, cookery or fashion trends. But influencers aren’t limited to the lifestyle industries.
However, it can be broader than that – an influencer is “a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending it.”
So, influencers are everywhere – they can be in any industry, though not all would welcome that description.
In more technical and B2B fields, influencers are usually referred to as thought leaders and they’re more commonly found on LinkedIn and traditional media than TikTok. They are the experts shaping industry conversations, who share valuable insights, and build trust and dialogue with their audience.
For example, in engineering, thought leaders may be the leaders of big companies which have a reputation for excellence in engineering, such as James Dyson, or well-known scientists such as John Jumper, a Nobel prize winner in chemistry is also on LinkedIn.
But how exactly can thought leadership help market your engineering or scientific company? This blog will break it down for you!
Influencer/thought leader marketing involves endorsements from people and organizations who are perceived as having an expert level of knowledge and skills in their field. They’re the voices of your industry, and the people your sector listen to.
It’s all about companies teaming up with individuals who have a loyal following, a trusted reputation, and a strong voice in their field—whether that’s technology, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, or engineering.
Thought leaders help promote products and services in a way that feels personal and relatable, and working with them can make it easier for businesses to connect with their target audience in an authentic way.
For SMEs, leveraging thought leaders can be a cost-effective alternative to other marketing activities such as pay-per-click advertising, driving long-term brand awareness and credibility without continuous ad spend.
Their expertise and engaged audiences foster organic customer attraction and connections, with the potential for higher conversions for your company’s products and services.
This influencer/thought leader endorsement approach builds trust, enhances engagement, and supports sustainable growth – often at a lower cost than traditional digital advertising. Content published by influencers will often live on beyond your initial campaign, offering long-term value and opportunities for repurposing content and comments.
You can reach your specialist audience more easily, whether it be automotive manufacturing, aerospace training, or industry research.
Think of this as a captive audience: people already engaged with the type of content you want to share and following the brand ambassadors whose profile you can leverage.
These could be potential customers who will be much more receptive to recommendations from a thought leader they trust and respect, than impersonal marketing via a pop-up ad.
This is probably the key benefit of recruiting thought leaders, especially for SME engineering companies—the potential for increased leads and sales, which, it’s fair to say, is the ultimate goal of most advertising.
When influencers share authentic recommendations or endorsements, their followers are more likely to act on their suggestions. This creates a stronger, more organic lead generation pipeline than traditional ads, where audiences might feel less connected or be sceptical of a sales message.
So how do you do it? There are several first steps, if you’re new to influencer marketing, which we’ve drawn from the approach taken with those in cookery and makeup!
Firstly, there’s the traditional product review. This is where you pay the influencer to review your product or service and tell their followers what they think. This allows them to provide a personal perspective, which can resonate deeply with their audience, fostering trust and driving potential customers to engage with your brand.
Now there are strict rules around this, and this particular step is less relevant to the technical engineering sphere, but it is worth being aware that it is used in other industries.
Another way B2C use influencer marketing is by asking for product placement. Without talking directly about the product, this approach can make it feel less like an ad, and more like something they use in their day-to-day work life.
This subtly integrates the product into the influencer’s content. Their followers can see it as part of their authentic lifestyle, which can increase curiosity and drive more organic interest without feeling like a hard sell.
Finally, having an influencer attend a product launch or industry event and post about it, creates excitement around your company. By sharing behind-the-scenes content, reactions, and firsthand experiences, influencers can generate real-time engagement and create a sense of urgency or anticipation.
This type of coverage can amplify reach, as posts from a trusted expert may spark conversations and encourage their followers to check out your product, increasing your visibility and creating the opportunity for new potential sales.
The whole area of influencer marketing is far removed from the more prosaic world of engineering and scientific communications for SMEs. However simply publishing your work for an OEM – and we are working with several to secure approvals – will boost your company’s reputation.
And for your particular engineering capability, you are the expert. Your marketing programme should include positioning your technical experts as thought leaders in their particular field. We can’t all be James Dyson, but we can be the expert in specific aspects of valve design, wiring systems, analysis & test & measurement … whatever makes your company stand above its competitors.
This is Bruno’s favourite part of marketing as it allows him to meet new people! Here he is, listening to a thought leader with a new friend after a recent industry event:
If you’d like to explore this further or just have an informal chat around generating opportunities to grow your business, drop us an email info@aroprandmarketing.co.uk or phone 0117 379 0008.
