Last updated on February 21st, 2019 at 08:18 am
To some marketers and other business professionals, “influencer” has become almost a dirty word. When B2B News Network calls someone an influencer, though, it means a lot more than someone with a large social media following.
Starting today, we’re once again accepting nominations (including self-nominations) of those who are offering great ideas (and communicating them in highly effective ways)Â about what it means to successfully market, sell and innovative products and services when your customers are other companies. Last year, some of the names on our list — such as Anne Handley, Jay Baer and Lee Odden — have only continued to grow in stature. That’s why in early 2019 you’ll see a completely new list of B2B influencers from us online and in your inboxes.
Our list is not a ranking. That would be ridiculous, since it’s impossible to measure the exact influence of a particular person across the wide range of CMOs, heads of sales and CIOs who come to B2BNN everyday. Instead, we like to think of our B2B influencer list as a way to help our audience navigate towards the best sources of insight based on their needs. We want this collection of all-stars to guide them when they’re deciding which keynote or breakout session to attend at a conference, whose book they should be buying, what podcast or video series to watch.
Putting forward a worthy candidate for our B2B influencer list has never been easier. The criteria is as follows:
- Tell us what kind of key messages, themes or other source of value the influencer is bringing to his or her target community, and how
- Explain the impact this influencer is having, whether it’s being asked to headline major conferences, interviews in publications like B2BNN or creating a high profile through a social channel of some kind
- If you’re nominating someone else, explain what kinds of key takeaways or learning you’ve gained from the influencer. If you’re a self-nominee, share any feedback you’ve been getting from your community about how they’re putting your ideas into action.
Best of all, we’re doing away with a nomination form! Instead, as B2BNN’s editor-in-chief, I’m taking nominations directly via a simple e-mail message to sschick@b2bnn.com. Nominations don’t have to be essays, but give me a few paragraphs and, if need me, I’ll ping you back for more details.
Nominations will remain open until Monday, Dec. 10. Of course, I’ll also be hand-picking a few influencers myself based on what I’m seeing, hearing, reading and experiencing on the front lines. This was by far one of our most popular features in 2018, and I can’t wait to bring out a list of top B2B influencers in 2019.
