TopRank says nearly two-thirds of surveyed B2B marketers report having mature influencer programs, and the top quarter classify their programs as advanced.

The 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report

TopRank Marketing and Ascend2 surveyed 404 U.S. marketing professionals in managerial roles and above, representing B2B-focused organizations with 100 or more employees, in September 2024.

U.S. B2B survey fielded in 2024 for 2025 planning; results are respondent-reported program status and outcomes, not audited pipeline data.


TopRank reports that 99% of teams using an always-on influencer approach rate their programs as effective.


TopRank reports that 57% of surveyed B2B marketers are already using AI to aid influencer content creation.


TopRank reports that 72% of the most advanced B2B influencer teams have a dedicated influencer budget that they expect to grow in the coming year.


TopRank reports that 49% of B2B marketers identify integrating influencer content across a broader mix of marketing tactics as the leading influencer marketing trend for 2025.


TopRank reports that 48% of all surveyed B2B marketers struggle with identifying, qualifying and connecting with ideal influencers.


TopRank reports that 43% of surveyed B2B marketers say their influencer programs deliver outstanding results.


TopRank reports that 79% of marketers with mature B2B influencer programs say their programs deliver outstanding results.


TopRank reports that 48% of surveyed B2B marketers describe their influencer strategy as somewhat effective.


TopRank reports that 9% of surveyed B2B marketers describe their influencer strategy as ineffective.


TopRank reports that marketers without an always-on influencer approach are 17x more likely to say their program is somewhat or very ineffective.


TopRank reports that 81% of marketers with advanced influencer maturity use an always-on influencer approach.


TopRank reports that 82% of marketers reporting the most influencer success use an always-on approach.


TopRank reports that 39% of marketers outside the most successful influencer group use an always-on approach.


TopRank reports that 58% of B2B marketing teams overall use an always-on influencer marketing approach.


TopRank reports that 49% of B2B marketers considering always-on influencer marketing plan to implement it in the coming year.


TopRank reports that 48% of surveyed B2B marketers rank identifying, qualifying and connecting with ideal influencers as their number one challenge.


TopRank reports that 47% of surveyed B2B marketers identify measuring and reporting results as a top influencer marketing challenge.


TopRank reports that 53% of B2B teams have a dedicated influencer marketing budget that is growing.


TopRank reports that 24% of B2B teams have a dedicated influencer marketing budget that is staying the same.


TopRank reports that 4% of B2B teams have a dedicated influencer marketing budget that is shrinking.


TopRank reports that 9% of B2B teams do not yet have a dedicated influencer marketing budget but expect one in the coming year.


TopRank reports that 7% of B2B teams do not have a dedicated influencer marketing budget.


TopRank reports that 3% of B2B teams are unsure whether influencer marketing has a dedicated budget in their marketing plan.


TopRank reports that C-suite respondents were more likely than any other role, at 76%, to say their influencer marketing budget was growing.


TopRank reports that 26% of exploratory B2B influencer programs have growing dedicated budgets.


TopRank reports that 46% of developing B2B influencer programs have growing dedicated budgets.


TopRank reports that 54% of established B2B influencer programs have growing dedicated budgets.


TopRank reports that 72% of the most advanced B2B influencer programs have growing dedicated budgets.


TopRank reports that technology and research/audience analysis both rank as budget-increase needs at 43% each.


TopRank reports that 37% of B2B marketers say performance measurement needs more budget allocation for influencer marketing goals.


TopRank reports that 33% of B2B marketers say general fees and costs need more budget allocation for influencer marketing goals.


TopRank reports that 31% of B2B marketers say program expansion needs more budget allocation for influencer marketing goals.


TopRank reports that 29% of B2B marketers say training and development needs more budget allocation for influencer marketing goals.


TopRank reports that 21% of B2B marketers say paid amplification needs more budget allocation for influencer marketing goals.


TopRank reports that 20% of B2B marketers say adding or expanding an agency partnership needs more budget allocation for influencer marketing goals.


TopRank reports that audience targeting and segmentation is the top priority to improve influencer results at 37%.


TopRank reports that measuring performance and ROI is a priority to improve influencer results for 36% of B2B marketers.


TopRank reports that identifying the right influencers is a priority to improve influencer results for 32% of B2B marketers.


TopRank reports that increasing frequency or scale and creative-forward content development are each priorities for 31% of B2B marketers.


TopRank reports that technology and platform/app management is a priority to improve influencer results for 29% of B2B marketers.


TopRank reports that strengthening influencer relationships is a priority to improve influencer results for 28% of B2B marketers.


TopRank reports that social media posts are the most effective B2B influencer content type at 56%.


TopRank reports that in-person events are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 39% of respondents.


TopRank reports that webinars, interviews or interactive content are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 34% of respondents.


TopRank reports that video is rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 29% of respondents.


TopRank reports that livestreams are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 28% of respondents.


TopRank reports that podcasts are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 22% of respondents.


TopRank reports that reports and guides are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 19% of respondents.


TopRank reports that blogs are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 18% of respondents.


TopRank reports that newsletters are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 13% of respondents.


TopRank reports that infographics are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 9% of respondents.


TopRank reports that quote contributions for other content are rated effective for B2B influencer programs by 4% of respondents.


TopRank reports that 53% of B2B marketers integrate influencer content through brand engagement and shares.


TopRank reports that 52% of B2B marketers encourage employees to share influencer content.


TopRank reports that 49% of B2B marketers use co-created influencer content with the brand.


TopRank reports that 44% of B2B marketers use co-created content with executives and influencers.


TopRank reports that 33% of B2B marketers have influencers interview executives.


TopRank reports that performance-based compensation is the most common B2B influencer compensation model at 53%.


TopRank reports that product or service compensation is used by 47% of B2B influencer programs.


TopRank reports that pay-per-deliverable compensation is used by 46% of B2B influencer programs.


TopRank reports that credibility or reach compensation is used by 38% of B2B influencer programs.


TopRank reports that trade-out compensation is used by 17% of B2B influencer programs.


TopRank reports that 6% of B2B influencer programs do not compensate influencers.


TopRank reports that engagement is used to analyze and optimize B2B influencer campaigns by 54% of respondents.


TopRank reports that ROI is used to analyze and optimize B2B influencer campaigns by 52% of respondents.


TopRank reports that conversion rate and reach/views are each used to analyze B2B influencer campaigns by 48% of respondents.


TopRank reports that audience sentiment is used to analyze and optimize B2B influencer campaigns by 38% of respondents.


TopRank reports that mentions are used to analyze and optimize B2B influencer campaigns by 29% of respondents.


TopRank reports that share of voice is used to analyze and optimize B2B influencer campaigns by 26% of respondents.


TopRank reports that MQLs or SQLs are used to analyze and optimize B2B influencer campaigns by 16% of respondents.


TopRank reports that advanced B2B influencer programs are 2x more likely than earlier-stage programs to use share of voice and MQLs/SQLs for measurement.


TopRank reports that evaluating ROI is the most-cited B2B influencer measurement challenge at 54%.


TopRank reports that tracking long-term impact is a B2B influencer measurement challenge for 52% of respondents.


TopRank reports that tracking metrics across platforms and integrating influencer with existing campaigns are each measurement challenges for 48% of respondents.


TopRank reports that attribution is a B2B influencer measurement challenge for 38% of respondents.


TopRank reports that platform reporting inconsistencies are a B2B influencer measurement challenge for 29% of respondents.


TopRank reports that influencer delays in sharing reporting are a measurement challenge for 26% of B2B respondents.


TopRank reports that undefined goals or KPIs are a B2B influencer measurement challenge for 16% of respondents.


TopRank reports that 44% of B2B marketers identify AI use to expand and optimize influencer content as an emerging trend.


TopRank reports that 41% of B2B marketers identify developing internal brand influencers as an emerging trend.


TopRank reports that 35% of B2B marketers identify creating virtual versions of influencers with AI as an emerging trend.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that 94% of surveyed senior-level B2B marketers agree trust is key to success in B2B.

2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark: The Video + Influence Effect Starts With Trust

Ipsos collected a sample of 1,500 senior-level B2B marketers using 70% expert network sample and 30% B2B panel providers; country distribution was United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, India and Australia, n=250 each.

B2B marketer survey, not a direct buyer conversion study; some claims are expectations or self-reported program usage.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that 42% of surveyed senior-level B2B marketers say increasing brand awareness and reputation among decision-makers is their top business priority.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that 78% of B2B marketers use video in their programs.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that short-form social video is a top ROI video format for 41% of surveyed B2B marketers.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that brand storytelling is a top ROI video format for 38% of surveyed B2B marketers.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that testimonials and demos are top ROI video formats for 34% of surveyed B2B marketers.


LinkedIn Creative Labs research reports that marketers with mature video strategies are 2.2x more likely to say their brand is well trusted.


LinkedIn Creative Labs research reports that marketers with mature video strategies are 1.8x more likely to say their brand is well known.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that 55% of B2B marketers leverage influencer marketing and partner with creators.


LinkedIn and Ipsos report that companies using influencer marketing are more likely to expect budget increases next year, 84% versus 58% for non-users.


LinkedIn reports that 59% of B2B buyers consume creator content on LinkedIn, more than on any other platform.

The Rise of B2B Influence: How Creators Are Influencing Buyers

Official LinkedIn Marketing Solutions summary of the 2025 Working with B2B Creators guide.

The public article summarizes LinkedIn research; use as official directional buyer research, not as a fully disclosed raw dataset.


LinkedIn reports that 82% of B2B buyers say creator content directly influences their decisions.


LinkedIn reports that 87% of B2B buyers prefer credible content from industry influencers.


LinkedIn reports that 79% of B2B buyers engage with creator content at least once a month.


LinkedIn reports that video uploads have grown 45% year over year.


LinkedIn reports that 63% of B2B buyers say video helps drive their decisions.


LinkedIn reports that BrandLink drove a 130% higher video completion rate than standard video ads.


LinkedIn reports that BrandLink drove a 23% higher view rate than standard video ads.


LinkedIn reports that viewers of BrandLink ads are up to 18% more likely to become leads.


LinkedIn reports that Thought Leader Ads produced a 252% higher click-through rate than single image ads.


LinkedIn reports that Thought Leader Ads produced 62% lower cost per click than single image ads.


LinkedIn reports that Thought Leader Ads produced 48% higher lead-gen form completion rates than single image ads.


LinkedIn reports that 59% of B2B buyers discover new brands through creator content.

How B2B Creators Are Shaping the Future of Thought Leadership

Official LinkedIn Marketing Solutions article summarizing Working with B2B Creators research and LinkedIn ad product performance claims.

Ad product claims are LinkedIn-reported benchmarks and should not be treated as guaranteed campaign outcomes.


LinkedIn reports that 67% of B2B buyers say creator content helps them assess potential solutions.


LinkedIn reports that 47% of B2B buyers visited a vendor website after engaging with creator content.


LinkedIn reports that 38% of B2B buyers said creator content prompted them to engage with a sales team.


LinkedIn reports that employees collective networks are 12x larger than a brand own following.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 600+ respondents contributed to its 2026 influencer marketing benchmark survey.

Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2026

Influencer Marketing Hub says the 2026 benchmark summarizes a survey of 600+ marketing professionals, with percentages calculated among respondents to each question and multi-select results treated as selection incidence.

General influencer marketing benchmark, not B2B-specific; many metrics are intent, adoption or operating posture rather than measured financial outcomes.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 72.2% of respondents expect influencer budgets to increase 50% or more.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 65.9% of respondents expect influencer payback within one month.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 48.4% of respondents expect influencer payback within two weeks.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 66.3% of respondents run influencer programs entirely in-house.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that brand awareness is the most selected KPI, cited by 55.1% of respondents answering the KPI question.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that promo or discount codes lead measurement-tool adoption at 45.9%.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that affiliate links are used as an influencer measurement tool by 26.0% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that native shop features are used as an influencer measurement tool by 25.0% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that TikTok is included in 31% of respondent influencer plans, the highest platform incidence in the survey.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 87.49% of respondents expect their influencer marketing budget to increase in 2026.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 5.55% of respondents expect their influencer marketing budget to decrease in 2026.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that the 50%+ budget-increase group accounts for 64.23% of measurement-tool selections.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that creator discovery and vetting is the most commonly outsourced influencer function at 19.44%.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that content production is outsourced by 15.28% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that talent management, paid amplification and fraud/authenticity checks are each outsourced by 12.5% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that reporting and analytics is the least outsourced influencer function at 6.9%.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that creator discovery is the leading AI application in influencer marketing at 36.67%.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that content generation is cited as an AI use case by 21.11% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that brief development is cited as an AI use case by 13.89% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that reporting is cited as an AI use case by 10.56% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that fraud detection is cited as an AI use case by 7.22% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 10.56% of respondents are not using AI in influencer marketing.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that rising creator costs are the top influencer marketing challenge at 35.4%.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that budget constraints account for 5.28% of reported influencer marketing challenges.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that fake engagement and authenticity issues account for 12.73% of reported challenges.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that measuring ROI and attribution complexity together account for 15.84% of reported challenges.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that platform volatility and algorithm changes account for 8.07% of reported influencer marketing challenges.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that AI-driven creator matching is the leading influencer marketing focus area at 26.89%.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that social commerce is the second-ranked influencer marketing focus area at 19.33%.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that AI-assisted content generation is a focus area for 12.04% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that creator licensing, whitelisting or Spark Ads is a focus area for 7.56% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that long-term creator partnerships are a focus area for 6.44% of respondents.


Influencer Marketing Hub reports that among teams increasing budgets, 89% select brand awareness, 51% select engagement, 35% select conversions and 25% select attributable revenue or sales as KPIs.


CreatorIQ reports that average annual influencer marketing investment increased 171% year over year.

The State of Creator Marketing 2025-2026

CreatorIQ partnered with Sapio Research to survey 1,723 brands, agencies and creators in July/August 2025, across 17 industries and nine regions.

Creator marketing survey across industries, agencies and creators; not limited to B2B and includes general creator economy patterns.


CreatorIQ reports that 71% of organizations increased influencer marketing investment year over year.


CreatorIQ reports that brand respondents spend an average of $2.9M annually on influencer marketing programs.


CreatorIQ reports that agency respondents spend an average of $4.4M annually on influencer marketing programs.


CreatorIQ reports that enterprise respondents invest an average of $5.6M to $8.1M annually in creators.


CreatorIQ reports that industry leaders average $7.8M in creator marketing spend.


CreatorIQ reports that 22% of organizations spend $5M annually on influencer marketing.


CreatorIQ reports that nearly two-thirds of increased influencer marketing investment is reallocated from digital and paid channels.


CreatorIQ reports that measurement is a leading creator marketing challenge at 26%.


CreatorIQ reports that content velocity is a creator marketing challenge at 21%.


CreatorIQ reports that navigating AI and brand fit are each creator marketing challenges at 20%.


CreatorIQ reports that enterprise industry leaders with at least $1M annual creator spend and at least double return devote 54% of their marketing budget to creators on average.


CreatorIQ reports that 95% of brand respondents use AI, most commonly for generating captions at 45%, research at 44% and video or graphic editing at 41%.


CreatorIQ reports that gifting and seeding were cited as a top ROI driver by 20% of brands in 2025, down from 71% in 2020.


CreatorIQ reports that organizations use an average of five social platforms to power influencer campaigns.


CreatorIQ reports that 29% of brand respondents say Instagram drives the most influencer ROI, followed by TikTok at 27%.


Sprout Social reports that 59% of marketers planned to partner with more influencers in 2025 than in 2024.

Influencer Marketing Investments and Impact

Sprout Social says Glimpse surveyed 650 marketers across the U.S., U.K. and Australia from January 9 to January 27, 2025; respondents managed social media presence and influencer marketing efforts.

Cross-industry marketer survey; only roster-size cuts explicitly segment B2B, so other claims are general influencer marketing claims.


Sprout Social reports that brands use influencer marketing for brand awareness at 66%, audience engagement at 59%, credibility and trust at 55%, revenue growth at 55%, customer loyalty and retention at 45%, and product development/co-creation at 33%.


Sprout Social reports that 38% of B2B brands partner with 1 to 5 influencers at any given time.


Sprout Social reports that 26% of B2B brands partner with 6 to 10 influencers at any given time.


Sprout Social reports that 26% of B2B brands partner with 11 to 19 influencers at any given time.


Sprout Social reports that 9% of B2B brands partner with 20 to 49 influencers at any given time.


Sprout Social reports that 92% of marketers say sponsored influencer content performs better than organic brand-account content for reach.


Sprout Social reports that 90% of marketers say sponsored influencer content performs better than organic brand-account content for engagement.


Sprout Social reports that 83% of marketers say sponsored influencer content performs better than organic brand-account content for conversion.


Sprout Social reports that 65% of marketers are very confident in their team ability to show the business impact or ROI of influencer partnerships.


Sprout Social reports that 65% of marketers are very confident that leadership sees the business value of influencer partnerships.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports that 58% of LinkedIn creators in its 64K-account sample have under 5K followers.

The Influencer Marketing Factory analyzed Favikon data from 64K U.S.-based LinkedIn accounts with 1K+ followers, 9.5K U.S.-based creators with 3K+ followers, and 195 promotional posts from 74 LinkedIn influencers.

LinkedIn creator and post analysis, not a buyer or pipeline attribution study.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports that Business and Entrepreneurship is the leading LinkedIn content niche, making up 15.6% of creator content in its 9.5K sample.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports that images are the most common post type among LinkedIn creators at 42.3%.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports that promotional LinkedIn posts represented 4.52% of posts in its sample of 74 influencers and 195 promoted posts.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports that 73.2% of comments on analyzed LinkedIn influencer marketing posts were very positive.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports that its LinkedIn influencer marketing post analysis covered 195 posts from 74 LinkedIn influencers.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports that its LinkedIn influencer marketing post sample generated 13K comments, 41K likes and 3.5K shares.


The Influencer Marketing Factory reports a Siftsy sentiment score of 7.7 out of 10 for its LinkedIn influencer marketing content sample.


Later reports that its 2025 State of Influencer Marketing research examined 214 U.S. marketers.

Later says the report is based on research with Centiment and 214 U.S. marketers.

General influencer marketing report, not B2B-specific; used as secondary context only.


Later reports that 61% of brands elevated influencer marketing to strategic infrastructure status.


Later reports 92% AI adoption among brands in its 2025 State of Influencer Marketing report.


Later reports that 70% of leaders transformed creator relationships into ongoing partnerships.


Later reports that 22% of brands cited UGC and affiliate programs as their top-performing tactics.