“Everyone is an influencer in their own right” — Joe, the brand builder
Gerry’s research into the influencer label in the B2B world continues to unfold. It’s all about hearing different perspectives. I find that it helps me look at the bigger picture of things and challenge my own views on the matter — maybe I need to assess where I stand on the entire spectrum of the debate. This time I speak to Joe Escobedo, CEO of Esco Media.
I really wanted to get Joe’s views on this especially since he’s donned almost all the hats across the marketing and communications spectrum — from being a market research analyst to a journalist, spending some time as a Forbes columnist and a contributor at The Huffington Post. He’s also the co-author of “Asian Growth Stories: How To Do Business In Asia” and has trained and presented to over 7,000 executives from around the world, including at Fortune 500 brands.
I have been a contributor for Forbes, Inc, HuffPost and other top-tier media. My articles have garnered over 1 million views. I’ve also been awarded the “Most Influential Global Marketing Leader” at the World Marketing Congress in 2017 and rated as the #1 speaker at the 2018 ASEAN CMO conference.
In my spare time, I also give talks at some of the top universities in Asia, as well as host a show on YouTube called #ACupOfJoe, now a podcast and YouTube channel called B2B Marketing Asia. — Joe Escobedo
I met Joe at the opening of HubSpot’s new office in 2018 when I was still in Singapore and a HubSpot Ambassador. The first thing that came to mind when he introduced himself was “oh, you’re the LinkedIn guy! You’re Joe the Brand Builder!” That was what he had as his LinkedIn headline then. Since that meeting, I bumped into Joe frequently at marketing events and we eventually started hosting a monthly Brand Builders Lunch together (sneak peek of our discussion).
Gerry: So Joe, what do you do?
Joe: We help B2B brands grow their pipeline via 3 ways: 1) training 2) copywriting 3) B2B matchmaking
Gerry: How do you feel about the ‘influencer’ label?
Joe: I’m not a huge fan of the label because I think everyone is an influencer in their own right. For example, if you’re a friend and you recommend something to me, I’m far more inclined to trust you than someone with millions of followers.
Gerry: Should brands consider working with B2B influencers as part of their PR / social selling / marketing strategy?
Joe: B2B brands should take a two pronged approach:
- Turning their own staff into “influencers,” i.e. getting them to share helpful, relevant content on a regular basis.
- Partner with B2B industry experts (someone who may not necessarily have a huge following but is well known and respected in their niche, e.g. B2B marketing in Asia 😉)
Gerry: The million dollar question: how to discern who to work with, or in blunt words, sieve out the ‘bad eggs’?
Joe: Focus the on quality over quantity of followers. Make sure your B2B partners are reaching the right audience, i.e. your target audience, and that said target audience is engaging with their content.
Gerry: You were a journo… Any pro-tips for working with media and analysts?
Joe: Too many! But one that stands out is NO ONE cares about your products or services. Media definitely don’t. They care about ONE thing and one thing only: their audience. (At least the good ones do.) So find out what their audience is interested and pitch those ideas back to the media.
Gerry: How do you see this ‘influencer thing’ evolving?
Joe: I see more “influencers” becoming media companies. For example, we’re helping B2B tech companies create content series that connect them with their target prospects. Heck, if I can do it anyone can!
Gerry: Got any final grievances to air? Or misunderstandings/myths to debunk?
Joe: Partnering with B2B “influencers” like most B2B things is a long-term strategy. If you’re looking for huge success from a one-off, good luck! That’s why we focus on “series,” rather than “one episode” for our clients. Like any good TV show / Netflix series would do. That’s where the magic happens! 😉
— Back to Gerry —
So now we’ve heard from 2 tech influencers (part 1 with Diana Adams, part 2 with Sarah Gratton), telecoms analyst Dean Bubley in his LinkedIn post and Joe Escobedo, an ex-journalist and marketing expert.
Has your position shifted since we started exploring this topic together? I’m still in the camp that thinks we should strip off the label and look at each person/brand objectively before partnering up. I particularly find Joe’s comment about ‘influencers’ evolving into media companies very interesting — we have already seen quite a number of success cases, even in the telecoms space (e.g. elenaneira.com).
Got any thoughts? Questions you’d like me to help you ask in my next conversation about this topic? Drop a comment or DM :)
Disclaimer: this piece is done out of personal curiosity and in no way related to my capacity as an employee of my previous or current employers.
