As traditional advertising loses is glamor and agencies convince their clients that influencers are the way forward, companies face countless pitfalls in their attempt to target audiences in meaningful ways.

Influencers are a fickle bunch. You can never really know how valuable they are until you pay them; their reputation relies on word-of-mouth recommendations rather than hard evidence, and there are too many charlatans out there trying to raise their klout with fake followers and inflated likes and shares.

How Should B2B Businesses Engage With Influencers?

First of all, lets cut the crap. Most influencers aren’t influencers. It’s called endorsement if you get paid for it. At least the tax code says so. A famous “influencer” talking up a perfume or underwear brand in exchange for cash is nothing else but celebrity endorsement. End of story.

True influencer marketing is much more subtle. It happens often without payments changing hands. I…