# B2B Influencer Marketing Statistics 2026: 46 Numbers With Sources

> 46 B2B influencer marketing statistics, each linked to its primary source and year, from LinkedIn, TopRank, Ogilvy and Ipsos.

Source: https://www.fame.so/post/b2b-influencer-marketing-statistics  ·  Fame Team  ·  November 3, 2026

## Key takeaways

- 82% of B2B marketers say creators increase credibility with decision-makers (LinkedIn, 2026).
- 93% of marketers rate their programmes effective, but only 46% say very effective (TopRank, 2026).
- Very effective programmes are far more likely to run always-on work: 72% vs 27% (TopRank, 2026).
- Most of these figures are self-reported and come from vendors, so use them for framing rather than forecasting.

The strongest recent numbers say B2B marketers now treat influencers as a credibility channel: [82% of B2B marketers in LinkedIn's 2026 outlook](https://news.linkedin.com/2026/how-b2b-brands-can-drive-impact-with-creators-and-stronger-creat) say creators increase credibility with decision-makers, while [93% of marketers in TopRank's latest survey](https://www.prweb.com/releases/new-research-finds-b2b-brands-that-integrate-influencer-marketing-with-ai-search-are-nearly-2x-as-likely-to-be-cited-by-ai-302914674.html) rate their programmes effective but only 46% rate them very effective. This page lists 46 numbers. We opened the publisher's own page or PDF for each one, and each row gives the source and year.

Almost all of this is self-reported opinion, and much of it comes from companies with something to sell. LinkedIn sells creator tools, TopRank and Ogilvy sell influencer services, and so do we. Use these figures to frame a decision, not to forecast your own results. For that, read our guides to [measuring B2B influencer marketing ROI](https://www.fame.so/post/b2b-influencer-marketing-roi) and [what B2B influencer marketing costs](https://www.fame.so/post/b2b-influencer-marketing-cost).

## Trust and credibility

LinkedIn's figures come from a YouGov online survey of 1,299 B2B marketers at middle management level or above in the USA, UK, France, Germany and India, with fieldwork from 14 January to 5 February 2026. The link goes to LinkedIn's announcement, which reports the outlook's figures and methodology.

NumberWhat it measuresSource and year82%B2B marketers who say creators increase credibility with decision-makersLinkedIn, Global B2B Marketing Outlook, 202683%B2B marketers who say credibility matters more than traditional brand messagingLinkedIn, Global B2B Marketing Outlook, 202677%B2B marketers who say buyers need to trust and know a brand before they will engageLinkedIn, Global B2B Marketing Outlook, 202670%Marketers who say buyers rely more on peer voices and experts than on brand-produced contentLinkedIn, Global B2B Marketing Outlook, 202656%B2B buyers said to depend on creator input in the last stage of buying. LinkedIn words this as a buyer figure, but the survey it footnotes sampled marketers, so read it as a reported viewLinkedIn, Global B2B Marketing Outlook, 202681%B2B CMOs who agree their organisation needs to deliver in new waysLinkedIn, Global B2B Marketing Outlook, 2026

## Adoption and effectiveness in 2026

TopRank surveyed 424 manager-level and above B2B marketers at US companies with 100 or more employees, from mid-May to mid-June 2026. The publisher labels this its [2027 report](https://www.toprankmarketing.com/guide/2027-b2b-creator-marketing-report/), which is why it can look newer than its fieldwork. The sample is US only, so treat it with care if you sell mainly elsewhere.

NumberWhat it measuresSource and year93%Marketers who rate their influencer programmes effectiveTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202646%Marketers who rate their programmes very effectiveTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202646% vs 30%Marketers citing trustworthiness versus audience size when selecting partnersTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202644%Brands partnering with content creators who have large professional audiencesTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202642%Brands partnering with customer advocatesTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202672% vs 27%Always-on engagement: very effective programmes versus the restTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202673% vs 22%Fully documented strategy: very effective programmes versus the restTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202686%Marketers who say improving generative AI visibility will be at least moderately important this yearTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202621%Marketers who have made AI visibility a primary goal of their influencer programmeTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202637%Marketers who have connected influencer work to AI search optimisationTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202648% vs 26%Brand cited in AI answers: marketers who connect influence to AI search versus those who do notTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 202668% vs 43%Very confident justifying influencer budget to a CFO: the same two groupsTopRank Marketing and Ascend2, fifth edition, published October 2026

## Budgets, challenges and operations

These come from TopRank's previous edition. Respondents could give several answers to most questions, so the percentages do not add up to 100. Finding partners and measuring results were the two biggest challenges, which is why we wrote separate guides on [how to find B2B influencers on LinkedIn](https://www.fame.so/post/how-to-find-b2b-influencers-linkedin) and [how to brief a LinkedIn creator](https://www.fame.so/post/linkedin-creator-brief-template).

NumberWhat it measuresSource and year43%Marketers reporting outstanding results from their influencer programmesTopRank Marketing, 2025 report58%B2B marketing teams using an always-on approachTopRank Marketing, 2025 report53%Marketers whose dedicated influencer budget is growingTopRank Marketing, 2025 report48%Marketers naming identifying, qualifying and connecting with influencers as a top challengeTopRank Marketing, 2025 report47%Marketers naming measuring and reporting results as a top challengeTopRank Marketing, 2025 report56%Marketers naming social media posts as the most effective influencer content typeTopRank Marketing, 2025 report52%Marketers who find influencers through social media searchesTopRank Marketing, 2025 report50%Marketers who find influencers through recommendations from trusted sourcesTopRank Marketing, 2025 report53%Marketers using performance-based compensationTopRank Marketing, 2025 report6%Marketers not compensating influencers at allTopRank Marketing, 2025 report

## The global picture

Ogilvy's research surveyed 550+ senior marketing leaders through Opinium and was published in September 2023, with LinkedIn and Onalytica as partners. It is older than the rest of this page but remains one of the few surveys with a multi-country sample. The 1% figure deserves particular scepticism, as marketers tend to be generous about programmes they run themselves.

NumberWhat it measuresSource and year75%B2B businesses already using influencer marketingOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 202393%Of those users, the share planning to increase their useOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 202367%Respondents saying influencer campaigns had more impact than brand-only marketingOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 202377%Respondents expecting influencer campaigns to outperform brand-only marketing in the near futureOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 20231%Businesses saying influencer campaigns performed worse than their brand contentOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 202340%Marketers citing warmer leads, more leads or more sales as success factors they experiencedOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 202349%C-suite marketers who say influencers give the brand a more credible opinion than it can achieve aloneOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 202392%Participants who agree influencers are effective for hyper-targeted marketing or personalised messagingOgilvy and Opinium, Influencing Business, 2023

## Creative performance on LinkedIn

The Credibility Code is the most useful source here because it goes beyond opinion, although samples are small in places. It draws on AI-powered creative testing of 113 creator-led ads, LinkedIn campaign data from 36 creator-led ads, and an analysis of about 11,000 creator Thought Leader Ads from September to December 2025. Ipsos dated its page 31 July 2026. The first three rows are survey figures that LinkedIn cites from its earlier research.

NumberWhat it measuresSource and year82%B2B buyers who say creator content influences purchasing decisions (footnoted to LinkedIn and GWI, 2024)LinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 202694%B2B marketers who say trust is key to success (footnoted to the LinkedIn and Ipsos 2025 benchmark)LinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 202645%Share who actually trust the vendors they engage with (same footnote)LinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 20268.6xClick-through rate of 36 tested creator-led ads against the LinkedIn video ad benchmarkLinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 20264.2xEngagement rate of the same ads against the benchmarkLinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 2026+30%Predicted brand impact of the same ads against the Ipsos short-form video average. This is a model prediction, not a measured outcomeLinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 2026+52%Median engagement uplift for creator Thought Leader Ads that feel user-generated versus highly polished onesLinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 2026+43%Median engagement uplift for creator Thought Leader Ads with a clear point of view versus simple announcementsLinkedIn B2B Institute and Ipsos, The Credibility Code, 2026

Note what the 8.6x does and does not show. It compares a selected set of creator-led ads with a general video benchmark, so it does not prove that a new campaign would match it.

## Thought Leader Ads

LinkedIn says these figures come from a select group of early pilot testers between 8 February and 25 April 2023, may be affected by early adopter bias, and are directional. For how the format works, see our [LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads guide](https://www.fame.so/post/linkedin-thought-leader-ads-guide).

NumberWhat it measuresSource and year1.7xClick-through rate of Thought Leader Ads versus other single-image campaignsLinkedIn Thought Leader Ads product sheet, pilot data from 20231.6xEngagement rate on the same comparisonLinkedIn Thought Leader Ads product sheet, pilot data from 2023

## What the numbers mean for your plan

- Adoption is no longer the question. The useful gap is between effective and very effective programmes, and it lines up with documented strategy and always-on work.
- Choosing partners on trust beats choosing on reach, according to what marketers report. Follower counts alone will not get you there.
- Measurement remains a weak spot, so agree your reporting before you spend. Named engagers and cost per thousand impressions are easier to defend than likes.
- Be careful with comparisons between groups. Very effective programmes doing something more often does not prove that the activity caused the success.

Fame has not published its own campaign benchmarks yet, so none appear here. To see how we run [sponsored posts on vetted LinkedIn creators' profiles](https://www.fame.so/influencer), see [Fame Influencer pricing](https://www.fame.so/influencer/pricing), or look up unfamiliar terms in the [influencer marketing glossary](https://www.fame.so/influencer/glossary). For the wider method, start with our [complete guide to B2B influencer marketing](https://www.fame.so/post/b2b-influencer-marketing-guide) and [LinkedIn influencer marketing playbook](https://www.fame.so/post/linkedin-influencer-marketing-playbook). To see campaigns in practice, read our [B2B influencer marketing examples](https://www.fame.so/post/b2b-influencer-marketing-examples).

If you are ready to choose a route, compare [LinkedIn Creator Marketplace and agencies](https://www.fame.so/post/linkedin-creator-marketplace-vs-agency), or browse the [best B2B influencer marketing agencies](https://www.fame.so/post/best-b2b-influencer-marketing-agencies) and [best LinkedIn influencer marketing agencies](https://www.fame.so/post/best-linkedin-influencer-marketing-agencies). Fame's own options include [our LinkedIn influencer marketing agency service](https://www.fame.so/linkedin-influencer-marketing-agency), [influencer marketing for SaaS companies](https://www.fame.so/influencer/saas) and [our vetted creators](https://www.fame.so/influencer/creators). Our [published sponsored post examples](https://www.fame.so/influencer/case-studies) are founder Tom Hunt's own posts, not roster results.

## FAQ

**What percentage of B2B marketers use influencer marketing?**

Ogilvy's 2023 global research put it at 75% of B2B businesses. It is the broadest dated figure on this page, though it is now three years old.

**Does B2B influencer marketing work?**

Marketers report that it does: 93% in TopRank's 2026 survey rate their programmes effective. That is self-reported, and only 46% say very effective, so results depend heavily on how the programme is run.

**Which source should I trust most?**

Prefer figures with a stated sample, dates and method, such as LinkedIn's YouGov survey and TopRank's survey of 424 marketers. Check who published the research and what they sell.

**Does Fame publish its own benchmarks?**

Not yet, so this page includes none. Reports for Fame Influencer clients cover named engagers, ICP engagement and blended CPM against LinkedIn Ads benchmarks.