Five personas, five roles, one powerful trust system | Introducing the B2B Matrix of Influence

Описание: In this episode of 'Trust & Influence in B2B', Joel Harrison sits down with Katy Howell, Founder and CEO of Immediate Future, a social media agency she has been leading since 2004. Together, they dive deep into one of the most misunderstood challenges in B2B marketing: the difference between thought leaders, influencers, and advocates — and why getting it wrong is costing brands trust. Are you deploying the right trust personas, or are you leaving some of your most powerful channels completely untapped?

➡️ Katy brings decades of hands-on experience in influencer strategy and doesn't shy away from the hard truths. She and Joel unpack why B2B marketers tend to treat influence like a media plan — obsessing over reach and frequency — instead of focusing on how these personas actually move buyers through their journey. Joel also introduces his brand-new B2B Matrix of Influence, developed after analyzing data from over a thousand B2B marketing awards entries, which maps five distinct trust personas: thought leaders, employee advocates, unpaid external influencers, paid external influencers, and customer advocates. They explore why customer advocates — arguably the most powerful of all — are used in only 11% of campaigns, and why employee advocates are almost entirely overlooked. Katy offers a brilliant framework for how brands should approach each persona differently, why scripting humans kills credibility, and why influence in all its forms is not a content tactic — it's a trust system.

Download the framework here: https://www.joelharrisonb2b.com/wp-co...

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Welcome to the official YouTube channel of Joel Harrison B2B.

This is your inside track to the ever-evolving world of business-to-business marketing—told through the lens of someone who’s lived and breathed it for over two decades. I’m Joel Harrison, founder of B2B Marketing, creator of Propolis, and host of the Trust & Influence in B2B Marketing podcast. Through this channel, I bring you real conversations with the people driving change, navigating complexity, and building the next generation of marketing leadership.

➡️ Expect regular videos filmed on the move—from major events like Ignite, to behind-the-scenes interviews, to deeper dives into topics that matter most to today’s marketers. We’ll explore what it means to be a commercial marketer, how to build trust and credibility in technical sectors, and how thought leadership can evolve beyond buzzwords into something truly impactful. You’ll hear from voices at the cutting edge of B2B, including marketers from global brands, fast-growing startups, and everything in between.
This isn’t theory for theory’s sake. It’s about helping you become more effective, influential, and commercially grounded—so you can thrive in a fast-moving, high-expectation world.

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🎬 Video chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Trust in B2B Marketing
03:33 The Role of Influencers and Thought Leaders
06:13 Understanding Personas: Internal vs External
09:07 The Importance of Trust in the Buyer Journey
11:48 The Confusion Around Influencer Terminology
14:26 Analyzing B2B Marketing Campaigns
17:02 Introducing the Framework for Influencer Engagement
19:31 Building Relationships with Influencers
22:25 Leveraging Customer Advocates
25:07 The Future of Trust in Marketing

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