An Introduction to B2B Influencer Marketing w/ Limelight’s CEO David Walsh

David Walsh, Founder & CEO of Limelight, is one of the few people who actually knows how B2B influencer marketing actually works. His marketplace powers creator campaigns for Clay, Webflow, HubSpot, ZoomInfo, Bill.com, and dozens of high-growth B2B companies.In this episode, we break down exactly how to collaborate with creators as a repeatable growth channel and not a one-off experiment.What You’ll Learn- The stage where influencer marketing actually works- Creator-Market Fit: the only metric that matters- The campaign structure Limelight recommends to every brand- What a good budget looks like- How to measure influencer marketing without guessing- Why organic posts are step one and paid ads are step two- How Clay built the best creator program in B2B- Why employee advocacy and creators is the real cheat code- The flywheel effect that happens when executives, employees, and influencers amplify each other- Why now is the moment to start creating content- David shares how his own content now drives 90% of Limelight’s revenuePerfect For- Founders who want real distribution, not just paid impressions- Marketing leaders tired of rising CAC and declining ad performance- Teams considering influencer marketing but unsure where to start- Anyone curious how B2B creators actually drive pipeline Connect with David: - David’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dw1232/- Limelight: https://www.limelighthq.com/Connect with me: - Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/03CXzsZp7wdqIRVDcqPTFH- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier/- Website: https://www.project33.io/Chapters00:00 — The 2012-Instagram moment for LinkedIn02:05 — When a company is actually ready for influencer marketing03:44 — Does ACV matter?05:33 — Why LinkedIn creators are the hardest to find06:59 — Solving the creator cold-start problem09:13 — Employees vs full-time creators11:21 — Why creator partnerships are suddenly normalized13:19 — How often creators should post15:07 — The ideal campaign structure and why going wide wins17:30 — Why niche creators outperform big ones19:01 — Budget ranges for 60-post campaigns20:32 — How to measure success the honest version22:55 — The 80/20 of engagement quality25:14 — Turning creator posts into paid ads27:30 — Why creator budgets will explode over the next 5 years31:06 — Creator-Market Fit 33:10 — The campaigns David points companies to35:02 — How Clay built the new standard37:10 — How brands should think about creative control40:38 — Why over-controlling the creator kills performance42:22 — How to think about creator fatigue + competitive overlap44:28 — The transparency rules creators follow46:12 — Employee advocacy + creators = distribution48:33 — How creators help employees grow, and vice versa50:48 — Why every company will have “personality-led marketing”52:54 — Why employee content must become measurable54:34 — David’s closing message: start creating now#linkedin #founderledmarketing #linkedinads #linkedinagency #founderbranding #saas #b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #demandgen #content #b2b #revenue #contentmarketing #performancemarketing #videomarketing #personalbranding This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.executivebrand.org