How Hubspot Lowered Cost Per Lead by 35%

1. Background

HubSpot is a a leading CRM platform that provides software, integrations, and resources to help businesses grow better, focused on leveraging innovative marketing strategies to drive engagement and lead generation. As part of their efforts to explore new acquisition channels, they recognized the potential of LinkedIn creators but faced significant hurdles in efficiently sourcing, managing, and optimizing influencer partnerships.

2. Challenges/Problems

“We didn't have a reliable marketplace to source LinkedIn creators. Not only that, but the time requirement to research and evaluate each creator was extremely cumbersome and unscalable.

Before discovering Limelight, HubSpot struggled with:

• Sourcing Creators Took Hours Every Week – Finding and vetting the right LinkedIn creators was time-consuming and unstructured.

• Time-intensive management – Coordinating communications, negotiating deals, and overseeing campaign execution demanded significant internal resources.

• Scalability Issues – Activating creators at scale requires extensive manual effort, without a system of record it was not scalable.

3. Solution

“Limelight allowed us to streamline our research process and manage communications with each creator.”

Limelight provided an all-in-one platform to streamline HubSpot’s LinkedIn creator marketing efforts. Key benefits included:

• Comprehensive creator marketplace: A curated list of vetted LinkedIn creators, reducing time spent on sourcing.

• Centralized campaign management: The ability to manage all communications, deals, ad copy, and performance metrics within a single, easy-to-use interface.

• Combined Post Analytics: Allowed the Hubspot team to double down on the creators driving the most value and maximize ROI.

4. Implementation/Process

“The ability to manage all communication, deals, ad copy, etc. in an all-in-one, easy to use interface. I just need to login into Limelight and everything I need to execute these creator buys is within a few clicks.”

HubSpot adopted Limelight’s platform and services through a structured approach:

1. Creator Matching – Limelight’s platform automatically matches creators and generates an ongoing pipeline of relevant & quality creators with high engagement.

2. Streamlined Onboarding – The intuitive interface allowed quick setup and integration into their existing marketing workflow.

3. Automated & Scalable Communications – All messaging, negotiations, and contract management were handled within the Limelight dashboard.

4. Campaign Execution & Optimization – Performance was tracked in real-time, allowing for quick adjustments to maximize impact.

5. Results/Outcomes

The results from the pilot campaign exceeded expectations:

• 500 leads were generated within the first few weeks

• 35% cost-per-lead efficiency improvement compared to initial goals

• 50% time savings on creator research and outreach, thanks to Limelight’s managed services

6. Customer Quote

“Halfway through our first campaign, we had already generated 500 leads. Our cost per lead was 35% more efficient than our goal, and Limelight’s managed service aspect has far exceeded my expectations. It’s a game changer for scaling creator campaigns.” — HubSpot

7. Conclusion & Call to Action

With Limelight, HubSpot successfully launched and optimized their LinkedIn creator campaign, achieving better-than-expected performance and operational efficiency. As a result, they are now expanding their budget for future campaigns, confident in the platform’s ability to drive results.

If you’re looking to scale your B2B influencer marketing efforts and drive measurable ROI, sign up today and discover how our platform can transform your creator campaigns.