In inbound marketing, there is so much information available online! It’s a helpful way to learn about new industry trends and fine-tune your skills. It’s also never a bad idea to try and learn from veterans in the biz who all have something different to bring to the table. This group of inbound marketing influencers really knows their stuff, and are an amazing resource of information for the challenges marketers face. If you aren’t following them yet, then you probably should be.
1. Marcus Sheridan
Marcus Sheridan’s philosophy of content marketing is pretty straightforward: “They ask, you answer,” which is also the name of his recently published book. Marcus developed this approach when using inbound marketing to save his pool installation business during the recession in 2008 by answering every question a customer could possibly have about installing a pool. His popular website and blog The Sales Lion, covers the spectrum of marketing topics and advice.
- Gary Vaynerchuck
Gary Vaynerchuck effectively used social media to build several businesses as well as his own personal brand. Now he shares his insights on the popular #askgaryvee show. He founded VaynerMedia, a digital, social media branding agency, with his brother. Gary is also the author of several books, including #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness. He has a no-nonsense approach to his content and covers social media, entrepreneurship and startups.
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- Stella Garber
Stella Garber is the VP of Marketing at Trello, a web-based project management application which has exploded into a global brand with 7 million users. She is a self-described serial entrepreneur who has worked for several other successful tech startups. She likes to talk about startups, marketing and entrepreneurship. You can follow her on Twitter and on her website.
- Rand Fishkin
Rand Fishkin is the co-founder and former CEO of Moz and often refers to himself as the “wizard of Moz.” He is also the co-founder of Inbound.org. Rand is an SEO expert who helps companies with their online presence, SEO and marketing research. He has written the Beginner's Guide to Search Engine Optimization and The Art of SEO. Rand’s White Board Friday Series, is a free weekly webinar covering everything inbound marketing.
- Dan Zarrella
Dan Zarrella is an award-winning social media scientist who studies social media from a data-based perspective. He regularly hosts a series of webinars called “Science of…” and he holds the Guinness World Record for largest webinar ever. Dan’s blog is a great resource for the data side of social media.
- Beth Dunn
Beth Dunn is HubSpot’s Product Editor-in-Chief, where she manages product content strategy, voice and tone and customer communications. Beth specializes in content strategy and storytelling, which may in part come from her experience as a romance novel editor. She also started HubSpot’s weekly internal newsletter, The WIN.
- Seth Godin
Seth Godin is an entrepreneur who founded Yoyodyne, one of the first internet-based direct marketing companies, as well as Squidoo. He is the author of 18 books, including Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow, and has given several popular TED Talks. He is all about spreading ideas, and also writes about leadership, the post-industrial revolution, and marketing. Seth was recently inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame, so this inbound marketing influencer is the real deal.
- Jay Baer
Jay Baer is the founder of Convince and Convert, a strategy consulting firm and content marketing blog, speaker and the best-selling author of 5 books. He is an expert in online customer service and talks about using technology as an unfair marketing advantage to gain and keep customers. Jay co-hosts the Social Pros podcast, which was the 2015 winner for best marketing podcast. He wins the most retweets in the world from digital marketers.
- Kim Garst
Kim Garst has been named a top social media influencer by Forbes, and her blog Boom! Social is one of the top 10 social media blogs, according to Social Media Examiner. She hosts the weekly Ignite Your Business Show, covering strategies for building your business online. Boom Social is also Kim’s social media marketing firm that focuses on traffic, engagement, conversion and content.
- Ted Rubin
Ted Rubin is a keynote speaker, social media strategist, brand evangelist and the CMO of Brand Innovators. Ted is the most followed CMO on Twitter, according to Social Media Marketing Magazine, and was 13 on Forbes Top 50 Social Media Influencers list in 2013. He believes that companies need to focus on their ROR, the return on relationship. He is the author of Return on Relationship, and How To Look People in the Eye Digitally.
- Jeff Bullas
Jeff Bullas is an entrepreneur, blogger, speaker, author and marketer, who was named the number 1 Content Marketing Influencer by Onalytica. He was also recently listed on Forbes as one of the Top 20 Influencers of CMO’s. He’s the author of Blogging the Smart Way -- How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media. Jeff’s blog covers entrepreneurship, social media, content marketing and digital.
- Pam Moore
Pam Moore is the CEO and founder of Marketing Nutz, a social media, digital marketing and experiential branding agency. Her blog provides insights on thought leadership, social media and branding, conversion optimization and business. Pam is ranked by Forbes as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer. She also hosts the Social Zoom Factor podcast.
- Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is a blogging expert, and has created several successful blogs including ProBlogger, a complete resource on all things blogging, and Digital Photography School. Darren also founded TwiTip, which is a blog dedicated to tips for Twitter. He is the co-author of ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income.
- Ann Handley
Ann Handley is the chief content officer at Marketing Profs, a LinkedIn influencer and keynote speaker. Ann has been recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the top 20 women bloggers. Her specialties are content, writing and digital marketing. She is the author of several best-selling books including Everybody Writes, and Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.
- Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki has been in marketing since the 80s when he was the chief evangelist for Apple. He now serves as chief evangelist of Canva, and is a speaker, startup advisor and author of 13 books, which take a “tactical and practical” approach to marketing. Guy specializes in innovation, social media, marketing and entrepreneurship.
Follow these inbound marketing influencers, and you’ll learn from the best in the industry!
