Content marketing is at the heart of most organizations today. According to a 2022 study by Semrush, 47% of marketers say that their organizations are extremely committed to this tactic. Companies continue to look at content more strategically and are willing to invest more time and dollars in this area. This means content marketers need to be on their toes to develop winning strategies that contribute to the organization’s bottom line. To be successful in their role, content marketers should constantly learn, grow, and refer to real-world examples shared by experts within the industry.

With so much content about content out there, it can be challenging to determine which advice to follow and which to avoid. That’s where content marketing influencers come in. They are recognized experts who’ve achieved success within the industry by offering subject matter expertise, forward-thinking trends, and expert opinions essential for companies to get ahead.

Whether you’re new to content or have a few years of experience under your belt, here are 15 content marketers you should follow. These movers and shakers have demonstrated their tactics drive results and have made significant contributions to the content marketing community.

For Winning Strategies and Expert Advice, Follow These Content Marketing Influencers

Ann Handley

Source: LinkedIn

Ann Handley is the world’s first Chief Content Officer (CCO). She is one of the top 20 women bloggers worldwide, recognized by Forbes Woman. She was also named the Most Influential Woman in Social Media’ by Forbes. Ann Handley is the author of the Amazon best-seller Everybody Writes. She is the co-founder of ClickZ.com, a leading publisher of digital marketing news.

Why should you follow Ann Handley?

From career advice for young marketers to using the right metaphor in copies, Ann shares expert advice over a wide spectrum within the content and digital marketing space.

Follow Ann Handley on LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog

Brian Dean

Source: Backlinko

Brian Dean is the Co-Founder of Exploding Topics, a platform that surfaces trending topics before they trend. He is also the Founder of Backlinko (acquired by SemRush earlier this year), a website that provides next-level SEO training and link-building strategies to their email subscribers.

Why should you follow Brian Dean?

Brian has an active YouTube channel to share the latest SEO trends and hands-on tips to boost organic metrics. These have earned him the title “SEO Genius” from Entreprenuer.com.

Follow Brian Dean on LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog

Darren Rowse

Source: LinkedIn

Darren Rowse is popularly known as The Australian Blogger. He is the Founder of Problogger, a resource on starting and growing blogs. Darren is the Co-author of ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income. He founded the ProBlogger Training Event in Australia – attended by 500+ Australian bloggers each year.

Why should you follow Darren Rowse?

If you’re looking for inspiration to start your blog, Derekis the expert to follow. From content planning to ideas on monetizing blogs, Darren speaks from his experience transforming his blog into a seven-digit business.

Follow Darren Rowse on LinkedIn | Twitter | Podcast

Deana Goldasich

Source: Twitter

Deana Goldasich is the Founder of Well Planned Web, a company that helps businesses with audience-centric content, lead generation, lead nurturing, content marketing, content strategy, and strategic distribution. Deana has been a featured speaker at MarketingProfs B2B Forum, Content Marketing World, American Marketing Association, and The National Speakers Association.

Why should you follow Deana Goldasich?

Deana shares audience-focused strategies empowering content marketers to educate and influence customers through informative content and follows a problem-solving approach.

Follow Deana Goldasich on LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog

George Stenitzer

Source: LinkedIn

George Stenitzer is the Founder and Chief Content Officer at Crystal Clear Communications, a management consulting and executive coaching firm. George has over 30 years of journalism, marketing, and communications experience. He helps companies build communication that is more strategic and successful. He’s the author of Fast-Forward Your Content Marketing, a free guide that offers seven strategic steps to fast-forward content marketing. George was named Content Marketer of the Year by the Content Marketing Institute and was twice named Best Marketer by the BtoB magazine.

Why should you follow George Stenitzer?

George offers a wealth of knowledge on growth strategies within content marketing. His background in consulting with various companies, including the Fortune 500, can help you find niche use cases and examples that work best for your marketing organization.

Follow George Stenitzer on LinkedIn | Twitter

Joanna Wiebe

Source: Copy Hackers

Joanna Wiebe is the Founder of Copy Hackers, a premier resource for business copywriting, including a full-fledged academy on copywriting. Joanna is also the Copy Chief at CH Agency and has helped companies like Canva, Prezi, SAP, Sprout Social, and Intuit optimize their copy for conversions. She’s a speaker at conferences like INBOUND, Mozcon, and CXL. She’s also the founder of Airstory, a website browser plug-in that enables you to clip information that you find online as part of your research.

Why should you follow Joanna Wiebe?

If you want to stay on top of your copywriting skills, Joanna is the go-to expert from copywriting tips for newbies to advanced copy hacks. Joanna shares tips for writing more persuasive, believable, and usable copy through her posts on CopyHackers and her Youtube channel.

Follow Joanna Wiebe on on LinkedIn | Twitter | Medium

Joe Pulizzi

Source: LinkedIn

Joe Pulizzi is the Founder of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), one of the leading resources for marketers looking to build and grow their careers in this domain. He is the winner of the 2014 John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Content Council. His book Epic Content Marketing was named one among Fortune Magazine’s five must-read business books of the year.

Why should you follow Joe Pulizzi?

Joe is a close observer of the content marketing space. Follow him if you want to stay current and learn the latest trends in content marketing.

Follow Joe Pulizzi on LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog

Jay Baer

Source: LinkedIn

Jay Baer is the Founder of Convince & Convert, an advisory firm that creates effective digital marketing strategies for the world’s leading organizations. Jay brings over 26 years of marketing experience and is the trusted advisor to over 700 companies across the globe.

Why should you follow Jay Baer?

Jay Baer is a speaker and often teaches how to build businesses by offering customers a unique experience. You’ll learn valuable lessons on how to turn your customers into your most effective sales and marketing promoters.

Follow Jay Baer LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog

Kristina Halvorson

Source: LinkedIn

Kristina Halvorson is the CEO and Founder of Brain Traffic, a boutique content strategy firm. She is also the co-author of Content Strategy for the Web, which many looked upon as the gold standard on the topic and helped lay the foundation for modern content marketing.

Why should you follow Kristina Halvorson?

Kristina is the host of The Content Strategy Podcast, where she talks with content marketers about topics such as content marketing such as strategy, publishing, and niche discussions on the use of data in content marketing and more.

Follow Kristina Halvorson on LinkedIn | Twitter | Wikipedia

Mari Smith

Source: Marismith

Mari Smith is the world’s foremost expert on Facebook marketing and commonly referred to as the Queen of Facebook. She is a popular speaker across events such as Social Media Marketing World, Traffic & Conversion, HubSpot’s INBOUND, Content Marketing World, MarketingProfs B2B Forum, Marketo’s Marketing Nation, and more.

Why should you follow Mari Smith?

Mari Smith is a strong advocate of relationship-centric social media marketing. Follow her if you’re ramping up your Facebook marketing efforts to create high integrity and a profitable presence for your business on social media.

Follow Mari Smith on LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog

Robert Rose

Source: LinkedIn

Robert Rose is the Founder of The Content Advisory, which offers strategic and marketing counsel to some top global brands. He is also the author of three best sellers – Killing Marketing, Experiences: The 7th Era of Marketing, and Managing Content Marketing.

Why should you follow Robert Rose?

Robert Rose leverages three decades of experience and shares strategies to use owned channels focusing on customer experience. He also offers advice on building in-house media operations.

Follow Robert Rose on LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

Sonia Simone

Source: Twitter

Sonia Simone is the Founding Partner and Chief Content Officer at Copyblogger. Sonia has deep experience working with enterprises and startups. She is a social media veteran and the publisher of Authority, a virtual community for content marketers that has recently transformed into a digital marketing academy.

Why should you follow Sonia Simone?

Sonia is an expert on content strategy and social media marketing. Her popular podcast series Confessions of a Pink-haired Marketer covers Sonia’s thoughts on various aspects of content marketing, such as copywriting, creatives, decision-making, and more. Follow Sonia for winning strategies and actionable tips on content marketing practices.

Follow Sonia Simone on LinkedIn | Twitter | Medium

Will Blunt

Source: LinkedIn

Will Blunt is a blogger and an entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Director of Marketing at Blogger Sidekick, the Australia-based company that helps marketers grow traffic and authority with unique content. He’s also the founder of Flypchart, a content writing services company that helps agencies fulfill their content needs. Will is a published author in industry-leading publications like The Huffington Post, HubSpot, MarketingProfs, Quick Sprout, Business2Community, and more. He believes in a 4-step content marketing strategy that he uses to scale the content marketing efforts for his clients.

Why should you follow Will Blunt?

Will is passionate about content marketing. Through his blogs, Will shares cost-effective content marketing strategies to optimize your content efforts and deliver quick yet sustainable results.

Follow Will Blunt on LinkedIn | Twitter

Yam Regev

Source: LinkedIn

Yam Regev is the Co-founder and Board Member of Zest, the knowledge-building platform that helps marketers achieve their self-learning needs. Yam helps both B2B and B2C companies to grow at scale through performance-oriented strategies, successful marketing structures, and highly-engaging user journeys. Recently, Yam’s company, Zest, launched the beta version of their self-learning platform. They generated 7,500 weekly active users on their platform purely through a word-of-mouth content strategy.

Why should you follow Yam Regev?

Yam is a strong advocate of organic content marketing strategies. You’ll learn from his experience growing and scaling marketing teams, building the right culture, and leading them to success.

Follow Yam Regev on LinkedIn | Twitter | Medium

Zontee Hou

Source: LinkedIn

Zontee Hou is Head of Strategy at Convince & Convert, a producer of award-winning digital magazines, email, podcasts, webinars, workshops and other content assets. She is also President and Chief Strategist at Media Volery LLC and business school lecturer.

Why should you follow Zontee Hou?

Zontee is a strong advocate of authentic marketing that’s also inclusive. Follow Zontee to learn from her experience and reboot your content to create delightful customer experiences.

Follow Zontee Hou on LinkedIn | Twitter

Conclusion

For marketers who care about content, these 15 movers and shakers represent industry leaders who’ve made a huge impact for their clients as well as the content marketing community. Regardless of your marketing role or level of experience, learning from these experts can boost your content as well as your career.

Who are some of your favorite content marketing influencers? Is there someone you’d like to see featured on this list? Share them in the Comments section below.