Content marketing is at the heart of most organizations today. In fact, a 2019 study by CMI suggests that 93 percent of B2B marketers and 64 percent of B2C marketers say that their organizations are extremely committed to this tactic. Companies are now beginning to look at content more strategically and are willing to invest more time and dollars into this initiative. What this means for content marketers is that they need to be on their toes to  come up with winning strategies that contribute to the organization’s bottom line. To be successful in their role, content marketers should constantly be learning, growing, and referring to real-world examples shared by experts within the industry.

With so much 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 experts who’ve achieved success within the industry by offering subject matter expertise, forward-thinking trends, and expert opinions that are essential for companies to get ahead.

Whether you’re new to content or have a few years of experience under your belt, here are nine content marketers you should follow. These movers and shakers have proven that 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

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?

Joanna shares tips for writing more persuasive, believable, and usable copy through her posts on CopyHackers and her Youtube channel. From copywriting tips for newbies to advanced copy hacks, Joanna can be your go-to copy expert. Follow Joanna to stay on top of your copywriting skills.

Follow Joanna Wiebe 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 who are looking to build and grow their careers in this domain. He is the winner of “2014 John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Content Council. His book “Epic Content Marketing” was named one among the “Five Must-Read Business Books of the Year” by Fortune magazine.

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 within 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 around the world.

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 useful lessons on how to turn your customers into your most effective sales and marketing promoters.

Follow Jay Baer on 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 that is looked upon as the “gold standard” on the topic and is considered to have laid the foundation for content marketing in today’s world.

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, as well as niche discussions on the use of data in content marketing and more.

Follow Kristina Halvorson on LinkedIn | Twitter | Wikipedia

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 also 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 within 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

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 on 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 company’s clients.

Why should you follow Will Blunt?

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

Follow Will Blunt on LinkedIn | Twitter

Yam Regev

Source: LinkedIn

Yam Regev is the CEO and Co-founder 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 managed to generate 7500 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 in growing and scaling marketing teams, building the right culture, and leading them to success.

Follow Yam Regev on LinkedIn | Twitter | Medium

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve outlined nine content marketing influencers who are strategic thinkers and top contributors within the field of content marketing. Ann Handley has played a key role in shaping content marketing and offers advice on copies, career, and more. George Stenitzer has experience leading some of the world’s top companies towards content marketing success. Joanna Wiebe is the copy expert and has razor-sharp insights on writing the right copy. Joe Pulizzi takes an academic approach through the information-dense essays he posts to his website and cannot be missed. Jay Baer is a master of fundamentals and shares valuable information on content marketing best practices through his Twitter feed. Kristina Halvorson has many easy-to-absorb pieces on content marketing through her podcast that are quite insightful. Sonia Simone’s social feeds and podcasts cover a wide variety of topics on content and social media marketing. Will Blunt shares expert tips and low-cost content marketing strategies that deliver results. Yam Regev is a scientific thinker and shares growth tactics.

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.