The world of social media can be an overwhelming place, especially when you’re new to it. It’s hard to know which content creators you should follow, and which ones you should unfollow! With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the most influential people in your industry that you should definitely consider following on social media. The focus of this list is on people who are most likely to be featured in news stories about your industry as well as influencers who are driving your field forward with innovative ideas and products.
Jeff Bullas
If you want to know what’s going on in social media, you need to follow Jeff Bullas. This guy doesn’t just tweet about his own posts – he retweets everything from everyone and still manages to churn out insightful, meaningful posts of his own (like these 25 Tips for Promoting your Content.)
Neil Patel
In today’s day and age, it’s all about influence. And Neil Patel is someone you definitely want to know. Whether you run a business or just have an affinity for marketing and startups, Patel’s insight into digital marketing is invaluable. His 1.3 million followers agree; he consistently shares industry insights as well as business tips via his Twitter feed, which boasts more than 3,500 tweets at press time and is still growing at a healthy clip of over 200 new followers per day!
Brian Dean
Brian Dean’s honest, transparent & educational personality makes him one of my favorite entrepreneurs in marketing. Follow his social media to get tips and learnings from a genuine pro. In addition to running Backlinko (one of my personal favorite blogs), he also runs an agency that helps companies grow their traffic by over 1,000%… so you know he knows what he’s talking about! It’s also worth checking out his YouTube channel for extra value!
Ann Handley
Handley is a leader in content marketing and strategic writing for business. She teaches an entire course at CMI on how to develop a writing strategy for your business, offers free monthly email courses, and maintains an active presence in her community via Twitter and Facebook. Her tweets are a trove of advice and info, both about B2B marketing and writerly things; she’s also known to throw out challenges and questions to spur discussion among her followers—ideal if you’re just starting out.
Jason Swenk
If you want to see what’s trending in social media, or simply want to keep up with your competition, you can’t go wrong following Jason Swenk. He has over 35K followers on LinkedIn and spends his time digging for trending stories about big brands and small business. With thousands of likes, comments, and shares under his belt, it’s pretty clear he knows what he’s doing.
Dave Kerpen
American entrepreneur, author, and speaker. Dave is co-founder and CEO of Likeable Local, a social media marketing agency specializing in Facebook advertising. In addition to his role at Likeable Local, Kerpen’s book, Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (and Other Social Networks), was published by John Wiley & Sons in 2012. His second book will release in January 2013.
