No time to read piles of books on marketing and entrepreneurship? No excuse.
These 18 marketing influencers share their knowledge in shorter and easier-to-digest forms on LinkedIn, so now you have no excuse not to stay up with the latest trends on all things branding, marketing, and sales.
While these folks may not be the big guns you hear about in the business section of the news, they are making big things happening in their fields, and most of them are offering all their expert advice in the articles section of their LinkedIn page entirely for free. So what are you waiting for? Get ready to follow 18 new marketing masterminds.
ICYMI: Here’s the 2017 list. And why you’re at it, why not follow Workzone on LinkedIn?
18 LinkedIn influencers you should be following in 2018
Clara Shih
CEO of Hearsay
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarashih/
Why You Should Follow: Clara’s all about connecting advisors with clients using advisor websites, social media, email, and text. If it’s about connecting with your customer digitally, Clara knows the best way to do it. She’s one of the youngest to ever be appointed to Starbucks’ Board of Directors and has been named one of ThinkAdvisor’s Industry Influencers.
Check out her article: Optimizing the Advisor Sales Funnel on Social Media.
Ryan Holmes
CEO at Hootsuite
Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rholmes/
Why You Should Follow: It’s only natural that the CEO of a leading social media management company would have a few tricks up his sleeve regarding marketing and influencing. Ryan’s LinkedIn profile is a goldmine for info on building and managing teams who must work well together to produce creative work.
Check out his article: Are You Ready for the Era of Millisecond Marketing?
Shane Snow
Chief Creative Officer at Contently
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanedsnow/
Why You Should Follow: If you’ve got questions about content marketing, Shane Snow is your guy. Shane is cofounder and Chief Creative Officer at Contently, a content marketing platform that helps you create and manage your content management strategy, so it only makes sense that he’d have some serious smarts and influencer power in the content marketing space.
Check out: “State of Content Marketing: Why Brands Must Publish to Stay Relevant”
Tara Hunt
Digital Marketing Executive at Truly Social
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/missrogue/
Why You Should Follow: What do you get when you combine a social media expert, data nerd, market researcher, and storyteller? You get Tara Hunt. If you’re looking to strengthen your social media presence, check out any of Tara’s dozens of articles on communicating your story to your customers and using social media to do it.
Check Out: The Importance of Having a Story
Josh Fechter
Co-Founder at BAMF Media
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/joshuafechter
Why You Should Follow: What doesn’t Josh do? Josh is the growth hacker who’s so good at it that he used his own expertise to stand out and become a LinkedIn influencer, and then starting teaching others how to use the same tactics he did to hack growth on LinkedIn, Facebook, and really anywhere else you might care about having a social media presence. If you need advice on B2B growth hacking, Josh is your man.
Check out his article 3 Ways to Growth Hack LinkedIn Engagement & Traffic
String Nguyen
Social Media Strategist at StringStory media
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/stringstory
Why You Should Follow: Because she created the first ever LinkedIn viral video, that’s why. String says LinkedIn is on track to replace Facebook for branded social media and she’s got some pretty convincing articles/interviews with marketing giants to back her up. She champions the use of videos in social media strategy—not just on LinkedIn, but on Snapchat, Youtube, and Instagram, too—and she’s the queen of using LinkedIn videos for growth hacking.
Check out: Treat Snapchat Like a TV Channel
Manu Goswami
COO + Cofounder at Dunk
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/swishgoswami
Why You Should Follow What award hasn’t young serial tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Manu Goswami won? He’s a TEDx speaker, Fortune 500 consultant for Google and America Express, and has been quoted in over 50 national media outlets like Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines. This guy knows how to brand. Follow him on LinkedIn for lessons in marketing and insights into his life as a young entrepreneur.
Check out: How to Build a Business from Scratch
Gary Vaynerchuk
CEO at VaynerMedia
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk
Why You Should Follow: Gary’s lived a million roles, all under 41: he’s a 4-time NYT bestselling author, he was an early investor in social giants Twitter and Tumblr, a creator of one of the internet’s first wine e-commerce websites, WineLibrary, and founder of his very own full-service digital marketing agency, VaynerMedia. Gary’s been around the block and he’s recently announced that he’ll be hanging out more around the LinkedIn-osphere, which is why we recommend you start following now.
Check out: Business is MY Vehicle
Goldie Chan
Head of Content & Creative at confirm/deny
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/goldie
Why You Should Follow: Goldie is one of the creative drivers behind the rise of the videos on LinkedIn movement. She’s taking what she’s learned working as a creative marketer at boutique branding agency confirm/deny and sharing it with all of us on her LinkedIn through high-energy and highly educational videos.
Check out: NEW LinkedIn Videos + Pop Culture Branding
Brittany Hoffman
Brand Director & Growth Strategist
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/brittanykrystle
Why You Should Follow: After spending some time working with Gary Vaynerchuck at VaynerMedia, Brittany set out on her own to create a brand for herself in growth strategy. If she can build a small empire for herself on her own personal branding journey, it’s likely she has some interesting things to say to anyone looking to build their own personal brand story.
Check out: The Value of Micro-Influencers and Why Your Business Should Use Them
Dennis Williams II
Content Marketer at Skillshare
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/denniswilliamsii
Why You Should Follow: Dennis is the expert on the point where tech, social media, marketing, and the younger generations all intersect. If you need the inside scoop on where content marketing is heading into the future and how it’ll affect your brand’s communications with millennials, give Dennis a follow. When it comes to fresh storytelling in the digital marketing space, he knows his stuff.
Check out: We’ve Reached the Television Evolution of Social Media
Glenn Leibowitz
Group Head of External Relations at McKinsey & Company
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/glennleibowitz
Why You Should Follow: Glenn is the guy who comes to the marketing and social media conversation from the angle of writing. He’s the communication/writing expert, and it shows in his LinkedIn articles. From using doodling as a creative exercise to refining your writing skills to communicate better as a salesperson, Glenn’s the master of all things communication in marketing.
Check out: Asking These Simple Questions Will Make You a Better Writer
Carsten Pleiser
Growth Marketer at Event Tech
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/carstenpleiser
Why You Should Follow: If you want to know more about event marketing and growth marketing, Carsten is your guy. He runs Event Tech, a tech/marketing solution for event marketers and Founders & Creators, a Slack community for growth entrepreneurs and tech founders. Follow Carsten for his unique expertise on all things event marketing and tech.
Check out: How to Become Better at Writing For Your Business: 10 Tips for Success
Aaron Orendorff
Content Marketer at Shopify Plus
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/aaronorendorff
Why You Should Follow: Not only is Aaron a content marketing expert at Shopify Plus, but he also founded his own content marketing agency called iconiContent. Aaron’s expertise lies in the intersection of content marketing and buyer psychology: if you need any guidance on content marketing, connecting emotionally, or behavioral economics, Aaron’s your go-to guy.
Check out: Let’s Get Honest: Something Human Is Going On Here at LinkedIn
Noah Kagan
CEO at Sumo Group
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/noahkagan
Why You Should Follow: Noah’s another growth marketing expert whose fun, vibrant personality shines through in everything he does. Whether you’re using his easy-to-use growth automation tools at sumo.com or reading through his refreshingly honest and helpful LinkedIn updates, we’re sure you’ll love his knowledgeable authenticity.
Dharmesh Shah
Founder and CTO at HubSpot
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dharmesh/
Why You Should Follow: As the chief tech guy at marketing/sales tool giant HubSpot, there’s no doubt that Dharmesh knows a few things about using tech to automate marketing growth. For all things entrepreneurship, software development, marketing, and SEO, follow Dharmesh.
Check out: What Elon Musk Taught Me About Growing a Business
Harsh Jani
CryptoFyre
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/janiharsh
Why You Should Follow: If you need insight into turning early-stage startups into full-blown investment-ready ventures, Harsh is your man. He’s worked everyone from the smallest of startups to the most prestigious of Fortune 500 companies and he occasionally drops his startup/growth hacking knowledge on LinkedIn.
Check out: Why founders need to stop lying to themselves
James Carbary
Founder at Sweet Fish Media
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/jamescarbary
Why You Should Follow: James’s value is twofold: not only is he an expert on marketing with podcasts and a champion of using podcast in all B2B marketing strategies, but he’s also a curator of invaluable information from other expert marketers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Noah Kagan, and Simon Sinek. You’ll learn loads about growth marketing simply from listening to him talk shop with other industry masterminds on his podcast.
Check out: GaryVee Explains Why Every B2B Brand Should Have a Podcast
Who Will You Connect With on LinkedIn?
Who will you follow, learn from, and connect with on LinkedIn this year? We definitely suggest starting with these 18 marketing influencers first. Follow them, read their articles, watch their videos, and listen to their podcasts. You never know where you’ll find that next great idea that’ll launch you onto the path of marketing greatness.
