There are some people in the social media marketing biz that are not only highly successful, but are also trendsetters in the industry. These are the experts all social media and even online marketers want to be. They are the people who have the most experience in the industry and are well aware of its inner workings. It is possible for them to make social media marketing work in any kind of situation. They are known as the influencers.

Those who are truly interested in social media marketing see the names, articles and work of these influencers come up regularly. Their articles are the ones that are most cited by others. One of the social media platforms that is giving these influencers a unique platform is LinkedIn. However, even though other social media platforms do not necessarily put influencers on a higher platform, they invariably attract a lot of attention because of the work and content that they put out. Here are some influencers in the social media marketing and online marketing worlds that you must know about and follow if you want to learn and be successful as a marketer.

Guy Kawasaki

Social media marketers may now know him as the founder of Alltop, but keen followers will remember that Guy Kawasaki is a pioneer in the industry and has been associated with marketing and technology long before most people even owned computers. He was in charge of marketing for the Macintosh way back in 1984, when he used to work for Apple Inc. Obviously he did a good job with the Macintosh and since then he went on to become an investor, writer, social media and technology evangelist and a thought leader.

He has been highly respected in the industry for well over two decades and he also acts as an adviser for numerous start-ups and has written many books on the subject. He publishes a lot of articles on LinkedIn and has his own website and blog that you can follow to learn the art of social media marketing and how marketing and technology comes together. He is also very active on Twitter and has a large loyal following.

Ann Handley

Ann Handley is one among the growing number of women making their mark in the world of social media marketing and technology. She is the Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs – one of the most respected websites and resource centers for marketing professionals and the website was able to gain such success and respect largely due to the efforts of Ann Handley. She has written, and continues to write, extensively on topics that are pertinent to online marketers like digital media, social media and content marketing.

She has also written many eBooks and has been part of many webinars and regularly posts podcasts, videos and articles that are eagerly awaited. She is an immensely popular blogger and her avid followers engage with her on LinkedIn, Twitter and on her website.

David Sable

Even though digital marketing is often said to be competing with traditional forms of marketing, there are some underlying principles that are common for both. This is why some of the best advertising professionals who were extremely successful in the world of traditional have been able to crossover to the world of digital marketing and have made a name for themselves as expert online marketers. One such person is David Sable who is currently the CEO of Y&R Marketing.

Although he comes from the world of traditional advertising and marketing and has spent a good part of his career as a classic advertising professional, he is now considered a thought leader in the world of digital media and marketing. He is also a social media marketing guru and has demonstrated time and again how social media can be used successfully by brands and by individuals.

His articles are extremely popular because he is able to bring forth important points about social media and online marketing while referencing important events around the world giving an interesting context to his articles. He also writes about industry best practices that all marketers – whether they are traditional marketers or online marketers, can follow to improve their marketing efforts.

Influencers are not only people in the industry who are marketing and social media experts. Brands like Intel that have been able to use social media marketing very effectively are also known as influencers. There are many companies that are also entirely devoted to conducting market research about online marketing and to creating content and providing resources for others about the world of online marketing. Some such brands are Forrester, Hubspot, Comscore, MarketingSherpa and Gartner Inc. Following such brands on social media sites like Twitter can give you a lot of insights about social media marketing.

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