In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is both a challenge and a necessity. Whether you’re a seasoned marketing professional, a small business owner, or someone just dipping your toes into the world of online marketing, learning from the best in the industry can be a game-changer. The top digital marketers not only shape the trends but also share their insights, strategies, and predictions, providing valuable guidance for anyone looking to succeed in this competitive field. This article will introduce you to some of the most influential and innovative digital marketers to follow, each of whom offers unique perspectives and expertise that can help you elevate your marketing game. From SEO wizards to social media mavens, these industry leaders are shaping the future of marketing, and their wisdom is just a click away.
1. Full Stack Digital Marketer- Lorenzo Gutierrez
Who is he?
Lorenzo Gutierrez is a MBA that has more than 10 years experience in entrepreneurship, strategy, business marketing and sales. He is the founder of Lorenzogutierrez.net a digital marketing agency that servers multiple locations around the United States. To put that into perspective, most agencies only have the capacity to service one location.
What makes this fella impressive?
The list goes on forever, MBA turned high level digital marketer. Most folks with his level of education, would play it safe, get a job with a fortune 500 company.
Instead, he started an insanely successful digital marketing agency.
What you will learn from following this freelance digital marketer?
Given his breadth of knowledge, you’ll learn a lot more than just marketing. He is one of the few marketers that take running a business seriously.
Think about it, what is the point of getting more leads if your business is not set up to handle the influx of new work? A true consultant does a lot more than simply run PPC ads, SEO, etc. They want their clients’ businesses to grow, in order to do that, their operations must be robust and be able to grow with their digital footprint.
When it comes to more geeky skills, he has more than 10 years experience in digital marketing. Offering skills from Content Marketing, SEO, PPC, and marketing strategy. To get proficient in anyone of these skills, you really have to invest in yourself. Get into the trenches, try them out, see what does and does not work. This only comes with years of practice.
Even better, he has put together a world class team to help him run each of his client campaigns. While one can be knowledgeable in the different types of marketing, you really need a mastermind to bring it all together. As a digital marketing strategist, he can move the pieces around like a Grandmaster in chess.
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2. Neil Patel
Who Is He?
Neil Patel is a top digital marketing consultant, co-founder of several marketing tools, and an influential blogger in the fields of SEO and content marketing.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Neil’s actionable insights and free resources have helped countless businesses grow online. His expertise in SEO and content marketing makes him a must-follow for digital marketers.
3. Rand Fishkin
Who Is He?
Rand Fishkin is the founder of Moz and a prominent figure in the SEO community, known for his educational content and transparent approach.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Rand’s deep understanding of SEO and his willingness to share knowledge make him an invaluable resource for anyone looking to improve their search engine rankings.
4. Gary Vaynerchuk
Who Is He?
Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur, CEO of VaynerMedia, and a social media sensation known for his motivational content.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Gary’s energetic approach to branding and social media engagement can inspire anyone looking to build a strong online presence and entrepreneurial mindset.
5. Ann Handley
Who Is She?
Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, a keynote speaker, and an author specializing in content marketing.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Ann’s focus on quality writing and strategic content creation makes her an essential follow for anyone looking to enhance their content marketing skills.
6. Seth Godin
Who Is He?
Seth Godin is a best-selling author, speaker, and marketing thought leader known for his innovative ideas on marketing and leadership.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Seth’s unique perspectives on marketing strategy and innovation provide valuable lessons for marketers seeking to think outside the box.
7. Mari Smith
Who Is He?
Mari Smith, known as the “Queen of Facebook,” is a leading expert in Facebook marketing and social media strategy.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Mari’s deep knowledge of Facebook’s platform and her strategic insights make her an essential resource for anyone looking to excel in social media marketing.
8. Brian Dean
Who Is He?
Brian Dean is the founder of Backlinko and an expert in SEO, content marketing, and link building.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Brian’s advanced SEO techniques and actionable advice can help anyone looking to improve their website’s visibility and rankings.
9. Jay Baer
Who Is He?
Jay Baer is a marketing strategist, speaker, and author focusing on customer experience and content strategy.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Jay’s emphasis on customer-centric marketing and his practical advice provide valuable insights for businesses aiming to enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction.
10. Shama Hyder
Who Is She?
Shama Hyder is the CEO of Zen Media and a visionary strategist in digital marketing, specializing in digital strategy and influencer marketing.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Shama’s forward-thinking approach to digital marketing and her expertise in influencer marketing offer valuable lessons for marketers looking to stay ahead of industry trends.
11. Chris Walker
Who is he?
Chris Walker has been dominating the SEO SERPS (the results when you type something into Google) for over a decade.
He has something few SEO consultants have, a track record and can demonstrate results. There are a lot of folks out there that will take your marketing budget, but few actually know what they are doing. Let’s face it, there are a lot of scammers out there.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Quite a lot. He is one of the few bloggers (that knows what they are doing) that has a podcast, meaning you can hear him explain everything himself. There he shares a lot of trade secrets that any marketer can benefit from.
More importantly, you’ll learn the mindset behind SEO. Most people think you just fill in a few easy things in your Yoast SEO plugin, you could not be anymore wrong. At this point in the game, SEO is a full time job. To be the best of the best, you gotta be in the game full time.
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12. Scott Moses – Foreign Markets Expert
Who is he?
Scott, often referred to as “King of the Nerds” by his fellow marketing brethren. Mostly for his ability to learn complex technical skills and foreign languages. This mad man learned to speak Mandarin Chinese before even starting his marketing career.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Mostly, how to analyze markets that do not speak English as a first language. There are a lot of tricky aspects to take into consideration before entering into a non-English speaking market you know little about. From how we understand it, it is very easy to invest quite a lot into a market that doesn’t have any chance of a ROI.
His first site, I Know Wang (meaning I Know About The Internet) became well known within marketing circles because of his ability to dominate markets most marketers would never even consider going after.
What is interesting about his approach is that he takes proven marketing methods in English and applies them to different markets. For instance, if you have a PPC campaign that is working in English, it is not unrealistic to apply to the same approach in Spanish.
After all you have already figured out something works, you could simply reapply it in a different language. If you think about it, most marketers, once they have ‘tapped out’ a marketing channel, generally speaking they will learn something completely new. For example they might take on learning Adwords, Facebook Ads, etc. Whereas, Scott always finds a way to reinvent what he already knows how to do.
13. Nix Lee
Who is he
- 15 years of experience in digital marketing, worked with some of the biggest brands in the world like Nestle, KitKat, Ford and many more
- Co-own a million-dollar digital agency, and grew the business from 5-figure to 6-figure revenue per month and sold it.
- Coached and consulted on business strategies and digital marketing implementation
- Nix is the co-founder, and Partner of Spine PR, one of the fastest growing media and content marketing agency in Malaysia. He also heads a local digital agency called Spine Interactive
- Nix started Spine PR with the goal of empowering businesses to thrive in the digital space. What started out as a passion in empowering others digitally has evolved into the fastest growing content marketing agency
- Since the company’s inception, Spine PR has a 100% growth year to year for 5 years straight, and has helped over 700 clients to grow digitally, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Nix aims to push Spine PR to be the top content marketing and media agency in the world over the next decade.
- Nix continues to serve by mentoring and teaching entrepreneurs to keep delivering awesome services and products. He believes entrepreneurship is the best way to make a sustainable, massive, positive impact.
Join his private group at
facebook.com/groups/spinepr
14. Eric Lancheres
Eric’s story is really simple, he was a full time affiliate marketer running over 45 websites that were devastated by a Google algorithm update almost a decade ago. Determined to figure out what went wrong, he went to work and started testing the Google algorithm to recover his sites. He spent over a year testing to no avail until he had his first breakthrough and was able to recover all his websites.
He started to help others recover their website and soon enough, he shifted to teaching and coaching SEO full time. Since then, he’s helped numerous 6 and 7 figure businesses recover their traffic after Google algorithm updates and he helps agencies deliver faster results for their clients.
Now he focuses on highly competitive international terms and runs an SEO community called Traffic Research. “Official summary” He is credited with being the first SEO professional to discover the solution to the Panda & Penguin Updates that crushed thousands of businesses.
In his coaching, Eric has helped dozens of entrepreneurs become millionaires through his SEO consulting and regularly helps businesses raise their profits by 20-75%. Additionally, on his own, he’s created affiliate websites that sometimes generate up to 50,000 in a month, entirely on organic traffic.
These achievements have made him a featured speaker at Traffic & Conversion Summit, SEO Rockstars, & Internet Marketing Party
Eric’s passion is helping people succeed with Google, which is why he’s constantly in the trenches testing what works and creating new business success stories.
What you will learn from following this marketer?
Shama’s forward-thinking approach to digital marketing and her expertise in influencer marketing offer valuable lessons for marketers looking to stay ahead of industry trends.
Final Thoughts
Leveling up your game is not an easy pursuit. It takes time, dedication and a lot of hard work. One way to fast track your learning process is to simply follow a couple of people who have been there before you.
These digital marketing leaders offer not only a wealth of knowledge but also practical insights that can be applied to various marketing strategies. Learning from their expertise can provide valuable guidance for anyone looking to succeed in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing.
FAQ
Who are the top digital marketers to follow?
The top digital marketers include Neil Patel, Rand Fishkin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Ann Handley, Seth Godin, Mari Smith, Brian Dean, Jay Baer, and Shama Hyder.
Why should I follow these digital marketers?
Following these digital marketers provides access to expert insights, strategies, and trends in various areas of digital marketing, from SEO to social media.
How can I learn from these digital marketing experts?
Many of these experts offer blogs, podcasts, webinars, books, and social media content. Engaging with these resources can help you learn and apply their strategies.
Are there any courses or certifications offered by these marketers?
Some of these digital marketers offer courses, workshops, or certifications. For example, Neil Patel has online SEO training, and Larry Kim offers PPC webinars.
Can I apply these strategies to my small business?
Yes, the insights and strategies shared by these experts can be applied to businesses of all sizes, including small businesses looking to grow their online presence.
Is following these marketers enough to become an expert in digital marketing?
While following these marketers can provide valuable insights, becoming an expert in digital marketing requires hands-on experience, continuous learning, and possibly formal education.
How often do digital marketing trends change, and how can I stay updated?
Digital marketing trends can change frequently due to technological advancements and shifts in consumer behavior. Following industry leaders, attending conferences, and reading reputable marketing blogs can help you stay updated.
Where can I find more resources on digital marketing?
Many online platforms offer free and paid resources on digital marketing, including websites like HubSpot Academy, Google’s Digital Garage, and various universities offering online courses.