Rat Race Armaggeddon: The Original List: 50 Content Marketing Influencers and Experts to Follow into 2019

Content Marketing Influencers 2018

Content Marketing World 2018 will be here before you know it. The largest content marketing conference in the world brings together an incredible cornucopia of talent, curiosity, knowledge and aspirations for success. Marketers from all over the world come to Cleveland, Ohio for this event of epic proportions.

Readers of our blog know we have a long history with the conference starting at the beginning with 8 years of speaking and attending plus 6 years of partnering with Content Marketing Institute to develop speaker/influencer content marketing campaigns, aka “conference ebooks”, to help promote the event.

Another tradition that has recently been imitated but hardly duplicated, is something we started several years ago: sort through the 200 or more speakers and publish a ranked list of content marketing experts according to their social influence.

List Methodology: For this list we use the Traackr influencer marketing platform to filter the content marketing experts who are speaking at the current year’s Content Marketing World conference using a number of criteria including the relevance of the individuals to the topic, the degree to which their networks engage, and the size of their networks. Online data is pulled from blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, SlideShare, Flickr and several other platforms.

Of course the topic in question is: “content marketing”. Everyone included on this list is a) a speaker at CMWorld 2018, b) ranked in the top 50 for “content marketing” according to relevance, resonance, reach and audience metrics.

CMWorld 2018 Influencer network

People always thank me for including them in these lists and there’s no thanks to be given other than to the people who worked hard sharing useful content about content marketing to their social channels, in blogs, in videos and online in general.

Thanks goes to ALL of the people who are actively sharing knowledge about content marketing by engaging and helping others with opinions, insights and expertise on the social web. This list is just the beginning of understanding all of the top experts and influencers around the topic of content marketing.

In this year’s list there are many familiar faces and some that are new. I hope you find new and inspiring content marketing experts to follow through the rest of this year and into 2019.

50 Content Marketing Influencers Speaking at CMWorld 2018

BIG congratulations to Erika Heald for the top spot and to the other 3 women in the top spots: Pam Didner, Carla Johnson and Kelly Hungerford.

Congrats AGAIN to Ann Handley for being the Most Engaging Content Marketing Influencer out of this year’s group of speakers, based on Traackr’s analysis.

Erika Heald @SFerika
Marketing Consultant, Erika Heald Consulting
Presenting: Your Lack of Social Media Guidelines is Killing Your Employee Brand Advocacy

Pam Didner @PamDidner
B2B Marketing Consultant & Speaker, Relentless Pursuit
Presenting: 5 Creative Ways Marketers Can Enable Their Sales Teams
Presenting: Create A Scalable Global Content Marketing Strategy in 7 Steps

Carla Johnson @CarlaJohnson
Chief Innovator, Type A Communications
Presenting: The Innovation Factory

Kelly Hungerford @KDHungerford
Digital Strategy & Marketing Operations Consultant, Sunstar Europe SA
Presenting: Transforming Teams: How to Transition Traditional Marketers into Content Marketers

Michael Brenner @BrennerMichael
CEO, Marketing Insider Group
Presenting: How to Create a Documented Content Marketing Strategy, Start Showing Your Content Marketing ROI Today

Lee Odden @leeodden
CEO, TopRank Marketing
Presenting: Rocket Science Simplified: How to Optimize, Socialize and Publicize B2B Content
Presenting: The Confluence Equation: How Content and Influencers Drive B2B Marketing Success

Ian Cleary @IanCleary
Founder, OutreachPlus & RazorSocial
Presenting: A Content Promotion Framework with Actionable Tips to Optimize Results from your Content Marketing
Presenting: Content Optimization and Distribution Strategies

Michael Gass @michaelgass
Owner, Fuel Lines Business Development, LLC
Presenting: Agency Workshop: A New Approach to New Business,

Heidi Cohen @heidicohen
Chief Content Officer, Actionable Marketing Guide
Presenting: The Secret 3 Steps For Content Amplification And Distribution Success

Christopher Penn @cspenn
Co-Founder and Chief Innovator, BrainTrust Insights
Presenting: How To Use AI To Boost Your Content Marketing Impact
Presenting: How to Use Artificial Intelligence to Build and Optimize Content

Bernie Borges @bernieborges
Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Vengreso
Presenting: 3 LinkedIn Content Marketing Strategies that will Drive Visibility, Credibility and Traffic

Andrew Pickering @AndrewAndPete
Co-Founder, Andrew and Pete
Presenting: The Competitive Edge: How to Create a Unique Content Spin in a World of Copycats

Melanie Deziel @mdeziel
Founder, StoryFuel
Presenting: Think Like A Journalist: The 5 Keys To Compelling Content

John Jantsch @ducttape
President, Duct Tape Marketing
Presenting: How to Grow a Highly Profitable Agency Without Adding Overhead

Robert Rose @Robert_Rose
Chief Troublemaker, The Content Advisory
Presenting: Welcome to Content Marketing World 2018

Andrew Davis @DrewDavisHere
Keynote Speaker & Best-selling Author, Monumental Shift
Presenting: Video Marketing Makeover – Transforming boring case studies and testimonials into stories that inspire action
Presenting: Curiosity Factor: The psychological phenomenon creative content marketers employ to earn and own attention in a noisy world

Viveka Von Rosen @LinkedInExpert
Co-founder & Chief Visibility Officer, Vengreso
Presenting: 3 LinkedIn Content Marketing Strategies that will Drive Visibility, Credibility and Traffic

Douglas Burdett @MarketingBook
Host, The Marketing Book Podcast
Presenting: Industrial Manufacturing Lab: Applying Content Marketing Best Practices to the Challenging Audience of Engineers

Andy Crestodina @crestodina
Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Orbit Media Studios
Presenting: Complete Search Optimization: SEO Master Class, Content Strategy and SEO for B2B Lead Generation

Matt Heinz @HeinzMarketing
President, Heinz Marketing Inc
Presenting: Sales Content That Sells: A Proven Approach To Sales Enablement Success

Ann Handley @MarketingProfs
Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
Presenting: An Important Keynote by Ann Handley, The Long Tales: How Longform Content Beats Snaps, Tweets & Chatbots All Day Every Day

Jay Baer @jaybaer
Founder, Convince & Convert
Presenting: Talk Triggers: How Killer Content Creates Conversation and Clones Customers

Jesper Laursen @jesperlaursen
Founder and CEO, Native Advertising Institute
Presenting: 5 killer cases: how to grow your audience with native advertising

Cathy McPhillips @cmcphillips
Vice President of Marketing, Content Marketing Institute
Presenting: Getting the Most From CMWorld 2018

Joe Lazauskas @JoeLazauskas
Head of Content Strategy, Executive Editor, Contently
Presenting: Stories for the Win: The Hidden Neuroscience of Content Marketing
Presenting: Why Great Stories Make Our Brains Want to Buy

John Hall @johnhall
Keynote Speaker, https://ift.tt/2wHzAbH
Presenting: Influencer Marketing and PR Workshop
Presenting: Relationship Building That’s Vital to Make Your Content Marketing Thrive

Berrak Sarikaya @BerrakBiz
Sr. Social Media Manager, Yesler
Presenting: Lean Content Marketing for Startups

Stephan Spencer @sspencer
Founder, Science of SEO
Presenting: The Most Common SEO Mistakes in Demand Generation Campaigns

Michele Linn @michelelinn
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Mantis Research
Presenting: The Unsung Hero of Content Marketing: Original Research

Drew McLellan @DrewMcLellan
Top Dog, Agency Management Institute
Presenting: The Agency Edge 2018: When, What — and Why — Clients Outsource to Agencies

Mitch Joel @mitchjoel
Founder, Six Pixels Group
Presenting: The Long Tales: How Longform Content Beats Snaps, Tweets & Chatbots All Day Every Day

Cassio Politi @tractoBR
Consultor de content marketing, Comunique-se Group
Presenting: How to Hold an Online Event that Generates Real Results

Andrea Fryrear @AndreaFryrear
President and Lead Trainer, AgileSherpas
Presenting: Going with the Flow: Adapting Scrum Practices for Marketing

Garrett Moon @garrett_moon
CEO & Co-Founder, CoSchedule
Presenting: Got Leads? How To Find Your Content Core And Actually Drive Revenue From Content

Paul Roetzer @paulroetzer
CEO, PR 20/20
Presenting: How to Get Started with Artificial Intelligence in Content Marketing

Jay Acunzo @jayacunzo
Founder, Unthinkable Media
Presenting: Break the Wheel: Stories and Ideas for Being Better than Best Practices

Juntae DeLane @JuntaeDeLane
Sr. Digital Brand Manager, University of Southern California
Presenting: Digital Brand Building: Optimizing Content for Engagements, Search, and Reviews

Kathy Klotz-Guest @kathyklotzguest
Ms. Chief Officer, Keeping it Human
Presenting: Yes And! Turn Your Culture (OR CONTENT TEAM) into a Fresh-Idea Startup

Peg Sieren Miller @PegMiller
Senior Director, Growth Marketing, Xactly Corp
Presenting: You Did a Content Inventory, Now What? How to Find the Hidden Gems Within Your Content Audit

Albert Jan Huisman @AJHuisman
Founder, Y Content
Presenting: How to Turn Highly Billable Professionals into Extremely Productive Content Marketing Rock Stars that get Bottom-Line Results
Presenting: The Content Marketing Diamond Model for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Maureen Jann @SuperDeluxeMo
Managing Director, SuperDeluxe Marketing
Presenting: Bringing Home the Bacon: Cultivating Thought Leaders to Break Down Trust Barriers with Prospects
Presenting: The Content Marketing Diamond Model for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Stephanie Stahl @EditorStahl
General Manager, Content Marketing Institute, UBM
Presenting: Welcome to Content Marketing World 2018

Ahava Leibtag @ahaval
President, Aha Media Group
Presenting: The Top 7 Writing Secrets of Hit-Making Songwriters”, CMWorld Cleveland Clinic Health Summit

Shafqat Islam @shafqatislam
Cofounder & CEO, NewsCred
Presenting: The other side of performance – operational efficiency: How to build, measure, and optimize high-performing teams that deliver high-performing content

Doug Kessler @dougkessler
Creative Director & Co-Founder, Velocity Partners
Presenting: The elephant in a nutshell: We need to talk about metaphors in marketing.

Zontee Hou @ZonteeHou
President and Founder, Media Volery LLC
Presenting: Let’s Chat: How Messaging Apps, Chatbots, and Voice Assistants Will Impact Your Business in the Next 3-5 Years

Tim Washer @timwasher
Keynote Speaker, Event Emcee, PowerPoint Comedian, Ridiculous Media
Presenting: CMWorld Chatter

Tamsen Webster @tamadear
Founder and Chief Message Strategist, Find The Red Thread
Presenting: How to Make Your Ideas Irresistible

Leslie Carruthers @TheSearchGuru
President and Founder, The Search Guru
Presenting: A-Z Conversion tracking issues for B2B and how to solve them, Retail & eCommerce Lab

Amanda Todorovich @amandatodo
Senior Director, Content & Creative Services, Cleveland Clinic
Presenting: Building a “Media Company” inside a Marketing Department
Presenting: CMWorld Cleveland Clinic Health Summit

Now it’s your turn. As with any lists, there are many people that I would love to see included that were not. I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing (Joe Pulizzi for example). If the person that influences YOU most isn’t on this list, please share their name and Twitter handle in the comments.

In the spirit of content marketing and in sharing our own expertise, I’ve assembled a list of our top 10 posts about content marketing from the past 12 months:

50 Women Who Are Top Content Marketing Influencers & Speakers – Lee Odden
Content Marketing Evolution: Major Content Marketing Trends – Josh Nite
5 Outdated Content Marketing Tactics (And What to Do Instead) – Josh Nite
3 Unusual Content Marketing Approaches That Actually Work – Nick Nelson
Content Conversations: Top Content Marketing Lessons Learned – Ashley Zeckman
5 Tips for Better Data-Informed Content Marketing – Anne Leuman
5 Reasons Why B2B Content Marketing Works (and Why It Doesn’t) – Anne Leuman
How to Prove the Value of Content Marketing to Your CMO in 3 Easy Steps – Anne Leuman
The Ultimate Guide to Conquering Content Marketing – Ashley Zeckman
32 B2B Content Marketing Case Studies – Lee Odden

The Ultimate Guide to Conquering Content Marketing that we developed in partnership with CMI and CMWorld is a great example of influencer driven content. This approach has been successful enough for Content Marketing Institute that they’ve run the program over 6 years.

If you would like to learn more about how create successful influencer content collaborations, you’re in luck! Both Ashley Zeckman and I will be presenting at Content Marketing World on the topic. Here are more details:

September 5th – 1:45pm – 2:30pm
Solo Presentation with Lee Odden
The Confluence Equation: How Content and Influencers Drive B2B Marketing Success

September 6th – 12:05pm – 12:50pm
Solo Presentation with Ashley Zeckman
Influencer Marketing is only for B2C Brands (& Other Lies Your Parents Told You)

Along with our TopRank Marketing teammates Jane, Nick and Annie, we hope to see you at Content Marketing World. Check out what we’re looking forward to most at CMWorld and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @toprank for real time updates during the conference and this blog for liveblogging coverage of select presentations.

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