Digital marketing has become its own niche for influencers, with many marketers achieving near rockstar status and cult followings.
With so many mavens, influencers, and gurus out there, where do you go for trustworthy tips of the trade? Who are the best digital marketers to follow in 2023?
“There are so many gurus and experts who talk about how to do marketing. It’s kind of a joke. Of course, no one’s intentionally trying to create bad quality stuff, yet most of the efforts that we spend as marketers go nowhere.” – Larry Kim, WordStream founder, and Customers.ai CEO
The digital marketing landscape is a rollercoaster of constant change. Following industry leaders on social media is the best way to keep track of new trends or opportunities.
The best digital marketers to follow in 2023 are regularly sharing valuable insights and resources to benefit the marketing community.
We are all in this crazy digital world together. The best way to keep up is to learn from and support each other as we continue pushing the boundaries of innovation in marketing.
Here are some of the greatest minds in marketing in 2023. A visit to any social channel of any name on this list will be one of the best free resources you can find for marketers.
Who will you self-designate to be your next “virtual mentor”?
Here is an overview of what and who we will cover in this article:
- How Unicorn Marketers are Made
- What Qualifies the Best Digital Marketers to Follow in 2021?
- The 30 Best Digital Marketers to Follow in 2021
- Isaac Rudansky
- Oli Gardner
- Larry Kim
- Mike Allton
- Vasil Azarov
- Olga Andrienko
- Mari Smith
- Neil Patel
- Craig Cameron
- Virginia Nussey
- Vince Magaline
- Dennis Yu
- Derric Haynie
- AJ Wilcox
- Tony Testaverde
- Kirk Williams
- Aaron Cort
- Jennifer Faulkner
- Ovi Negrean
- Tim Burd
- Stephanie Liu
- Tyrone Lingley
- Mandy McEwen
- David Bain
- Kevin Ho
- Tyson Quick
- Randall Neason
- Kris Olivo
- Eric Siu
- Justin Wu
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How Unicorn Marketers Are Made
Not all marketers are prepared to give up donkey ways and methods for the unicorn lifestyle.
Only a few exceptional marketers stand out from the vast digital ocean of fly-by-night Gary V wannabes. What is their secret? (Hint: they probably share their “secrets” on social all the time).
One of the defining characteristics of a true unicorn marketer is more than growth hacking the planet, but also passing down the torch, enlightening the masses for the betterment of all.
Will we forget anyone? Yes. There are literally thousands of smart digital marketers out there, but rather than rinse and repeat all of the same names, we want to feature the markets that are dishing out the most valuable industry insights.
What Qualifies The Best Digital Marketers To Follow In 2023?
We’ve handpicked the 30 best digital marketers to follow in 2021 based on who is sharing the most valuable industry advice.
Beyond our own measure, all of these digital marketers meet the following essential criteria:
- Distinguished industry leaders and digital marketing professionals with a track record of growth and success.
- Digital marketers with engaged followers and a cadence of valuable content.
- Special distinctions, advanced knowledge, publications, or niche expertise.
These are the movers and shakers. What else do you want? Follow them!
The 30 Best Digital Marketers to Follow in 2023
1. Isaac Rudansky
CEO, AdVenture Media Group
Expertise: SEM, Google AdWords, Teaching
Isaac Rudansky is a top digital marketing expert and an innovative PPC leader who quickly scaled an award-winning digital advertising agency, AdVenture Media, in NYC and became the #1 best-selling digital advertising instructor with over 200k students in 185 countries. He regularly shares super useful insights and tips on his “Isaac Rudansky Show.” If you want to know what are the digital marketing trends for 2021, Isaac has an uncanny ability to always be on top of the next big thing. His down-to-ear easy-going demeanor makes learning marketing fun and refreshing. Check out his Udemy courses on retargeting, landing page design, Google Ads, and more.
2. Oli Gardner
Unbounce Co-founder
Expertise: Landing Page Conversions, Keynote Speaker
Oli eats and breathes landing pages. If you have been struggling to convert traffic, follow this man right now! His charismatic and fun personality shine through his rockstar keynote speeches at high-profile conferences around the world.
Follow along with Oli at his next marketing conference appearance (in-person or virtual) as she shapes the next generation of unicorn marketers.
3. Larry Kim
Customers.ai CEO and WordStream Founder
Expertise: PPC, SEO, Chatbot Marketing, Growth Hacking
The man of the hour! Larry never fails to bring the mind-exploding growth hacks and marketing insights to the social table. After running a successful SEO agency, Larry founded and later sold the monolithic WordStream. He then built Customers.ai, the best chat marketing platform in the world (Web Chat, SMS, Facebook Messenger & Instagram). Sign up for your Forever Free Edition!
Larry has been selected for the Marketer of the Year awards by Search Engine Land, US Search Awards, and PPC Hero. He is also ranked as the #8 most popular author on Medium, and as one of the top digital marketers in the world. He shares glimpses into his family life on his social channels mixed with a bit of humor and mad growth hacking science.
You will laugh. You will cry. And you will become a better marketer. Get to know Larry, the original Unicorn Marketer!
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4. Mike Allton
Agorapulse Brand Evangelist, and blogger, speaker, and author at The Social Media Hat & Blogging Brute
Expertise: Holistic content, social media, SEM, and email marketing
Mike Allton not only builds partnerships for the SMM software giant, Agorapulse, but he is also the ravenous blogger behind thebloggingbrute.com and social media scientist at thesocialmediahat.com.
When he isn’t schooling the digital marketing masses on the art of amazing SEM content, he’s teaching via the printed word, co-authoring best-selling books like “The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing.”
5. Vasil Azarov
Growthblazers.com and Growth Marketing Conference Founder
Expertise: Events, Startups, Growth Hacking
Vasil is an international marketing powerhouse that delivers impactful keynotes and builds communities and networks for marketers. He created the Online Marketing Institute and went on to launch the Growth Marketing Conference in 2014, which has become the premier conference event “for growth marketers, by growth marketers.”
Vasil’s most recent incarnation is as CEO of Growth Blazers, a global supportive community for growth marketers, founders, and executives.
He is a master of growth hacking for startups and an invaluable resource for any digital marketer looking to take their agency or career to the next level.
6. Olga Andrienko
VP Brand Marketing, SEMrush
Expertise: SEO, SEM, Social Media, Branding
Olga is an SEO and SEM guru among the top 25 most influential women in digital marketing (TopRank). As head of the global marketing at SEMrush, she speaks at conferences and events worldwide about the latest trends in digital marketing.
When she’s not busy building the SEMrush brand, which is used by no less than 7,000,000 digital marketers worldwide, she is a Judge of the UK and EU Content Awards and US Social Media & Communication Awards.
Under Olga’s guidance, SEMrush has become one of the top SEO software after Google’s own tools. We’d say she’s also become one of the best digital marketers to follow in 2021. Follow her on social media and learn more about SEMrush and global growth.
7. Mari Smith
CEO Mari Smith International, Inc. | “the Queen of Facebook”
Expertise: Facebook, Social Media, Engagement
Mari Smith is well known as a top social media expert and one of the top digital marketers in the world. She is always one step ahead with Facebook. If you are looking for innovative ways to drive traffic and build brand awareness online, Mari always delivers. Besides being a social media powerhouse, Mari is a keynote speaker, author, and all-around inspiration. Her social posts always have leading-edge tips that have the power to influence the industry. Follow Mari to stay on top of Facebook trends and keep a competitive edge with your marketing.
“…The preeminent Facebook expert. Even Facebook asks for her help.” – Forbes.
8. Neil Patel
Co-Founder Neil Patel Digital | Co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and KISSmetrics
Expertise: SEO, SEM, Social Media, Branding
Neil is about as rock star status as it gets in the digital marketing realm today. If you are looking for advice on driving organic traffic to your website, Neil is your man. He is a speaker at conferences and companies around the world, including Facebook and Reuters. As one of the top digital marketing experts, let’s take a look at a shortened version of his accolades: New York Times bestselling author, Wall Street Journal top influencer, Forbes top 10 marketers, Entrepreneur Magazine 100 most brilliant companies, and top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.
Follow the SEO whiz kid and learn how his blog generates over 4 million visitors per month and apply the same principles and tips to your business for crazy growth.
9. Craig Cameron
Founder 10X Social | Co-founder of ChatCloud.io
Expertise: Chatbots, Automation, Lead Gen
Craig Cameron knows chatbots inside and out. As the co-founder of ChatCloud.io, Craig builds bots and automation for marketing software. His innovations and insights are second to none, and he is a Facebook marketing expert that you will want to keep your eye on.
10. Virginia Nussey
Director of Marketing, Customers.ai | aka Botgirl
Expertise: Chatbots, SEO, Social Media Marketing
Virginia is a Jedi master of search engine marketing and growing businesses via chat app automation. From Facebook Messenger to Instagram, SMS, and webchat, Virginia can leverage chatbots for any industry vertical. She is a digital marketing leader that got started in SEO with Bruce Clay, the “father of search engine optimization.” With vast and dynamic experience from years of liveblogging the SEO conference, she is now an SEO expert and event speaker herself. Virginia teaches marketers how to use chatbots to slay leads, Facebook Messenger hacks, and more at premiere marketing events and virtual conferences. Her chatbot wisdom can be found in such places as the Search Engine Journal, where she is a VIP contributor. The best place to keep up with Virginia is on social media, where she shares her fun and engaging personality and thoughts on the latest happenings in SEO, chatbot marketing, and social media strategy.
Upgrade your marketing game and get to know the one-and-only original chat blasting, engagement casting, COAs slashing, #Botgirl!
11. Vince Magaline
Growth Marketing Manager, Customers.ai | Startup Founder
Expertise: SEO, SEM, Social Media
From multiple successful SaaS startups to taking the marketing reins at Rebrandly and now Customers.ai, Vince is a digital marketing leader and innovator that hails from the Shangri-la of tech, San Francisco Bay. Vince’s SEO prowess is second-to-none. He is a content magician that consistently ranks articles and websites at the top of Google’s SERP. Vince has been featured on SEMrush Global Marketing Day and. If you are interested in growth hacking, this guy is a revolutionary retargeting, chatbot sleuthing, automation aficionado.
Rub shoulders with Vince on social to learn the digital marketing industry’s best-kept secrets, like driving engagement and sales using highly targeted direct response marketing for instant ROI.
12. Dennis Yu
CTO, ChiroRevenue, and BlitzMetrics
Expertise: SEO, Facebook Ads, Social Media
Dennis is well known as one of the top digital marketing experts. He hails from a former position as a Yahoo search engine engineer. Needless to say, he knows a thing or two about SEO and SEM. He’s also a prolific and popular speaker on the social media and digital marketing conference circuit. As a regular contributor to AdWeek and Social Media Examiner, he writes articles teaching marketers how to be more effective, such as how to boost a post on Facebook, properly. Be sure to follow Dennis on social media for deep insights and hot marketing tips and tricks to help you scale your digital agency.
“Dennis Yu is the world’s leading authority on Facebook ads.” – Larry Kim, Customers.ai
13. Derric Haynie
CET, Ecommerce Tech | Host of The Future of Ecommerce Podcast
Expertise: Ecommerce, SaaS, Growth Marketing
Derric Haynie has turned Ecommerce into a science using data-driven growth marketing methods. Derric is a digital marketing maven with roots as one of the minds behind Rebrandly. He’s also famously known as a high-stakes poker player! He wrote the book “Quantum Poker” and managed a bankroll of over $2mil. Derric is a serial entrepreneur with enough multiple digital marketing agencies and SaaS startup feathers in his cap to be a techpreneur peacock. Currently, his crown jewel is Ecommerce Tech, an amazingly free resource for Ecommerce teams to find the right software and apps for growth. Follow Derric for Ecommerce growth tips that will blast your Ecommerce conversions into orbit. He’s a fun guy and a dynamic speaker too, get to know this digital marketing rock star!
14. AJ Wilcox
Host of The LinkedIn Ads Show | Founder of B2Linked
Expertise: LinkedIn Ads
Although LinkedIn ads might be one of the more difficult ad channels to master, this guy has cracked the Da Vinci code on that one. AJ Wilcox hosts a successful podcast that helps people avoid making advertising mistakes, saves them money, and, oh yeah, he’s also the founder of a successful agency specializing in account management and consulting that has been around since 2014. Fun fact: B2Linked is the ONLY agency that can say it’s an official Certified LinkedIn Partner. Follow AJ to learn how to make your LinkedIn ads more profitable and scalable.
15. Tony Testaverde
Director of Lead Acquisition at WordStream
Expertise: SEO, Lead Gen
Tony specializes in Web Analytics, AdWords, Microsoft, Google Analytics, Search Marketing, E-Comm, Social, Mobile Marketing, Multi-Channel Campaigns, Display Advertising, and more. His experience at WordStream is as diverse as any we’ve ever seen; he’s held positions from paid research strategist to senior SEM manager to director of lead acquisition. We’re excited to see where he goes, and you should follow him for some first-rate insights.
16. Kirk Williams
Founder, ZATO | Udemy Instructor | Speaker
Expertise: PPC
Kirk Williams has been named one of the Top 25 Most Influential PPCers in the world by PPC Hero for the last four consecutive years! Between running a paid search agency and speaking at PPC events worldwide, he also recently released his book, “Ponderings of a PPC Professional.” Get inside the head of a master PPC specialist and follow Kirk on LinkedIn.
17. Aaron Cort
Director of Marketing at ClickUp
Expertise: Project Management, Productivity, SaaS
If you’re looking to become more productive and save valuable time, Aaron is the guy to follow and get in touch with. He’s an excellent assist man at ClickUp — the fastest-growing productivity platform out there right now. Aaron is also an active member of The Revenue Collective, a private, invitation-only community consisting of sales and marketing execs who work for growth-focused companies. Since he specializes in saving productivity and time-saving strategies, he gets a lot done during his off-hours, too — Aaron works with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, making sure that people in need can get a healthy meal. Go Aaron!
18. Jennifer Faulkner
Chief Brand Officer, Proposify
Expertise: Lead Generation, Social Media, Startups
Jennifer Faulkner started young, on a typewriter, at age 8, destined for a fruitful career in marketing. She’s had a remarkably diverse 20-year experience in the marketing and communications realm, starting on the ground floor as a copywriter, then a brand strategist, account executive, as well as a business development manager. Before joining Proposify, Jennifer ran her own consulting business for six years. Glean from her experiences in helping a successful proposal-creation solution take the world by storm. You just might land more clients and close more deals as a result!
19. Ovi Negrean
Chief Executive, SocialBee.io | Entrepreneur | Startup Advisor
Expertise: Lead Generation, Social Media, Startups
Ovi Negrean’s genius works on two fronts: helping startups land quality leads on social media (via SocialBee) and advising clients (via Ovi.co). If you’re out there looking to capture new, real, and relevant connections and followers, he’s the guy to follow. Ovi uses tested techniques that will help you grow LinkedIn connections and Twitter followers consistently and engage with those fruitful new connections over the course of your relationship. Get ready to cultivate long-term relationships with like-minded industry folks with Ovi.
20. Tim Burd
Co-Founder at AdLeaks & Agency Y | Forbes Coaches Council Member
Expertise: Facebook Ads
Tim Burd is the word when it comes to operating the largest Facebook ad buying group on the planet. The “Godfather of Facebook Ads” started with a scant $30k and has built and sold online businesses generating $5-10 million annually — within 12 months of creation! He hustled non-stop for 13 years when it came to internet advertising, but, recently, Tim has taken the last few years to travel the globe, helping companies leverage the power of the interwebs by upping their game in the Facebook ad realm.
This guy gets it, and you can, too. Follow Tim on social media for his inspiring tales of advertising magic.
21. Stephanie Liu
Founder, Stephanie Liu Marketing | Co-Founder Leap Into Live Streaming | Keynote Speaker
Expertise: Video Strategy, Brain Hacks, Social Media
Do you suffer from stage fright or simply haven’t acted on the massive opportunity of live video marketing? Stephanie Liu has the best and brightest YouTube channel for digital marketers crossing the live stream threshold. She recently co-authored a new book, The Ultimate Guide to Social Media, with tons of valuable social media video tips. As a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Trainer, she teaches brain hacks to help people overcome their public speaking fears.
22. Tyrone Lingley
SaaS Channel & Partnership Leader | Head of Partnerships at Ally.io
Expertise: Partnerships, Growth Hacking, SaaS
Tyrone Lingley is an active senior SaaS partnership leader with over a decade of experience in building and sustaining high-performance partnerships. He assists marketing teams in multiple industry verticals, including tech, e-comm, and even sports and entertainment. Tyrone is also an active board member at Cloud Software Association, striving to create the blueprint for cloud software distribution. Their 2000+ members span multiple industries like SaaS, platforms, API services, resellers, distributors, not to mention investors. Tyrone also remains an active volunteer as a fundraising coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Society.
Amazing guy. Amazing partnership leader!
23. Mandy McEwen
Founder/CEO of Mod Girl Marketing and Luminetics
Expertise: Branding, Digital PR, LinkedIn
The hustle is strong with Mandy McEwen; she specializes in LinkedIn thought leadership consultation. Mandy helps individuals build highly influential personal brands on the most widely-known professional platform on the planet. As if this doesn’t keep her occupied enough, Mandy is also a proud board member of The Alliance to Save the American Dream, a nonpartisan alliance that empowers small businesses to survive and thrive — even during the most tumultuously tough times.
What’s the secret sauce to her success? We don’t know, but we want some! Follow her on social to find out!
24. David Bain
Founder of Casting Cred | Host, Digital Marketing Radio | Author of “Marketing Now”
Expertise: Podcast, Education, B2B
David Bain, founder of a podcast agency for B2B brands called Casting Cred, host/producer of ContentCal, author of Marketing Now — does this man even have time to get a wink of sleep? He runs a successful podcasting agency that focuses on B2B brands, helping them grow and nurture high-quality audiences through… the undeniable power of podcasting! David is easy to like and easy to follow on various platforms. If you’re not following him, well, you’re doing yourself a major disservice.
25. Kevin Ho
VP Marketing, Wishpond
Expertise: Lead Nurturing, Conversions, Sales, SaaS
An entrepreneur and marketing mastermind, Kevin Ho has launched and ran his own successful companies and is most recently innovating at Wishpond.
Beyond social, you can find Kevin’s conversion tips and tricks on Social Media Today, Startup Grind, and Social Media Examiner. His actionable insights and awesome example as a marketing leader makes him one of the best digital marketers to follow in 2021.
26. Tyson Quick
Founder/CEO Instapage | Postclick
Expertise: Landing Pages, Conversion Optimization, SaaS
From sleeping in his car during the startup days of Instapage to $55MM in revenue, Tyson Quick knows how to survive and thrive as an entrepreneur and digital marketer. Follow Tyson for his entrepreneur insights and motivation, and mad conversion science!
27. Randall Neason
CEO at Elv8ed Marketing | Co-Founder of MERGE
Expertise: Conversions, Chatbots, Growth Strategy
Randall Neason is a chatbot marketing guru who helps businesses acquire new clients while avoiding losing current clients to their competitors. Highly skilled in digital marketing and lead generation, Randall is constantly looking to motivate those around him, whether it’s colleagues, collaborators, or clients.
Follow Randall Neason to get a daily inspirational boost to boot!
28. Kris Olivo
Founder/Course Creator of Fire Your Marketing Team and Almost Magical Marketing | Speaker | Educator
Expertise: Startups, Chatbots, Digital Strategy, Speaking
Kris Olivo has helped thousands of businesses with social media marketing and strategy. Specializing in brand design, event marketing, real estate marketing, consulting, lead generation, and much more. Kris makes it a point to help businesses grow, generate more revenue (no matter which stage in the game they’re in), and help empower the business-minded through expert advertising and innovative sales systems. Kris is also an active public speaker, helping individuals and organizations via high-conversion marketing methods.
Make sure you are following Kris for the latest moves in marketing.
29. Eric Siu
Investor | Podcaster | Author “Leveling Up: How to Master the Game of Life” | CEO, ClickFlow
Expertise: SEO, SaaS, Growth Marketing
Eric Siu specializes in a wide variety of vital digital marketing skills, including SEO, SEM consulting, and social media marketing. When he isn’t writing about how to step one’s game up, he operates as CEO of ClickFlow, which provides content intelligence software that helps businesses and organizations grow their SEO. Eric also supports a wide range of companies (from Fortune 500 companies to venture-backed startups) as chairman of Single Gain LLC, a full-service digital marketing agency.
He is without a doubt one of the best digital marketers to follow in 2021. Read his book; follow him on social media; watch your life change!
30. Justin Wu
Information Architect | Marketer | Founder of Growth.ly, CoinState, and Director of Marketing at Roxe Chain Foundation
Expertise: Growth Hacking, Social Media, Blockchain
When Justin Wu isn’t Snapchatting about useful hacks in the entrepreneur realm, he is busy collaborating with Wall Street Journal & CES — not to mention operating as Founder and Growth Engineer of Growth.ly, organizing events, such as BlockchainNW, Seattle’s first blockchain conference, and other blockchain-esque startups.
Justin takes an intricate systems approach to his businesses and is always looking for ways to utilize software to help companies get their hustle.
Show Some Love
If you have learned from or been inspired by any of these digital marketers, let them know!
Show your support by following them and giving a shout-out. Let’s keep the marketing industry positive and reciprocal, which is what social media is all about. Share the love, tell others, and help your fellow marketers!
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Important Next Steps
FAQs about Best Digital Marketer to Follow in 2023
The best digital marketers in 2023 stand out for several reasons. They have a track record of delivering exceptional results, staying updated with the latest trends, and constantly experimenting with new strategies. The experts possess in-depth knowledge of their respective areas, have a strong online presence, and often share valuable insights, case studies, and tips with their audience.
Following digital marketers can offer numerous benefits, including:
Learning from the best: You’ll gain insights into the latest digital marketing tactics, strategies, and industry trends.
Inspiration for your own campaigns: By studying their successful campaigns, you can draw inspiration for your own marketing efforts.
Networking opportunities: Engaging with these digital marketers can help you connect with like-minded professionals and potential collaborators.
Staying ahead of the competition: By staying updated with the best digital marketers, you’ll be better equipped to outperform your competitors.
Most digital marketers are active on multiple platforms, including social media, blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels. Here are the common platforms where you can follow them:
Social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Their official websites or blogs where they share valuable content.
Podcasts and YouTube channels where they discuss digital marketing strategies.
Industry conferences and events where they often speak or participate.
While these digital marketers have achieved great success, it’s essential to consider whether their expertise aligns with your specific business needs. Different marketers may specialize in various areas of digital marketing, such as social media, content marketing, SEO, or paid advertising. Therefore, it’s crucial to evaluate their expertise and assess if it complements your business goals and industry.
While digital marketers may receive numerous inquiries, many of them are open to collaboration and helping fellow professionals. You can reach out to them through their website contact forms, social media channels, or professional networking platforms. However, keep in mind that they might have limited availability and may prioritize their paying clients or ongoing projects.
