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Top 25 B2B Content Marketing Influencers and Experts To Follow #CMWorld 2021

Posted on Sep 28th, 2021
Written by Lane Ellis
  • Blog
  • B2B Marketing
  • Top 25 B2B Content Marketing Influencers and Experts To Follow #CMWorld 2021
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    2021 Content Marketing World 25 Content Marketing Influencers Collage Image

    The in-personal and virtual Content Marketing World 2021 is finally upon us. As the largest content marketing conference in the world, CMWorld brings together a leading array of talented professionals who are filled to the brim with curiosity for future trends, marketing insight, and aspirations for new levels of success in the post-pandemic world.

    For the past 13 years leading marketers from all over the world have joined to gather in Cleveland, Ohio for one of the world’s most authoritative content marketing events, and this year’s Content Marketing World returns for in-person networking and learning, after taking place entirely in the virtual realm in 2020.

    Readers of our blog know we have a long history with the conference starting at the beginning, with 11 years of speaking and attending along with eight years during which we partnered with the Content Marketing Institute to develop speaker and influencer content marketing campaigns.

    A TopRank Marketing tradition that has been imitated in recent years but never truly duplicated is our annual list of content marketing experts ranked according to their social influence, a helpful compilation derived from the hundreds of excellent #CMWorld 2021 speakers.

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

    The focus topic in question is most undoubtedly “content marketing,” and everyone included on this list is:

    • A speaker at #CMWorld 2021
    • Ranked in the top-25 for “content marketing” according to our relevance, resonance, reach and audience metrics

    CMWorld 2019 Influencer network

    Many thanks go to all the people who are actively sharing knowledge about content marketing in 2021 by engaging and helping others with helpful opinions, insights and expertise on the social web. This list is only a beginning point to help expand your own content marketing universe.

    In this year’s list there are a few familiar faces and a welcome number of new additions. We plan to learn new lessons from each of these 25 content marketing influencers, and hope you’ll do the same throughout the rest of the year and into 2022 and beyond.

    25 Content Marketing Influencers Speaking at CMWorld 2021

    Ann-Handley

    Ann Handley @MarketingProfs
    Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
    Presenting: The Art of Storytelling: Telling True Stories Well

    Jay Baer

    Jay Baer @jaybaer
    Founder, Convince & Convert
    Presenting: How to Lower the Three Drawbridges of Content Success

    John Jantsch

    John Jantsch @ducttape
    Founder, Duct Tape Marketing
    Presenting: Rethinking the Customer Journey

    MichaelBrenner

    Michael Brenner @BrennerMichael
    Content Marketing Agency CEO & CMO Influencer, Marketing Insider Group
    Presenting: 10 Steps To Optimize Your Content Marketing Program for ROI
    Presenting: How to Define and Build Your Content Marketing Strategy

    Andy-Crestodina

    Andy Crestodina @crestodina
    Co-Founder & CMO, Orbit Media Studios
    Presenting: From Keyphrases to Content: The SEO Workshop for Hands-on Marketers

    Bernie Borges

    Bernie Borges @bernieborges
    Vice President Global Content Marketing, iQor
    Presenting: How to Produce Epic Content by Conducting Epic Interviews

    Carla Johnson

    Carla Johnson @CarlaJohnson
    Marketing & Innovation Strategist, Keynote Speaker & Best Selling Author
    Presenting: Courageous Creativity: How Content Marketers Get to “YES!” with Bold Ideas

    Andrew Davis

    Andrew Davis @DrewDavisHere
    Keynote Speaker & Best-Selling Author, Monumental Shift
    Presenting: Embrace The Constraints: Why Adding Constraints Sparks Creativity, Inspires Action & Creates Better Content

    Ardath Albee

    Ardath Albee @ardath421
    B2B Marketing Strategist & CEO, Marketing Interactions
    Presenting: Building B2B Buyer-Driven Digital Experiences

    Amy Balliett

    Amy Balliett @AmyBalliett
    Founder & CEO, Killer Visual Strategies
    Presenting: Building B2B Buyer-Driven Digital Experiences

    Melanie-Deziel

    Melanie Deziel @mdeziel
    Chief Content Officer, StoryFuel
    Presenting: Prove It: Using Content as Evidence of Your Most Important Claims

    Doug Kessler

    Doug Kessler @dougkessler
    Creative Director & Co-Founder, Velocity Partners
    Presenting: Ask A Dev: Why Your Content Team Needs Developers!

    Pam Didner

    Pam Didner @PamDidner
    Author, Founder & VP of Marketing, Effective Sales Enablement
    Presenting: Create A Scalable Global Content Marketing Strategy in 7 Steps
    Presenting: Let’s Get Glocal…Balance Global and Local for Content Marketing

    Kathy Klotz-Guest

    Kathy Klotz-Guest @kathyklotzguest
    Founder, Keeping It Human
    Presenting: Yes And…And the Culture of Now: Why the Future of Marketing is Improv

    Erika Heald

    Erika Heald @SFerika
    Marketing Consultant, Erika Heald Consulting
    Presenting: How to Conduct a Social Media Audit That Helps Your Community Thrive

    Meryl Evans

    Meryl Evans @merylkevans
    Digital Marketing Professional, meryl.net, Equal Entry, ProResource and Diamond
    Presenting: Accessibility Is Everyone’s Job — Marketing Included

    Michele Linn

    Michele Linn @michelelinn
    Co-founder and head of strategy, Mantis Research
    Presenting: From Flat to Fascinating: 8 Essential Elements to Help Your Original Research Stand Out

    A Lee Judge

    A. Lee Judge @ALeeJudge
    Co-Founder & CMO, Content Monsta
    Presenting: The Content Remix: Turning Familiar Into Original
    Presenting: The Future of Work: The Importance of Mentorship Programs

    Shafqat-Islam

    Shafqat Islam @shafqatislam
    CEO, Welcome
    Presenting: Embracing the Silver Linings: Applying What We’ve Learned to Build Better Connections (& Become Better Marketers)

    Zontee Hou

    Zontee Hou @ZonteeHou
    President & Chief Strategist, Media Volery
    Presenting: Content Optimization & Distribution Workshop
    Presenting: Data & Storytelling: Using Social Insights to Shape Your Content

    Michael Barber

    Michael Barber @michaeljbarber
    Brand Consultant and Marketing Strategist,
    Presenting: Email Marketing for 2021 and Beyond
    Presenting: Open Rate Is Dead: What Marketers Need to Know About iOS15

    Jessica Best

    Jessica Best @bestofjess
    Vice President, Data-Driven Marketing, Barkley
    Presenting: Email Marketing Workshop: What Works and What Doesn’t Work

    Joe Lazauskas

    Joe Lazauskas @JoeLazauskas
    Head of Marketing, Contently
    Presenting: What Buyers Want from Content Marketing — And Where Marketers Are Falling Short

    Joe Pulizzi

    Joe Pulizzi @JoePulizzi
    Founder, The Tilt
    Presenting: 10 Content Strategies in 20 Minutes: What Corporate Content Creators Can Learn From Content Entrepreneurs

    Tequia Burt

    Tequia Burt @TequiaBurt
    Global Blog Editor, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
    Presenting: How LinkedIn is Using its Blogs as a Vehicle for Building Diversity Against a Backdrop of Growth

    Even the most detailed statistical analysis, no matter how deep and well-researched, can only take you so far in finding the people who you’ll consider the most helpful and influential in your own daily professional marketing lives, which is why we’d love it if you’d please share the name of other content marketers that influence you the most in the comments section below.

    To further your own content marketing expertise, here’s a bonus list of some of our best recent posts about content marketing:

    If you’d like to learn more about how being the best answer can help B2B marketers dominate in search, you’re in luck, as our CEO and co-founder Lee Odden will be presenting at Content Marketing World on the topic. Here are the details:

    LeeOdden

    Thursday, September 30 – 2:45pm – 3:15pm Eastern
    Workshop with Lee Odden
    How B2B Content Marketers Can Dominate in Search: Be the Best Answer

    We hope to see you either in-person or virtually at the Content Marketing World 2021 conference, and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @toprank for real-time updates during the conference using the #CMWorld hashtag.