Top 20 B2B Startup Marketing Influencers in 2019
There is a ton of talent in the digital marketing space, and it’s pretty easy to pinpoint its leaders: Neil Patel, Rand Fishkin, Joanna Wiebe. These are well-known professionals, followed by millions of fans.
If you’re trying to conjure up any B2B startup marketing influencers who are worth following, though...you’re gonna have quite a bit more trouble. And that’s why we’ve put together this list!
The following are our favorite sales and marketing professionals who are effective influencers in the B2B startup community, listed in no particular order. They are active speakers, exceptional in their field, and do a pretty darn good job of educating fellow marketers.
If you’re in sales or marketing, or working with startups in any way, these are definitely the people you want to have in your Twitter feed.
Heidi Cohen
President of Riverside Marketing Strategies for nearly 20 years, and Chief Content Officer for Actionable Marketing Guide for close to a decade, Heidi’s vast experience defines her extensive influence as a global marketer. She capitalizes on this as a regular speaker at some of the top marketing conferences in the United States, South America, and Europe.
Ann Handley
In addition to being one of the biggest influencers in the B2B marketing scene and having the Twitter following of a rock star, Ann is the WSJ bestselling author of books like Everybody Writes and Content Rules. Through Marketing Profs she also hosts some of the most popular marketing workshops out there!
Michael Brenner
Michael is one of the biggest names in content marketing and an influential figure in the B2B marketing realm. He’s the CEO of the Marketing Insider Group and championed the customer-centric approach before it became mainstream!
Lee Odden
In addition to making up 25 percent of the bearded marketers on our list, Lee is a B2B content and influencer marketer who has cemented his name in the industry. He’s also the CEO of TopRank Marketing, a content marketing agency that has done work for some of the world’s biggest B2B companies.
Christopher S. Penn
A self-proclaimed ninja on Twitter, Christopher also bridges the gap between marketing and digital technology with solutions that help marketers make the most out of their data. He’s the co-founder of TrustInsights and has been practicing martial arts for more than 20 years, with a fifth-degree black belt in Ninjutsu. Watch out!
Tim Washer
A marketing influencer who knows how to crack a joke! When not helping big companies like IBM and Cisco launch their next big campaign, or giving some of his insightful presentations, Tim is making people laugh by writing, producing, and making appearances on shows such as Conan O’Brien, Saturday Night Live, and John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight.
Dayna Rothman
Dayna wrote the book on lead generation. Literally! Meet the author of Lead Generation for Dummies. In addition to authoring such an important piece of work, Dayna also serves as VP of Marketing for Mesosphere and has some great content marketing courses on Lynda.com. Make sure to check those out!
Scott Monty
If you’re a marketing professional, you’ve probably heard of Scott Monty. After all, you don’t find many in the Fortune 10 with a background in classics. Scott was an executive at Ford Motor Company for six years and has been a marketing and communications consultant for more than 15 years. During that time, Scott has worked with companies such as IBM, McDonald's, Google, Walmart, and Coca-Cola.
Kerry O’Shea Gorgone
Kerry is the host of Marketing Smarts, which is hands down one of the best business podcasts on the internet. With a background in both law and marketing, Kerry is one of the few people who can speak with authority when it comes to the legal side of marketing. It takes a lot of effort to have both JD and MBA after your name, and Kerry’s useful insights are definitely on the same level as her qualifications.
Bill Sebald
After more than 15 years of helping e-commerce businesses reach more customers online, Bill Sebald founded marketing agency Greenlane. Bill has worked with companies like Calvin Klein, Toys R Us (RIP!), and PetSmart, and when he’s not busy helping clients he’s likely enjoying some ‘80s hair metal or working on his public Spotify playlist!
Ahava Leibtag
Ahava is the founder of Aha Media, a boutique content consultancy that helps businesses step up their content game, and author of The Digital Crown: Winning at Content on the Web. Her Twitter also hints that Aha Media is “Totally fun”, and from all her great posts we can believe it!
Jon Miller
Jon Miller is an influential marketing speaker and serial entrepreneur who currently serves as the founder and CEO of Engagio, and is the former co-founder of Marketo. He’s also authored such marketing go-to’s as The Definitive Guide to Marketing Automation, The Definitive Guide to Engaging Email Marketing, and The Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics and Analytics.
Tom Webster
Tom is the Senior Vice President at Edison Research, the only provider of exit polling data during U.S. elections, for all major news channels. With more than 20 years of experience in the “numbers side” of marketing, Tom has co-authored some of the most cited studies in the entire industry and is one of the most sought-after data and consumer insights speakers.
Nina Church-Adams
Nina has held impressive marketing positions at Act-On, American Express, and D+H, and also helped manage Nike’s Girl Effect University for a number of years. Nina’s a powerful force in Portland’s marketing world, and has expertise in MarTech, FinTech, and B2B SaaS. Tune into her smart insights via Twitter and LinkedIn!
Jason Hsiao
Jason claims to be the 1,794,128,523rd most powerful man in the world. And when he’s not making such bold power claims, Jason is also the Co-Founder and Chief Video Officer at Animoto, a DIY video platform that helps B2B and B2C companies - and marketing agencies! - create awesome videos, with zero technical hassle.
David Berkowitz
A marketer with a sense of humor, David has capitalized on his criminally recognizable name as the founder of Serial Marketers. David is also a mentor with New York’s Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Norway’s Katapult Accelerator, and France’s NUMA, and contributes to such publications as Mashable, Adweek, and Advertising Age. So yeah, he’s all over the startup scene - and thankfully not out on the prowl for victims!
Chris Goward
When big companies like Magento, Google, HP, and IBM want to improve their marketing results, they all turn to Chris Goward. Chris is one of the top conversion optimization consultants in the world, as well as the author of You Should Test That!, the book that redefined how marketers think about CRO. Chris is also the founder of WiderFunnel and the brain behind the LIFT Model, and Infinity Optimization Process.
Kasey Jones
Our very own founder and CEO made the list - and we promise we didn’t fudge the numbers to get her there! Kasey is an expert growth strategist who knows how to make things happen. She’s an accomplished speaker and has served as mentor for such leadership cultivating programs as AltCity Lebanon’s social impact accelerator and Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest.
Pam Didner
Pam helps sales and marketing teams bridge the gap and work together to achieve common goals. Pam’s approach has helped some of the world’s biggest companies achieve spectacular results, and she’s also authored such insightful books as “Global Content Marketing” and “Effective Sales Enablement”, hosts the incredible podcast 7 Min MKT with Pam, and gives some of the most insightful marketing talks we’ve ever heard.
Pawan Deshpande
Pawan Deshpande is the CEO and Founder of Curata, a content curation and marketing software that’s revolutionizing the way content marketers work. Pawan frequently writes about technology and marketing related topics for publications like Content Marketing Institute, Forbes, Marketing Profs, and Content Curation Marketing.
Did we forget anyone? We’d love to hear about more bright and shiny leaders in the B2B Startup Marketing space, so be sure to let us know!