Top Social Media Influencers to Follow in 2021

Tweets, LinkedIn posts, blogs, newsletters, RSS apps and oh so many more. Between all of those, how can we really know what and who to follow? Every marketer out there knows the feeling of drowning in information. And that’s where social media influencers come in. They come with a great feed – clean, relevant & with powerful opinions – giving us exactly what we’re looking for. That’s why we love them.

But don’t take my word for it, let me paint you a picture.

• Over 4M blog posts are published every day. (This awesome live counter will show you just how many articles are published daily)

• Just in March 2018 over 82M blog posts went out only on WordPress (source)

• Want to stay up to date using Twitter? Sounds like a great plan! Especially since there are 6000 tweets going out every second.

I think you already know – staying up to date with your industry is…difficult. To say the least. We think social media influencers are the gods of feeds. They help us stay up to date with the latest trends, social media tools, and advice. They not only share the best content but create the best content. However, there are a lot of social media influencers as well.

So under infinite piles of great content, it’s hard to catch some air without a bit of order and help. There’s a lot of apps that can adjust that setting (see Feedly, Zest.is, Pocket), but we decided to lend a hand as well. How? With a list. With THE list.

We carefully selected the top 50 social media influencers who are raising the bar for social media marketing in 2020:

1. Jason Keath | LinkedIn & Twitter

Jason Keath is someone you want to follow. He is that kind of charismatic social media influencer who shares all the right things. The good, the bad, the funny, the educational – the right kind of content for social media. Jason is also the founder and CEO of Social Fresh Conference.

2. Derek Halpern | LinkedIn & Twitter

Derek Halpern, the CEO of Social Triggers, is like a nutritious breakfast. He talks about business, marketing, social media, but he also shares on topics like personal development, politics, and even relationships sometimes. So, click his follow button and grab a healthy smoothie of knowledge!

3.  Andrew Hutchinson | LinkedIn & Twitter

Andrew’s proudest achievements are his two amazing books. He also reviews other marketing books, movies, tv series and music. He is firstly an avid critique and then fan of social media, not to mention he’s also Head of Content and Social Media at Social Media Today. You can trust he will share honest opinions about all the social media updates.

4. Nancy Richmond | LinkedIn & Twitter

Nancy Richmond is first and foremost a loving professor, a huge advocate of learning and education. She holds awesome speeches and offers great consultancy.  Also – you can definitely rely on her to open new perspectives on social media truths and upcoming trends. 

5. Gregory Ciotti | LinkedIn & Twitter

Grab a pen & paper and start writing while following Gregory Ciotti, Content Marketing Lead at Shopify. He’s there to help with creative blocks, content strategy and any kind of tips that will make that pen go faster & better targeted.

6. Mari Smith | LinkedIn & Twitter

We have three words about Mari: active, insightful & always on the spot. She doesn’t miss one piece of important news – you can definitely rely on her to cope with the waves of social media news. Also – she’s so active that we’re pretty sure she uses a social media tool. How about Planable, Mari? Wink wink.

7. Kim Garst | LinkedIn & Twitter

Kim is all about owned content. She writes, says, criticises, advises constantly. Kim is the social media influencer that focuses on the how’s, the steps, the tips & tricks. You want her on your “social media influencers to follow” list. Plus – we just love all those playful designs she ads to each piece of content.

8. Scott & Alison Stratten | Scott’s LinkedIn, Alison’s LinkedIn & Alison’s Twitter, Scott’s Twitter

Scott & Alison are that social media influencer couple that you can’t not love. Their combined modesty & sense of humor will make your heart skip a beat and your brain go choo-choo. They cover social media in a real & trusty way. They speak their mind and you want to hear what they have to say.  

9. Ann Handley | LinkedIn & Twitter

How to put this?… Ann is tough. Ann will tell you why your content sucks, but she will also tell you how to make it better. We love Ann, we follow Ann, we listen to Ann.

10. Jon Loomer | LinkedIn & Twitter

If you’re big on Facebook as the social media network – Jon is your guy. He seems to know all there is to know on how to rock on Facebook. Whether it’s algorithms, ads, groups, content, API, scandals – he’s got the scoop. He is THE social media influencer for Facebook.

11. Jenn Herman | LinkedIn & Twitter

Instagram is your jam? Go for Jenn Herman. Just like Jon is the social media guru of Facebook, Jenn knows her Instagram and she’s not afraid to share it. Also, since Instagram seems to be everyone’s jam nowadays – Jenn should be followed by any social media expert out there.

12. Samantha Kelly | LinkedIn & Twitter

Now if Twitter is your go-to network, you have to get to know Samantha. She is really the Tweeting Goddess and she’ll make you understand Twitter better than freaking Jack Patrick Dorsey does.

13. Robert Katai | LinkedIn & Twitter

Open up a dictionary and look up for the word: PASSION and that’s where you’ll find Robert’s photo. He is one of those people with whom you’d enjoy an honest, no-bullshitty conversation about what’s going on in marketing and social media. Besides being a brand manager for @Bannersnack, he also writes on numerous other websites, preaching his love for marketing.

14. Peg Fitzpatrick | LinkedIn & Twitter

Peg glows, Peg is sparkles, Peg is sprinkles, Peg is smiles & rainbows. Peg covers social media topics with deep insights and wide smiles. You don’t even feel how real it is when reading her opinions. Her optimism makes the content she brings to the table even more delightful. We can’t describe Peg, you’ve got to follow Peg.

15. Jeff Bullas | LinkedIn & Twitter

You’ve got to know Jeff Bullas. We don’t have to tell you about Jeff Bullas because you know him. And he knows you and what you need on social media and content marketing. How would we even talk about a social media influencer that already “influences” over half a million twitter followers?

16. Evan Kirstel | LinkedIn; Twitter

Evan Kirstel is one of the biggest social media influencers out there. He is a huge fan and supporter of tech. Not only will he keep you posted with the latest Sci-Fi advancements but he’ll also help you understand how they impact our marketing world.

17. Pam Moore | LinkedIn; Twitter

Pam, as she puts it, is a Social Nut! However, Pam is more than a social media expert – she’ll tell you about brand, content, storytelling and much more. Also, if you need even more advice, she is the CEO of Marketing Nutz that will go above and beyond for your social media strategy.

18. Rebekah Radice | LinkedIn & Twitter

Rebekah is all about the $$$. She speaks to the hearts of entrepreneurs that want results and are afraid social media won’t bring them. What should you expect from Rebekah? A pragmatic and specific approach. Less about “engagement” and “awareness” and more about results.

19. Mark Schaefer | LinkedIn & Twitter

Mark is that inspirational social media guru that’s better than 3 shots of espresso in the morning. Mark covers a full image of business, omnichannel marketing, and obviously social media. He’s also a great author that we recommend. Follow, read, implement.

20. Matt Navarra | LinkedIn & Twitter

Matt is the former Social Media Director of The Next Web & obviously, a social media thought leader. Matt is the alarm clock of all social media related news. What Facebook’s doing, what Twitter is up to and so on. He takes care of his fans & engages with them pretty nicely.

21. Geoff Desreumaux | LinkedIn & Twitter

Geoff is the Co-founder & Editor in Chief at We are Social Media. He obviously shares the content of WeRSM but other awesome content sources as well. Also, his fresh and honest views are priceless. Trust us, he comes with a delicious feed.

22. Michael Stelzner | LinkedIn & Twitter

Michael Stelzner is awesome! He is the co-founder of Social Media Examiner and the host and genius behind the Social Media Examiner podcast. We might be a little biased because we love their podcast, but still – if you’ve listened to one episode – you’ll get where we’re coming from. Plus, Mike shares top social media content and is really a thought leader.

23. Clarice Lin | LinkedIn & Twitter

Clarice is Founder @ BaselineLabs, a leading digital marketing agency helping businesses grow. She’s super active on LinkedIn. Every week she’s publishing new useful videos on marketing, social media, email marketing to help you improve your business!

24. Dylan Hey | LinkedIn & Twitter

Dylan is the Founder & CEO @ Dylan Hey, a digital agency helping SaaS businesses scale their revenues with Paid Ads with almost 10k followers on LinkedIn. If you’ll follow Dylan on social you’ll find out more about Paid Ads, case studies like improving Instagram Stories impressions in just a few steps and useful tips he’s sharing on social.

25. Tim Queen | LinkedIn & Twitter

Tim is a Marketing Strategist. I connected with Tim on LinkedIn just because he was popping up everywhere generating hundreds of views in his videos and the first piece of content I read, I fell in love with. He answers questions such as – how LinkedIn algorithm works, how to engage better with your LinkedIn followers, or how to optimize a LinkedIn profile.

26. Michaela Alexis | LinkedIn & Twitter

Michaela is the Millennial LinkedIn Strategist. She’s the social media influencer I learn from every day. Michaela helps her audience become LinkedIn rockstars by sharing videos & resources on everything social media-related, including content, productivity tools, podcasts, books, and marketing blogs.

27. Alex Khan | LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram

Alex is CEO @ Attractive Media. If you have a question about Instagram Live, then he’s your guy! More than 400,000 people follow Alex on his social media channels to find out how to become more efficient, tips & tricks on using social media, best filters to use, and many other techniques on his Instagram account.

28. Brian Peters | LinkedIn & Twitter

Brian is an awesome digital marketing manager @ Buffer. Social media is his best friend. Brian is all over Twitter engaging and interacting with other professionals in the space. He speaks about trends, updates in the industry, most important skills to develop, and what to expect in social this year.

29. Ryan Hoover | LinkedIn & Twitter

I’m not even sure if Ryan sleeps cause he’s on Twitter all-the-time. I mean it. He’s constantly sharing all the best social media tools, apps, gadgets and weird things featured on social media. If you want to keep up to date with the latest updates, industry news, startups and product launched to his Twitter account.

30. Goldie Chan | LinkedIn & Twitter

Goldie is a social media strategy leader & personal branding expert. She’s the LinkedIn Top Voice 2018 with over 4M+ content views. Goldie produces top-performing LinkedIn videos like #DailyGoldie & Oprah of LinkedIn. All the lessons learned on social media, main focus this year and LinkedIn marketing hacks in Goldie’s video.

31. Viveka von Rosen | LinkedIn & Twitter  

Viveka is a LinkedIn Expert, Speaker, Trainer & Big Mouth. She’s also the co-founder of Vengreso – digital transformation company. All the best strategies on how to be better social media strategist are shared on her Twitter profile. Whether you are a freelancer, in-house marketer or working in an agency, it will be highly useful to you.

32. Ollie Brazier | LinkedIn & Twitter

Ollie is the Founder @ Oxygen Media. Ollie’s a great resource if you’re a small & medium company. He’s constantly sharing tons of tips on how to generate new leads to your business, how to generate a better ROI from social media and ways to create engaging content.

33. Sam Hurley | LinkedIn & Twitter

I want to be frank – I’ve never seen anyone use that many emojis on social media . But Sam just keeps creating awesome content and I can’t miss it.

34. Sujan Patel | LinkedIn & Twitter

How this guy manages to run @Mailshakeapp @VoilaNorbert @RightInbox @Pick_Hq in the same time, I have no idea… He’s a data-driven marketer and entrepreneur. He is a high energy individual fueled by his passion to help people and solve problems and constantly shares great stuff about social media on his Twitter account.

35. Garrett Moon | LinkedIn & Twitter

Garrett is the CEO @ CoSchedule. Besides running a great company he’s always busy creating stellar pieces of content that convert, including 10x Marketing Formula book he published last year.

36. Rand Fishkin | LinkedIn & Twitter

Rand is Founder @SparkToro. He’s is obsessed with social media & digital marketing. He’s always looking for better keywords, backlinks, and ways to improve the social traffic to his website.

37. Noah Kagan | LinkedIn & Twitter

Tacos, tacos, tacos. That’s probably the best way to describe Noah. He’s is the Founder @ Sumo (Sumo.me & AppSumo). Noah knows everything about social. Really. Just go follow him.

38. Katie Lance | LinkedIn & Twitter

If there’s one thing I’d say about Katie is that she’s got your learning covered no matter the method you prefer. She talks about social media tactics and strategies on her podcast, in her academy, in courses, in Facebook Live, on her blog, in webinars, and in her newsletter. Honestly, I’m struggling to find a content format she’s missed. Other than billboards, I think you can count on her covering it.

39. Lilach Bullock | LinkedIn & Twitter

What I love about Lilach is that she never misses the big picture. She doesn’t only talk social media and the impact of viral posts. She deep dives into social selling, website conversion, SEO, and all the bits and parts in influencer marketing that can impact your business’ results.

40. Joe Pullizi | LinkedIn & Twitter

Joe is one of the big and and epic influencers. He’s published 6 books and spoke on more events than I could count. On Twitter, Joe loves to share quick pieces of advice about content and engage with his 150K+ audience through industry-focused debates and conversations. Oh, and during all that, he’s also running the Orange Effect foundation together with his wife assist financially-challenged families in obtaining speech therapy or technology equipment for their children.

41. Sarah Goodall | LinkedIn & Twitter

Sarah is that type of influencer who lets you in. Every other tweet she shares some real life experiences that either impressed her, amused her, or anything else. Marketing-related, she finds stats, charts, and those types of little gold pieces of content to share with her followers.

42. Amy Porterfield | LinkedIn & Twitter

First off, Amy has an amazing podcast with weekly episodes covering a lot of online marketing topics from Facebook campaigns to creating digital courses. Some of her episodes also have some inspiring guests who share their expertise with her audience.

43. Larry Kim | LinkedIn & Twitter

Larry is one of my favorite influencers. His Twitter has the perfect balance between snackable pieces of content and long-reads for in-depth learning. Larry is all about martech and finding smart solutions to take your team’s results to the next level. Also, he’s the CEO @ Mobile Monkey.

44. John Jantsch | LinkedIn & Twitter

John is the founder of Duct Tape Marketing and is a non-stop river of useful and insightful content. He hosts the podcast with the same name, written some pretty cool books, and always shares the great content they’re producing. John has some amazing experience in the field, so hop on to hear his advice.

45. Rachel Pedersen | LinkedIn & Twitter

Ok so if we’re to talk about realness and authenticity, Rachel’s our gal. She says it like it is, she never avoids talking about her personal life or more controversial opinions which shows transparency and builds trust. Rachel’s one of those influencers who you end up thinking of as a friend.

46. Lee Odden | LinkedIn & Twitter

Lee is the CEO at TopRank Marketing and seems to like lists. That’s why I hope he’ll be excited about being included in this one. Lee most often shares the great articles produced by TopRank Marketing together with some cool finds he discovers.

47. Adriana Tica | LinkedIn & Twitter

Adriana knows her ways around copywriting, SEO, and conversion. She’s the owner of Copywritech and you can tell by her content that she’s a results-driven marketer. Less fluff, more numbers. That’s the type of thought pieces you should expect from one of our favorite influencers, Adriana.

48. Amy Jo Martin | LinkedIn & Twitter

Amy rocks. She’s firstly quite an awesome inspiration for women. She’s a best selling author, podcaster, and speaker. Amy is a new mom and shares her experience on how to rock both worlds. Not to mention, she’s also a fan of those quick tweets that always make you go “aha”.

49. Christine Perkett | LinkedIn & Twitter

Beyond being an amazing marketer, Christine stands for what’s right. She uses her platform to bring awareness to important causes and political events. Follow her if you’re looking for diverse topics.

50. Neil Patel | LinkedIn & Twitter

There’s no list without Neil Patel. He’s one of the greats when it comes to content marketing. Whether it’s his podcast, blog, or Twitter, he always tackles topics with a tactical approach aimed at helping real marketers behind the curtains.

Also, many of them started their own social media courses so that you have some of the best chances to learn directly from these experts. To wrap-up, dear social media fans & experts, we gathered this list of social media influencers to follow so that your morning scroll is as clean & relevant as possible. Let us know if you have any other suggestions & recommendations in the comments!