We’ve used an innovative new influencer identification and relationship tool (Lumanu) to identify the Top 100 Content Marketing Influencers from 2016. The tool leverages the power of machine learning to find and analyse content that is consumed across blogs, articles and social to uncover the most influential thought leaders for any topic.
Lumanu is unlike any other tool because it starts at the content layer and is able to identify influencers based on the relevance and performance (Domain Authority, views, social engagement) of the content they create for any specified topic.
From their website: “It’s like Buzzsumo and Jarvis from Iron Man had a really, REALLY smart baby”
Congratulations to everyone that made the list! Scroll down to see who made the Top 100.
My buddy Josh Steimle has an awesome course for those of you who want to become influencers, it’s completely free, go check it out here.
Lumanu grades influencers on 3 areas;
Authority: The weighted average MOZ domain authority of sites this influencer has access to.
Reach: The average monthly visitors across domains this influencer has access to.
Impact: The average social engagement per piece of content created by this influencer within this topic.
We reached out to the top Content Marketing Influencers from 2016 and asked them what they had to say about Content marketing in 2016.
“ The easiest way to turn off your community members is to broadcast the same message across multiple channels. Instead, determine the kind of content that interests the members of your community in a way that is useful to them.”
” We need to create a business strategy for our content. That means saying no to many channels and content types, and focus on where we can build an asset, an audience, over time.”
“ Content Marketing should be seen as a “continuous marketing” tactic. This is different to the old paradigm of campaign marketing.
The content marketing beast needs to be fed every day.
The search engines require tickling and the prospects need to be reminded that you are alive and kicking online.
Brand building requires more than unique content, mind bending insights or ideas with gravitas. Vanity metrics are also not enough anymore.
It needs to ripple across the social web. Dropping into inboxes, LinkedIn and online conversations.
Just having it sit on your site is not enough. It needs to go on a journey. It needs to move. It also has to work. At the end of the day it needs to convert attention into a real ROI. Leads and sales”
“There are 4 main trends in Content Marketing right now: Specialization, Visualization, Personalization, and Humanization
Specialization will see brands moving beyond trying to be everything to everyone or everything to someone and being something important to a highly targeted audience. Creating a niche they can own.
Visualization sounds so obvious. But for brands this is a tough one. Visual content has to be engaging, emotional, and authentic. And visual content takes budget and skills many brands haven’t invested in as much as they need to.
Personalization is, in my mind, one of the biggest trends for 2017. The rise in adoption of Marketing Automation, Account-Based Marketing, and other technologies support this trend and will enable true personalization.
Finally, Humanization is important because one of the best ways to scale content marketing without massive investment is to tap into the expertise, the authority, and the real passions of the employees, customers, partners that already sit inside the company.“
“At its core, Content Marketing is all about giving your audience something it wants. But as market paradigms shift, available technologies evolve, and users find themselves with changing preferences, “what your audience wants” becomes a harder question to answer.
As more companies enter the fold of Content Marketing, competing for a slice of that ROI pie, and experienced companies push forward to find new ways to connect with their audiences, Content Marketing trends emerge and evolve—and 2016 has been no exception to that rule.”
You may notice that some influencers score higher in all 3 areas but are ranked lower. The rankings are primarily determined by the quantity and relevancy of the content each author creates.
Rank | Name | Authority | Reach | Impact | |
#1 | @JoePulizzi | Joe Pulizzi | 84 | 1.1M | 941 |
#2 | @jeffbullas | Jeff Bullas | 71.5 | 656.0K | 1461 |
#3 | @BrennerMichael | Michael Brenner | 40.44 | 257.5K | 839 |
#4 | @neilpatel | Neil Patel | 81.31 | 18.8M | 1322 |
#5 | @jaysondemers | Jayson DeMers | 94.85 | 95.1M | 959 |
#6 | @MikeTempleman1 | Mike Templeman | 96 | 117.2M | 862 |
#7 | @JoeLazauskas | Joe Lazauskas | 67 | 811.3K | 884 |
#8 | @TweetsFromPawan | Pawan Deshpande | 69.13 | 14.8M | 965 |
#9 | @JasonMillerCA | Jason Miller | 96 | 2.1M | 654 |
#10 | @steveolenski | Steve Olenski | 94.57 | 84.4M | 746 |
#11 | @irfanahmad1989 | Irfan Ahmad | 63.57 | 935.4K | 2238 |
#12 | @sujanpatel | Sujan Patel | 81.43 | 50.7M | 1475 |
#13 | @dreckbaerfrau | Susanna Gebauer | 43.33 | 198.1K | 508 |
#14 | @Joderama | Jodi Harris | 84 | 1.1M | 1261 |
#15 | @johnrampton | John Rampton | 83.33 | 48.9M | 1554 |
#16 | @SmallBizBrian | Brian Sutter | 96 | 117.2M | 6855 |
#17 | @lieblink | Rebecca Lieb | 84 | 1.7M | 850 |
#18 | @heidicohen | Heidi Cohen | 65.2 | 854.7K | 742 |
#19 | @tessawegert | Tessa Wegert | 67 | 811.3K | 681 |
#20 | @QuinnCW | Quinn Whissen | 84 | 1.7M | 653 |
#21 | @stonetemple | Eric Enge | 64.8 | 1.4M | 654 |
#22 | @anngynn | Ann Gynn | 84 | 1.1M | 1054 |
#23 | @ajagrawal24 | AJ Agrawal | 92.25 | 45.4M | 503 |
#24 | @GrantLingel | Grant Lingel | 38.75 | 81.7K | 1057 |
#25 | @michelelinn | Michele Linn | 84 | 1.1M | 1033 |
#26 | @jaybaer | Jay Baer | 57.75 | 411.1K | 513 |
#27 | @JuntaeDeLane | Juntae DeLane | 31 | 1.4K | 550 |
#28 | @steverayson | Steve Rayson | 76 | 1.8M | 687 |
#29 | @michaelgerard | Michael Gerard | 66 | 206.8K | 431 |
#30 | @amandawalgrove | Amanda Walgrove | 67 | 811.3K | 816 |
#31 | @GerryMoran | Gerry Moran | 44.75 | 605.6K | 370 |
#32 | @jackstimps | Jack Simpson | 78 | 1.6M | 492 |
#33 | @JuliaEMcCoy | Julia McCoy | 84 | 1.3M | 804 |
#34 | @EcommerceBoy | Armando Roggio | 71 | 1.2M | 289 |
#35 | @JusticeMitchell | Justice Mitchell | 51 | 143.8K | 228 |
#36 | @leeodden | Lee Odden | 55.25 | 232.2K | 822 |
#37 | @ayaznanji | Ayaz Nanji | 81 | 822.7K | 350 |
#38 | @JulieGTR | Julie Gauthier | 89 | 66.0K | 336 |
#39 | @herrhuld | Ben Davis | 78 | 1.6M | 596 |
#40 | @annhandley | Ann Handley | 72.67 | 559.3K | 991 |
#41 | @dougkessler | Doug Kessler | 52 | 2.0M | 285 |
#42 | @danielnewmanUV | Daniel Newman | 32 | 39.1M | 640 |
#43 | @johnhall | John Hall | 94.33 | 85.3M | 1091 |
#44 | @shanesnow | Shane Snow | 67 | 811.3K | 1344 |
#45 | @demianfarnworth | Demian Farnworth | 88 | 1.3M | 1370 |
#46 | @CTrevien | Claire Trévien | 43 | 15.6K | 546 |
#47 | @phoenixorflame | Amy Wood | 65 | 1.4M | 842 |
#48 | @PamellaNeely | Pam Neely | 77 | 789.0K | 589 |
#49 | @lakey | Chris Lake | 80.67 | 1.5M | 3676 |
#50 | @Frank_Strong | Frank Strong | 59.5 | 1.0M | 479 |
#51 | @centmuru | Cent Muruganandam | 55 | 439.1K | 277 |
#52 | @andjdavies | Andrew Davies | 63.5 | 854.8K | 218 |
#53 | @shane_barker | Shane Barker | 80 | 2.3M | 484 |
#54 | @PerryDMN | Perry Simpson | 76 | 192.4K | 261 |
#55 | @FX_Digital | Steve Cartwright | 39 | 22.8K | 282 |
#56 | @AndreaFryrear | Andrea Fryrear | 84 | 1.1M | 716 |
#57 | @emfeatherstone | Emma Featherstone | 98 | 335.2M | 817 |
#58 | @BillCarmody | Bill Carmody | 91 | 21.5M | 191 |
#59 | @ArnieK | Arnie Kuenn | 42 | 550.0K | 738 |
#60 | @jeffreylcohen | Jeff Cohen | 98 | 2.9M | 337 |
#61 | @benplomion | Ben Plomion | 77 | 548.1K | 450 |
#62 | @chaninballance | Chanin Ballance | 79.5 | 686.0K | 427 |
#63 | @bernieborges | Bernie Borges | 83 | 2.0M | 397 |
#64 | @jimyu | Jim Yu | 85 | 1.5M | 720 |
#65 | @rachelindteigen | Rachel Lindteigen | 84 | 1.7M | 1458 |
#66 | @dillonmbaker | Dillon Baker | 67 | 811.3K | 457 |
#67 | @SFBakerGeek | Ashley Taylor Anderson | 83 | 1.7M | 694 |
#68 | @DerekEdmond | Derek Edmond | 91 | 2.5M | 1484 |
#69 | @RebekahRadice | Rebekah Radice | 54 | 1.1M | 1516 |
#70 | @samslaughter215 | Sam Slaughter | 67 | 811.3K | 391 |
#71 | @missanna_f | Anna Francis | 78 | 1.6M | 876 |
#72 | @vsciarrillo | Valter Sciarrillo | 100 | 2.4M | 1846 |
#73 | @DomNicastro | Dom Nicastro | 75 | 416.2K | 598 |
#74 | @kevanlee | Kevan Lee | 91 | 2.9M | 2697 |
#75 | @gcharlton | Graham Charlton | 82 | 1.5M | 1140 |
#76 | @terezalitsa | Tereza Litsa | 86 | 1.3M | 1454 |
#77 | @soniasimone | Sonia Simone | 88 | 1.3M | 2335 |
#78 | @Bryan_phc | Bryan Adams | 52 | 13.7K | 550 |
#79 | @Corey_bos | Corey Wainwright | 91 | 9.6M | 1520 |
#80 | @TrondLyngbo | Trond Lyngbø | 91 | 2.5M | 3064 |
#81 | @AntonyMesser | Tony Messer | 79.5 | 1.1M | 742 |
#82 | @BrentPohlman | Brent Pohlman | 41 | 1.2M | 174 |
#83 | @egomes1019 | Ellen Gomes | 78 | 198.7K | 1209 |
#84 | @KelseyLibert | Kelsey Libert | 89.5 | 6.2M | 5109 |
#85 | @MLasquite | Mydee Lasquite | 57 | 72.9K | 232 |
#86 | @NickWestergaard | Nick Westergaard | 85.5 | 5.2M | 12563 |
#87 | @markwalkerford | Mark Ford | 44 | 56.3K | 965 |
#88 | @seosmarty | Ann Smarty | 79 | 1.7M | 413 |
#89 | @Rob_H_Allen | Robert Allen | 79 | 1.5M | 419 |
#90 | @jogebauer | Jonathan Gebauer | 37 | 93.4K | 1511 |
#91 | @alexandra_barca | Alex Barca | 66 | 206.8K | 468 |
#92 | @JamilVelji | Jamil Velji | 25 | 18.5K | 4187 |
#93 | @CJScribe | Laura Tate | 83 | 2.0M | 515 |
#94 | @MelonieDodaro | Melonie Dodaro | 45 | 57.1K | 4643 |
#95 | @msweezey | Mathew Sweezey | 38.5 | 274.1K | 404 |
#96 | @BrianHonigman | Brian Honigman | 23 | 4.7K | 1576 |
#97 | @yaelwrites | Yael Grauer | 67 | 811.3K | 303 |
#98 | @garrett_moon | Garrett Moon | 78 | 2.1M | 1656 |
#99 | @mitchellhall | Mitchell Hall | 66 | 206.8K | 522 |
#100 | @itsjessicann | Jessica Ann | 71.5 | 606.9K | 794 |
Would you like to become an influencer and make it onto a similar list like this? My buddy Josh Steimle has an awesome course for those of you who want to become influencers, it’s completely free, go check it out here.
We got the guys over at Visme to create a cool infographic for this list post, check it out below!