Content marketing has become increasingly more important as brands aim to connect with customers on a personal level. Tailoring your content to fit the needs of the customer while making sure it aligns with your brand’s message can be a daunting task. In fact, our recent Content Marketing Survey found that only 63.9 percent of marketers thought their content was tailored to the customers’ needs.

Seeking advice from experts is crucial to the success of your marketing campaign – and we’re here to help you do just that. Check out our list of the Top 10 Content Marketing Influencers below.

1. Jeff Bullas (@jeffbullas) excels in everything marketing – from developing content to executing social media strategies, this guy’s got you covered. He was named #1 Content Marketing Influencer by Onalytica, and we can’t argue with that. Bullas also earned a spot in Forbes Top 10 Social Media Influencers and has the #1 Global Business Blog – which receives over 5 million views per year. Bullas’ goal is to help brands optimize their online presence using emerging technologies, content, social media and digital marketing. Check out his twitter or blog linked above for the latest industry trends!

2. Ann Handley (@annhandley) is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, which provides marketers with the tools, training and strategies necessary to succeed in the industry. Handley is the author of Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Ridiculously Good Content and co-author of the best-selling book Content Rules. In addition to her publishing talent, Handley is also the co-founder of ClickZ.com, a resource for the latest marketing news, research and advice. If you’re not sold on her expertise yet, head over to her website for some fresh content marketing insights – you won’t be disappointed!

“Quality content means content that is packed with clear utility and is brimming with inspiration, and it has relentless empathy for the audience.” – Ann Handley, Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

3. Michael Brenner (@BrennerMichael) is a highly sought-after keynote speaker with a loyal Twitter following of over 80k. Highlights of his career include his position as founder and CEO of Marketing Insider Group, as well as the publication of his bestselling book, The Content Formula. His work has also been featured in top publications such as The Economist, The Guardian and Entrepreneur magazine. For the latest and greatest advice from Brenner, head over to his website, or sign up for one of his workshop or keynote speaking presentations.

“Content is the atomic particle of all marketing across paid, owned, and earned channels. A Culture of Content starts with an obsession of customer.” – Michael Brenner

4. Doug Kessler (@dougkessler) is the Creative Director and Co-founder of Velocity, a London-based B2B marketing agency that ranks among the best. Their work and advice is showcased in The B2B Content Marketing Strategy Checklist, which received high remarks from several fellow content marketers. You can find Kessler tweeting to his 17k followers about content marketing tips, marketing tech news and the best ways to outperform your brand’s competitors.

“B2B marketers obsess about the rational at the expense of the emotional. The best stuff combines both.” – Doug Kessler

5. Jay Baer (@jaybaer) is the founder of Convince & Convert, a company known for its content creation consulting. When Baer isn’t busy consulting, he’s influencing others through keynote speaking or writing NY Times bestselling books. Jay hosted the Global IBM Conference and has spoken in front of audiences as large as 15,000 people. With a whopping 232k Twitter followers, he must be doing something right!

“Content is the emotional and informational bridge between commerce and consumer.” – Jay Baer

6. Scott Abel (@scottabel) is a consultant at The Content Wrangler, a global digital media company in charge of helping companies connect their content to customers. This content marketing pro is based out of California and is ranked one of the top 50 Most Influential Marketing Thought Leaders by Brand Quarterly magazine. He is the author of several publications, hosts the fifth most popular content-focused webinar and is the co-producer of Information Development World Conference. His many accomplishments and most current content marketing thoughts can be read about in his blog!

7. Aaron Orendorff (@iconiContent) is the founder of iconiContent, offering   professional services in content strategy, content marketing and copywriting. Orendorff was named Forbes Top 25 Marketing Influencers because of his expertise in the industry. He writes for top publications such as The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Business Insider and Aaron’s success comes from realizing that good content takes time and effort, and he is set on delivering exactly that.

8. Joe Pulizzi (@JoePulizzi) or otherwise known as the “content marketing evangelist,” founded the Content Marketing Institute, the leading global content marketing education and training organization. Pulizzi believes that the future of marketing lies in content creation, as he expresses in his speaking opportunities and bi-monthly magazine Chief Content Officer. His Twitter following of over 115k is a testament to the level of content he produces, shares and comments on.

“Mediocre content will hurt your brand more than doing nothing at all.” – Joe Pulizzi

9. John Hall (@johnhall), co-founder and CEO of Influence&CO, a leading content marketing company dedicated to helping brands excel in content creation. Since Hall founded the company five years ago, the team was named Forbes’ Most Promising Companies in America as well as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award. Hall can be found contributing to Forbes and when he isn’t speaking about content marketing best practices. Become one of his 78k followers on Twitter… he won’t disappoint!

10. Jan Gordon (@janlgordon) is the founder and CEO of Curatti, a marketing company whose mission is to provide relevant content and keep businesses informed on trends, people to watch, new strategies and the “best of the best” case studies. Gordon started Curatti with the goal of eliminating the overwhelming aspect of content creation in our digital world today. She was named Top 20 Social Media Global Influencers in 2017 and has garnered almost 23k followers with her up-to-date tweets. Check out the Currati blog for industry insights.

Want to learn more about the latest content marketing industry trends? Check out our 2016 Content Fitness Report!