Social Media Marketing World is the premier event for all social media marketers. This year it’s taking place in San Diego from Wednesday February 28th to Friday, March 2nd, 2018. It provides a unique opportunity for marketers to learn from leading industry experts and network with thousands of marketing professionals. If you’re keen to keep up to date with the ever-changing nature of social media and discover the latest tactics, this is the place to be.
TopRank Marketing recently published a great blog listing the top 50 Social Media Marketing Influencers to Learn From in 2018, which looked at the speakers for the SMMW18 conference and made some great recommendations on which presentations to see, who to follow online and who to set up a meeting with.
We wanted to add to this analysis and look at the wider social media conversation among an audience of nearly 16K social media marketers to collate a list of who is driving the most influence across all social media marketing related topics in the run up to the conference.
TOP TRACKS DISCUSSED IN THE RUN UP TO THE CONFERENCE
We were really interested in seeing which #SMMW18 “Tracks” (topics used to categorize all the keynote speeches and panel discussions) received the most attention in the run up to the conference, so we analyzed all the social media posts from November 25th 2017 – February 27th 2018 from an audience of 16K+ social media marketing influencers. This is an audience that we have built up over the past few years by capturing the most prominent contributors the the SMM conversations on twitter, to understand who was most influential in driving discussions.
We looked at social topical influence as well as topical authority by analyzing both their social engagement on Twitter and how much influencers were referenced in association with the track topics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Forums, Blogs, News and Tumblr content. The chart below shows the topic share of voice among the top SMM influencers in the lead up to the conference:
In comparison at #SMM17 the most frequently mentioned topics at the conference were Social Media Marketing, Twitter, Storytelling, Influencer Marketing, Content marketing, Live Streaming, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and #AI. If you want to look at our analysis of the conference last year click here!
TOP INFLUENCERS FOR EACH TRACK
We wanted to take a deeper dive into the top 5 tracks at the conference to uncover who the top 25 influencers were in each topic area. In addition to these 5 lists we decided that because influencer marketing was a trending topic at last year’s conference (actually more spoken about than content marketing) we would add an extra 6th list of the top influencer marketing influencers.
1. TOP INFLUENCERS DISCUSSING BLOGGING
Below is a list of the top 25 influencers discussing blogging ahead of #SMMW18. If you want to see who ranks from 1-50 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button below!
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| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @neilpatel | Neil Patel | 100 |
| 2 | @markwschaefer | Mark Schaefer | 93.65 |
| 3 | @MarketingProfs | Ann Handley | 84.73 |
| 4 | @jeffbullas | Jeff Bullas | 72.67 |
| 5 | @mike_allton | Mike Allton | 66.37 |
| 6 | @randfish | Rand Fishkin | 62.08 |
| 7 | @problogger | Darren Rowse | 61.7 |
| 8 | @lilachbullock | Lilach Bullock | 54.48 |
| 9 | @RyanBiddulph | Ryan Biddulph | 39.24 |
| 10 | @larrykim | Larry Kim | 38.85 |
| 11 | @crestodina | Andy Crestodina | 31.71 |
| 12 | @NealSchaffer | Neal Schaffer | 30.42 |
| 13 | @GuyKawasaki | Guy Kawasaki | 29.03 |
| 14 | @BrennerMichael | Michael Brenner | 27.37 |
| 15 | @SandraJClayton | Sandra Clayton | 27.35 |
| 16 | @syedbalkhi | Syed Balkhi | 27.02 |
| 17 | @Mike_Stelzner | Michael A. Stelzner | 25.68 |
| 18 | @PegFitzpatrick | Peg Fitzpatrick | 24.42 |
| 19 | @iSocialFanz | Brian Fanzo | 24.26 |
| 20 | @MariSmith | Mari Smith | 22.2 |
| 21 | @jaybaer | Jay Baer | 21.96 |
| 22 | @ChelseaKrost | Chelsea Krost | 21.02 |
| 23 | @LisaDJenkins | Lisa D. Jenkins | 19.33 |
| 24 | @MarshaCollier | Marsha Collier | 19.32 |
| 25 | @JasonMillerCA | Jason A Miller | 18.37 |
2. TOP INFLUENCERS DISCUSSING TWITTER
Below is a list of the top 25 influencers discussing Twitter ahead of #SMMW18. If you want to see who ranks from 1-50 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button above!
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @garyvee | Gary Vaynerchuk | 100 |
| 2 | @randfish | Rand Fishkin | 15.44 |
| 3 | @MarketingProfs | Ann Handley | 10.78 |
| 4 | @leeodden | Lee Odden | 8.42 |
| 5 | @neilpatel | Neil Patel | 5.47 |
| 6 | @jeffbullas | Jeff Bullas | 2.74 |
| 7 | @martinjonesaz | Martin Jones | 2.74 |
| 8 | @evankirstel | Evan Kirstel | 2.59 |
| 9 | @larrykim | Larry Kim | 2.21 |
| 10 | @lilachbullock | Lilach Bullock | 2.13 |
| 11 | @markwschaefer | Mark Schaefer | 1.75 |
| 12 | @jaybaer | Jay Baer | 1.61 |
| 13 | @MelonieDodaro | Melonie Dodaro | 1.32 |
| 14 | @dgingiss | Dan Gingiss | 0.94 |
| 15 | @MadalynSklar | Madalyn Sklar | 0.92 |
| 16 | @MarshaCollier | Marsha Collier | 0.9 |
| 17 | @tim_fargo | Tim Fargo | 0.88 |
| 18 | @g_kohls | Garf | 0.82 |
| 19 | @Sam___Hurley | Sam Hurley | 0.82 |
| 20 | @ValaAfshar | Vala Afshar | 0.79 |
| 21 | @NealSchaffer | Neal Schaffer | 0.79 |
| 22 | @sujanpatel | Sujan Patel | 0.75 |
| 23 | @kimgarst | Kim Garst | 0.69 |
| 24 | @thomaspower | Thomas Power | 0.66 |
| 25 | @adhutchinson | Andrew Hutchinson | 0.61 |
MAPPING THE COMMUNITY
Below you can see a network map of the online #SMMW18 conversation. This map was created with Onalytica’s Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM). Be sure to click on the map to enjoy the full size network diagram in greater detail.
3. TOP INFLUENCERS DISCUSSING VIDEO MARKETING
Below is a list of the top 25 influencers discussing video marketing ahead of #SMMW18.
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @garyvee | Gary Vaynerchuk | 100 |
| 2 | @Mike_Stelzner | Michael A. Stelzner | 51.07 |
| 3 | @marshawright | Real Marsha Wright | 49.66 |
| 4 | @MarketingProfs | Ann Handley | 43.33 |
| 5 | @jeffbullas | Jeff Bullas | 31.72 |
| 6 | @MadalynSklar | Madalyn Sklar | 30.4 |
| 7 | @dennisyu | Dennis Yu | 30.12 |
| 8 | @larrykim | Larry Kim | 28.75 |
| 9 | @neilpatel | Neil Patel | 28.72 |
| 10 | @PegFitzpatrick | Peg Fitzpatrick | 28.54 |
| 11 | @sellingtools | Nancy Nardin | 27.74 |
| 12 | @joelcomm | Joel Comm | 25.35 |
| 13 | @MariSmith | Mari Smith | 24.96 |
| 14 | @iSocialFanz | Brian Fanzo | 23.04 |
| 15 | @LinkedInExpert | Viveka von Rosen | 22.79 |
| 16 | @NealSchaffer | Neal Schaffer | 22.73 |
| 17 | @BrennerMichael | Michael Brenner | 21.66 |
| 18 | @jaybaer | Jay Baer | 20.8 |
| 19 | @GuyKawasaki | Guy Kawasaki | 20.5 |
| 20 | @dougkessler | Doug Kessler | 20.15 |
| 21 | @CynthiaLIVE | Cynthia Johnson | 19.74 |
| 22 | @dannysullivan | Danny Sullivan | 19.42 |
| 23 | @RebekahRadice | Rebekah Radice | 19.42 |
| 24 | @ronsela | Ron Sela | 19.33 |
| 25 | @iRossBrand | Ross Brand | 18.3 |
4. TOP INFLUENCERS DISCUSSING CONTENT MARKETING
Below is a list of the top 25 influencers discussing content marketing at #SMMW18. If you want to see who ranks from 1-50 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button below!
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @leeodden | Lee Odden | 100 |
| 2 | @MarketingProfs | Ann Handley | 95.22 |
| 3 | @JoePulizzi | Joe Pulizzi | 56.61 |
| 4 | @neilpatel | Neil Patel | 42.86 |
| 5 | @annhandley | Ann Handley | 36.44 |
| 6 | @BrennerMichael | Michael Brenner | 18.51 |
| 7 | @Robert_Rose | Robert Rose | 16.13 |
| 8 | @jeffbullas | Jeff Bullas | 10.39 |
| 9 | @jaybaer | Jay Baer | 8.21 |
| 10 | @steverayson | Steve Rayson | 7.17 |
| 11 | @larrykim | Larry Kim | 6.76 |
| 12 | @markwschaefer | Mark Schaefer | 5.96 |
| 13 | @brianclark | Brian Clark | 5.79 |
| 14 | @crestodina | Andy Crestodina | 5.43 |
| 15 | @CarlaJohnson | Carla Johnson | 4.55 |
| 16 | @heidicohen | HeidiCohen | 4.44 |
| 17 | @GuyKawasaki | Guy Kawasaki | 3.27 |
| 18 | @lilachbullock | Lilach Bullock | 2.64 |
| 19 | @seosmarty | Ann Smarty | 2.45 |
| 20 | @MariSmith | Mari Smith | 2.37 |
| 21 | @NealSchaffer | Neal Schaffer | 2.24 |
| 22 | @RebekahRadice | Rebekah Radice | 2.04 |
| 23 | @shane_barker | Shane Barker | 2.02 |
| 24 | @marktraphagen | Mark Traphagen | 1.84 |
| 25 | @JoeLazauskas | Joe Lazauskas | 1.77 |
5. TOP INFLUENCERS DISCUSSING FACEBOOK
Below is a list of the top 25 influencers discussing Facebook ahead of #SMMW18.
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @garyvee | Gary Vaynerchuk | 100 |
| 2 | @MarketingProfs | Ann Handley | 96.97 |
| 3 | @neilpatel | Neil Patel | 93.65 |
| 4 | @jeffbullas | Jeff Bullas | 86.21 |
| 5 | @larrykim | Larry Kim | 79.29 |
| 6 | @Mike_Stelzner | Michael A. Stelzner | 78.93 |
| 7 | @martinjonesaz | Martin Jones | 77.62 |
| 8 | @MariSmith | Mari Smith | 65.75 |
| 9 | @jonloomer | Jon Loomer | 64.2 |
| 10 | @jaybaer | Jay Baer | 62.1 |
| 11 | @markwschaefer | Mark Schaefer | 61.01 |
| 12 | @GuyKawasaki | Guy Kawasaki | 54.87 |
| 13 | @johnhall | John Hall | 54.19 |
| 14 | @dennisyu | Dennis Yu | 52.47 |
| 15 | @NealSchaffer | Neal Schaffer | 52.18 |
| 16 | @kimgarst | Kim Garst | 49.46 |
| 17 | @marktraphagen | Mark Traphagen | 47.94 |
| 18 | @AndreaVahl | AndreaVahl | 47.25 |
| 19 | @TedRubin | Ted Rubin | 46.21 |
| 20 | @AskAaronLee | Aaron Lee | 44.98 |
| 21 | @joelcomm | Joel Comm | 43.88 |
| 22 | @zaibatsu | Reg Saddler | 42.77 |
| 23 | @PegFitzpatrick | Peg Fitzpatrick | 42.45 |
| 24 | @PamMktgNut | Pam Moore | 42.32 |
| 25 | @RebekahRadice | Rebekah Radice | 42.31 |
Below is a list of the top 25 influencers discussing influencer marketing ahead of #SMMW18. If you want to see who ranks from 1-50 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button below!
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @leeodden | Lee Odden | 100 |
| 2 | @MarketingProfs | Ann Handley | 59.44 |
| 3 | @rachelloumiller | Rachel Miller | 23.5 |
| 4 | @briansolis | Brian Solis | 21.22 |
| 5 | @JoePulizzi | Joe Pulizzi | 12.45 |
| 6 | @garyvee | Gary Vaynerchuk | 9.5 |
| 7 | @TamaraMcCleary | Tamara McCleary | 8.89 |
| 8 | @neilpatel | Neil Patel | 8.88 |
| 9 | @jeffbullas | Jeff Bullas | 7.96 |
| 10 | @larrykim | Larry Kim | 6.52 |
| 11 | @BrennerMichael | Michael Brenner | 6.24 |
| 12 | @Mike_Stelzner | Michael A. Stelzner | 5.37 |
| 13 | @jaybaer | Jay Baer | 4.29 |
| 14 | @shane_barker | Shane Barker | 2.93 |
| 15 | @NealSchaffer | Neal Schaffer | 2.91 |
| 16 | @iSocialFanz | Brian Fanzo | 2.44 |
| 17 | @LewisHowes | Lewis Howes | 2.36 |
| 18 | @markwschaefer | Mark Schaefer | 2.06 |
| 19 | @MariSmith | Mari Smith | 1.89 |
| 20 | @markfidelman | Mark Fidelman | 1.64 |
| 21 | @GuyKawasaki | Guy Kawasaki | 1.51 |
| 22 | @MadalynSklar | Madalyn Sklar | 1.45 |
| 23 | @kimgarst | Kim Garst | 1.28 |
| 24 | @seosmarty | Ann Smarty | 1.28 |
| 25 | @RebekahRadice | Rebekah Radice | 1.27 |
At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Virtual Reality, Digital Health, Digital Marketing) be sure to take a look at our blog or why not propose some topics to us on Twitter?
Effective influencer marketing starts with identifying relevant influencers for your brand. Onalytica’s platform mines over 200 billion posts a year into a curated database of over 500K global social media influencers, analyzing data from Twitter, Blogs, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn Profile Links + Demographic Data. Our software enables you to identify influencers by topic, demographic or content and includes real-time tracking and measurement reporting to scale your influencer relations.
Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands and individuals listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion around Social Media Marketing and it’s related topics.
The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. These calculations also take into account an individual’s relevance (number of posts on topic), reach (number of followers or subscribers), resonance (how much engagement they’re driving) and reference (an authority metric measuring how often they are referenced by other influencers). If you want to learn more, please read our article that outlines influencer identification.
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Top Influencers to engage with ahead of the conference
Download this free report which reveals the top influencers to engage with ahead of #SMMW18