Too many thoughts, not enough leaders.
There is no shortage of advice online right now. Especially when it comes to social media.
The problem is, many of the sources of information lack credibility and substance. They are failing to effectively implement new media tools for their own business, yet they preach to others what is right and wrong with social marketing.
We are in unchartered territory for business owners. Consumers have been empowered with a voice they never had before. This changes everything we know about marketing.
Who you decide to listen to has never been more important.
I pride myself on being a curator of great information. A lot of it comes from the three people mentioned below.
For that I thank them.
Their advice doesn’t just make sense, it also makes the companies they work with dollars.
A highly underrated metric as of late.
3 Social Media Gurus Actually Worth Listening To
1. Mitch Joel
I was first introduced to Mitch Joel three years ago when a friend recommended his book, “Six Pixels of Separation.” It’s truly a must-read. The best way I can describe the book is that it reminded me of Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Crush It,” except it focuses on businesses, not bloggers. Mitch is a partner at Twist Image, a highly sought-after digital marketing agency based in Canada. The Twist Image blog is an amazing resource for marketers. Be sure to check it out on your mobile device to see a mobile website done brilliantly. Mitch releases a new Podcast every Sunday that I never miss, also entitled Six Pixels of Separation. With more than 300 past episodes in iTunes, Mitch has built a digital footprint second to none. His past guest list reads like a who’s who of the marketing, PR and social media spaces.
2. Neil Patel
Neil Patel is the founder of KISSmetrics. KISS (keep it simple, stupid) provides easy to understand and use social media analytics software. More importantly, their blog has some of the best and most in-depth research on the Web regarding the usage of social media for business. I especially enjoy their extremely well-done Infographics and Marketing Guides. Neil also founded and blogs frequently at Quick Spout. In my opinion, no one does list style posts (7 ways to accomplish X) better than Neil Patel.
3. Dan Zarella
You are more than likely familiar with HubSpot, the inbound marketing company that seems to be everywhere. Dan Zarella is their social media scientist. Dan is hyperfocused on helping businesses generate results based on data, not gut or emotion. I especially enjoyed his research about the importance of timing with social media. When you update can be as important as what you update. Dan doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to his beliefs on what works and what doesn’t. His approach could even be considered brash. His confidence and swagger come from the homework and research he puts in — something we should all thank him for. Dan is extremely refreshing in an era of “Kumbaya” gurus. Dan has written two great books and also just released a really neat tool for instantly analyzing Twitter data. He blogs regularly on his own site as well as on the HubSpot blog.
I’m planning a follow-up post where I profile additional “gurus that get it.”
Who do you think should make the list?
