11 Marketing Experts Whose Insights Could Change Your Business These guys (and gals) help some of the the biggest companies and ad agencies on the planet. Maybe they could help you, too.
By Peter Daisyme Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Looking for guidance as you build your brand and connect with customers? There's a lot of marketing wisdom out there if you just know where to look. And, in this regard 11 industry veterans stand out in particular: Through their books, blogs and public speaking engagements, these experts are helping others make sense of today's marketing landscape.
Related: 8 Rookie Marketing Mistakes I Made But You Don't Have To
1. Hope Horner
Raised in Tennessee,now living in Southern California, Hope Horner has been featured as one of Inc.'s 25 Inspiring Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017.
Currently the CEO of Lemonlight Media, an emerging video marketing company that's winning kudos across the nation, Horner has shared her personal insights and stories -- many gleaned from her Pepperdine University beginnings and her three startup ventures --through the biggest publishing platforms on the internet, including Entrepreneur and the Huffington Post.
2. Erin Berman
A self-described storyteller and brand strategist, Erin Berman founded Blackbeard Studios after consulting for dozens of startups and traveling to the farthest corners of the globe.
Her fresh insights into company scalability -- fostered by effective, contemporary storytelling -- have made her a sought-after workshop presenter across the Bay Area. No stranger to Silicon Valley, Berman earned her master's degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco.
3. Roy Raanani
As CEO and co-founder of Chorus.ai, which provides conversation intelligence for sales teams, Roy Raanani combines his engineering background with his passions for sales, customer success and marketing to leverage the power of artificial intelligence.
Raanani has mastered the intersection of technology and marketing science to deliver a new take on targeting audiences and improving the sales process for companies of all sizes. His career has involved creating his own startups as well as advising on strategy and operations.
Related: 10 Online Marketers to Follow for Inspiration and Growth
4. Mihael Mikek
Mihael Mikek is the founder and CEO of Celtra, a creative-management platform that helps companies create effective native and video ads as well as other formats that are targeted and relevant.
His vision led to the development of a pioneering cloud-based SaaS platform that helps the largest global advertisers improve their creative. The company now powers advertising for two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies and delivers ad experiences in more than 30 global markets per year.
5. Stacy Durand
Stacy Durand is the CEO of Media Design Group, a media-buying agency that prides itself on meeting audiences wherever they may be.
Durand has said she sees herself as an energetic cheerleader for her company, helping her team stay creative, attentive, energetic and knowledgeable in order to zero in on a company's target audience with TV advertising in an ever-expanding world of streaming and smart devices.
6. Jørn Lyseggen
Jørn Lyseggen is the founder and CEO of Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence. In 2008, Lyseggen founded MEST (Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology) in Accra, Ghana, on the belief that talent is everywhere, though opportunity is not.
This belief has been the foundation for MEST, which is working to create work and wealth in Africa through a new generation of successful global software entrepreneurs on the continent.
7. Marcus Sheridan
When Marcus Sheridan saved his floundering swimming pool business after the dramatic economic crash of 2008, the New York Times dubbed him a web marketing guru.
Sheridan's powerful story of resilience inspired the book Mashable called the No. 1 marketing read in 2017, They Ask You Answer. Lovingly referred to as "The Sales Lion," Sheridan has displayed a digital marketing acumen that's becomes internationally well known and has made him a trusted corporate brand advisor.
8. Jay Baer
One Jay Baer keynote is all it takes to understand why this New York Times best-selling author is a hit with audiences and readers. The founder of strategy consulting firm Convince & Convert, Baer consistently delivers trend-worthy and notable content across multiple channels as resources for business executives.
In addition, he's an active venture capitalist looking for new places to invest.
9. Mari Smith
Mari Smith has become known as a digital marketing expert, training small business owners in the ways of building traffic, subscribers, clients, alliances and targeted media attention. Smith has built these skills over the course of 10 years, with specialties in Facebook and Twitter.
The Canada native travels to the United States regularly to present keynotes and training seminars and has shared a stage with notable figures like the Dalai Lama, former South African President F.W. de Klerk, and celebrity Paula Abdul.
10. Heidi Cohen
Heidi Cohen is arguably one of the most well-rounded marketers working today. Her expertise is not limited to one domain. From textiles to financial services to entertainment, Cohen has honed her skills into her Actionable Marketing Guide, a blog providing insights on social media, mobile, branding, public relations, and small business.
11. Andy Crestodina
Co-founder and strategic director of Orbit Media Studios, an award-winning Chicago-based web design company, Andy Crestodina specializes in content marketing, social media and analytics. Crestodina seeks to make each topic accessible.
With more than 20 years of keynote speaking experience, Crestodina is consistently named a top presenter at prestigious events, including Content Marketing World's 2015 conference. He is also the author of Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing, which addresses web marketing and theory in practice.
Related: 8 Experts Predict The Digital Marketing Trends For 2017
These 11 industry leaders can point you down the path to better engagement and connections with your customers. With so much marketing wisdom available, there's no reason not to use it — and strengthen your own marketing efforts.
