Marketing has got to be one of the most dynamic industries that exists in the modern age. New concepts, technologies and understandings are emerging constantly, yet many old fundamentals still hold true. This brings about the need to a be creative and innovative whilst maintaining core-principles based on traditional theories, making for a truly complex scope that takes a day to learn but a lifetime to master.
Due to the increasing complexity of the marketing industry, it has become hard to keep up as a business owner, let alone create a name for yourself as a reputable marketer in the modern era. There is so much clutter to compete with that unless you’re employing the industry’s best practices, you’ll probably struggle to make message heard and differentiate your brand.
As a company that’s just establishing roots in digital marketing in Nottingham, United Kingdom, we’re learning the best practices in the UK market. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of outstanding digital marketers in the UK sphere with expertise in the fields of advertising, branding, mobile, digital, SEO, social media and many more. We’d highly recommend following these experts to learn from what they’ve achieved, what they studied and what they’ve experienced.
From pioneers to prophets, here are our picks for the top 10 marketers to look out for in 2017:
(In alphabetical order)
1. Lilach Bullock (@lilachbullock)
Website: lilachbullock.com
Potentially the most influential social media guru in the UK, Lilach Bullock has been on many a top marketer list including the “2014 Forbe’s Top 20 Women Social Media Influencers” and Oracle’s most recent “Social Influencer of Europe”. Co-founding Communications Axis and founding Socialable, Lilach has unparalleled experience when it comes to social media-based entrepreneurship.
Lilach Tweets about her company’s posts and mixes things up with other on-topic content such as strategies, solutions and useful information about social media marketing. Believe me when I say there’s a reason Lilach has one of the largest followings of anyone on this list.
2. Dr Dave Chaffey (@davechaffey)
Website: https://blog.davechaffey.com/
Dave Chaffey is the co-founder and editor at Smart Insights, an online organization that offers digital marketing training courses and advice. They aim to help businesses get better results with their digital marketing through membership-based online education.
Dave’s tweets are mainly links to Smart Insights articles but he does include content from his own site as well as ideas from the writers at Smart Insights. You can also visit his website for detailed articles and infographics about digital marketing strategies, trends and resources.
3. Laura-May Coope (@lauramaycoope)
Website: http://youneedasociallife.co.uk/
Laura is the director and co-founder at Social Life, a company that specializes in bringing broadcasters and brands together with young audiences online. Social Life is most well known for working with The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and Netflix amongst a myriad of other well known media-based clients.
In her Twitter feed, Laura posts about Social Life news and pop culture. She has managed to create a very personalized social media profile through the use of her own photos and quotes.
4. Bruce Daisley (@brucedaisley)
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucedaisley
A well-established marketing powerhouse, Bruce currently fills the rather large shoes of running Twitter’s business in Europe. He has received many awards for his accomplishments in the digital marketing field including “The Drum Social Buzz Awards’ Individual of the Year” in 2014 and the “Greatest Individual Contribution to New Media” by NMA Magazine in 2010.
Being a leading man in Twitter, Bruce has some of the best social media habits of any influencer we’ve seen, mixing company posts with a combination of personality and relevant retweeting on news and pop culture. If you’re looking to maintain a professional yet personable social profile, you should probably be taking notes from Bruce’s Twitter profile.
5. Timothy Hughes (@timothy_hughes)
Website: http://www.digitalleadershipassociates.com/
Timothy has a total of three Twitter accounts with significant follower bases. You know you’re doing something right when you’ve built 3 influential Twitter accounts that aren’t linked. As co-founder of Digital Leadership Associates, he advocates social selling and believes that socialising organisations is the cornerstone of digital transformation for most companies.
Timothy tweets about a range of things on his multiple accounts from his book on social selling to amazing facts about space. What’s great about Timothy’s posts are that he always provides value to his audiences, be it in the form of education, entertainment or relevant information.
6. Zbynek Kysela (@DrKysela)
Website: http://zbynekkysela.com/
A distinguished social media professional, Zbynek Kysela is a strategist, consultant and coach for businesses who want to organize, grow and optimize their social presence. Originally from Prague in the Czech Republic, he is currently operating as the social media partner of Tweet Jukebox, a social media content management and analytics tool.
Zbynek has gained his 80k strong Twitter following through a mix of quotes, photos and offers for social media coaching. He is extremely active on social media and you can expect a tweet or two from him every twenty minutes or so.
7. James Whatley (@whatleydude)
Website: http://whatleydude.com/
James is leads digital strategy for one of the most prominent advertising agencies in the world, Ogilvy and Mather Advertising London. James works with digital planners and creative professionals to develop new and exciting ways to create meaningful connections between brands and their audiences all across the globe.
James’ social media posts consist of company news and links but also incorporate a personal theme with the use of his own images, quotes and opinions. Expect to see everything from mobile, social and digital to music, film and travel. If you want to do a little further reading, you can check out his personal website, where he also posts articles about technology, life and London.
8. Jeremy Waite (@jeremywaite)
Website: http://jeremy.live/
A strategist and evangelist for Salesforce, Jeremy holds the position as the head of digital strategy for Marketing Cloud EMEA. EMEA is a marketing consulting firm based in the UK that focuses on digital strategy, design and copywriting. Jeremy spends a lot of his time travelling to speak at conferences, talking about digital transformation, brand leadership, emerging technologies and philanthropy.
On his Twitter, you can read about Jeremy’s thoughts on writing, sports, art, cheese and whiskey. You’ll also find a mix of company posts and insightful digital marketing advice that you can learn from. He’s passionate about building communities and helping brands stand for something bigger than themselves.
9. Stephen Waddington (@wadds)
Website: http://wadds.co.uk/
Stephen is an expert in the public relations field and currently operating as partner and chief engagement officer at Ketchum, an American public relations firm offering marketing, branding, and corporate communications services.
Stephen helps his clients and colleagues do the best job possible when engaging with the public and he’s had plenty of experience doing so. He posts on Twitter about mainly about Ketchum news but also adds in some personalized quotes and images. Have a look at his blog for great PR wisdom, which he certainly has, having co-founded two award winning PR agencies.
10. Lukasz Zelezny (@LukaszZelezny)
Website: http://zelezny.uk/
Lukasz is a prominent SEO speaker and consultant in the UK. He currently heads the organic acquisition team at uSwitch, an impartial comparison and switching service for gas, electricity, phone, broadband and personal financing services. The aim of uSwitch is to help customers take advantage of the best prices and services on offer from suppliers in the UK.
If you’re curious about news regarding search engine optimization or black/white/gray hat marketing, be sure to check out his Twitter feed. His personal website has plenty of content about digital marketing in general but you’ll also find posts related to Lukasz’s interests like science, leisure, art and pop culture. After focusing on SEO for over ten years, he has plenty of experiential knowledge to impart.
Final Note
If you’re a business or marketing professional in the UK, these are the guys you want to be following hands down. As a small business or budding marketer getting the best advice from those who have made a name for themselves will be your best bet for developing the right marketing mix for your brand. These marketers make up the top of their respective fields and have proven that they are truly modern marketing gurus.
Do yourself and your brand (personal or commercial) a favor and take advantage of the wealth of useful information and examples available from these living resources. You’ll be learning your way to success!
