35 Top LinkedIn Influencers To Follow In 2023

With the growth of the internet and different social media channels, more and more businesses are trying to present themselves online. Because they know that either their customers or cooperators are now using different social media platforms, and if they lose either of these seats, they will lose their business. That’s when we come to the word “influencer marketing.” You may think that influencers only belong to Instagram! Although Instagram might be the top influencer marketing platform for B2C products, it is not a suitable place for B2B influencer marketing. That’s when you need to search for Linkedin influencers to collaborate with and promote your business among other businesses. Let’s see who are the best influencers on LinkedIn to follow.

Why LinkedIn Influencer Marketing?

First, you need to know the critical differences between LinkedIn influencers and Instagram influencers to know which is a better option for your influencer marketing. 

• LinkedIn is a professional platform that people don’t usually use for fun. Business wisdom is the main thing that is published on this channel. People are followed because of their experience in a particular field, their profession, and their expertise. They are mostly top business planners, company owners, and experts in different niches. Influencers on LinkedIn put professions before personal life and prefer informative over entertaining data. That’s why Linkedin is the best option for B2B marketing. 
• On the other hand, Instagram is primarily a fun platform. People like to see videos, laugh, and follow celebrities’ lifestyles. Influencers on Instagram usually promote products based on their personal experience. They typically publish visual content instead of context because their followers like to watch beautiful pictures and don’t like reading long texts. That’s why Instagram is the best place for B2C marketing.

Why Should You Bother to Find LinkedIn Influencers?

The second question might be, “how can LinkedIn influencers help your business? Why do you need to find, follow, or even collaborate with them?”

LinkedIn influencers are trustful among decision makers 

As mentioned, people follow influencers on LinkedIn because of their profession or expertise. That’s why most of their followers are CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, and top-level positions of every business. Therefore, if you want to target these people, LinkedIn influencers can help you reach this goal.

Their opinions carry weight among their followers 

Due to the trust people have in LinkedIn influencers, their opinions impact them better. That’s usually because people search for professional views and comments from these influencers on LinkedIn. They don’t just put a photo on their account to inspire people to purchase something. They talk professionally, with detailed information and practical reasons.

35 Top LinkedIn Profiles

Here is the list of 35 top LinkedIn influencers to follow or collaborate with. 

1. Neil Patel

Neil Patel is a well-known character in the digital marketing world who established “Neil Patel Digital” to grow companies through innovative digital strategies. He has a website and many online tutorials that help businesses develop better digital plans, write better and more optimized content, and grow in this competing world. Do you want to grow your business online? You should follow Neil because he’s the one that can speed up this process for you by giving tips and tricks about online marketing.

2. Richard Branson

Another famous linked in business page is Richard Branson’s page. He is the founder of “Virgin Group,” a holding divided into multiple sectors, such as Travel and Leisure, Health & Wellness, Music & Entertainment, Telecoms & Media, Financial Services, and Space. Therefore, he knows how to grow a small business into a well-respected brand. That’s obvious why people should follow Richard on LinkedIn and why brands should collaborate with him on this platform.

3. Adam Grant

Authors have more followers on platforms like LinkedIn, rather than Instagram. Because they can write better than most people. Adam Grant is the New York Times best-selling author because of writing the book called “Think Again.” However, it’s not the only reason he is known for. Adam is the host of a TED original podcast called “Worklife with Adam Grant.” As a result, he has many followers who are inspired by his words.

4. Liz Ryan

Liz Ryan is a human resources expert who is the founder and CEO of Homan Workplace company, a coaching and consulting firm to help job seekers, career changers, and even entrepreneurs find each other. As her profession indicates, Liz has many things to say about recruiting people and changing workplaces from dull and boring places to more active and fun places to work. Therefore, if you are searching for change in your workplace, follow Liz on LinkedIn.

5. Bill Gates

As one of the most famous people in the world of business due to his co-founding of Microsoft, Bill Gates doesn’t need any introduction. Almost all people worldwide have worked with one of his company’s products. That’s why he has the highest number of followers on LinkedIn.

6. Greg McKeown

Greg McKeown is another author whose writings became New York Times bestselling books twice. But he’s not just an author. Greg is the host of the “What’s Essential” podcast too. He spoke with the most popular company managers and experts, including Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Pixar, and so on. People are eager to follow him on LinkedIn because he has so much to say about innovation, leadership, and discipline.

7. Ann Handley

Ann is a digital marketing and content expert. She is a business writer for Wall Street Journal and became a best-seller author in 2014 for writing “Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content.” Forbes also mentioned Ann as one of the most influential women in social media on its website. With more than 440K followers, Ann is a popular character on LinkedIn in digital marketing.

8. Gretchen Rubin

If you are searching for positive notes and want to follow another bestselling writer, Gretchen Rubin will be the right influencer on LinkedIn for you. Like many other authors on the list, Gretchen is also the host of a weekly podcast called “Happier with Gretchen Rubin.”

9. Jill Schlesinger

Jill is a business analyst at CBS News and hosts a radio program called “Jill on Money/Eye on Money.” She covers news about the economy, markets, and investing. Jill Schlesinger uses her LinkedIn account to guide business leaders and investors to a better investing plan. Jill calls herself a money expert. That’s why most people follow her to learn more about how to invest and gain more money.  

10. Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk runs multiple businesses. He is one of the LinkedIn influencers who talks about innovation, forward-thinking, and leadership methodology. He is an active member of this channel that writes about his life, career, and whatever new happens in the world. If you are looking for someone to motivate you and lead you forward in your business or career, this account will be one of the top LinkedIn profiles.

11. Marsha Collier

Marsha is an eCommerce expert and the author of 40 books about eCommerce, social media, customer service, and other fields published in multiple languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Chinese. Marsha has a linked in business page that posts engaging videos and discusses social media strategy and emerging technologies. She mainly talks to leaders of companies and firms.

12. Matt Bailey

Matt Baily is a digital marketing instructor that teaches marketers and businesses how to turn data into action. He has been a business consultant for many well-known brands, such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft. He can lead your business to a higher level by giving tips and tricks about digital marketing and online companies.

13. Hunter Walk

Hunter Walk is graduated from Stanford University School of Business. He is a specialist in product development, product management, and marketing, and guides people and businesses toward growth. He also provides early-stage investment tips to people who want to learn more about investment and its risks.

14. Katya Andresen

As a chief digital and analytics officer of Cigna company, Katya Andresen is one of the LinkedIn influencers that cares about the well-being of everyone and tries to make healthcare more affordable. She became more popular during the pandemic by offering to use technologies and costless ways to stay safe and receive healthcare services, including telehealth and virtual visits.

15. Melinda Gates

Melina was Bill Gates’s wife until 2021. But that’s not why she is popular on LinkedIn or other social media. Melina French Gates was the General Manager of Microsoft Company for nine years. Melina was ranked 3rd most powerful woman in the Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in several years. Her experience as a successful woman in the business world made Melina an influential person on LinkedIn. She also wants to encourage more women to put their steps in the computing field. Therefore, most of her followers are young girls and women who want to become as powerful as Melina in their business.

16. Daniel Goleman

Daniel is a psychologist who wrote several books about emotional intelligence, social intelligence, leadership, and education. He mainly posts about innovation, meditation, emotional learning, and eco-literacy. Daniel is one of the top influencers on LinkedIn that helps his followers become more conscious about their emotions and creativity. That will lead them to become better people in their personal and professional lives.

17. Sallie Krawcheck

Empowering women in workplaces is what Sallie Krwscheck focuses on in her LinkedIn profile. She has been the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest company, as she describes it, a company built by women for women. Sallie is one of the influencers on LinkedIn for women. All she does is encourage more women to start a business and find their way to their dream careers.

18. Tim Brown

Tim Brown‘s profile is what marketers and small enterprises want. He posts tips and insights about leadership and how creativity can lead your business to a higher level.

19. Beth Kanter

Beth Kanter enjoys talking about technology. She is a trainer, facilitator, and author that mainly works with foundations and nonprofits. She calls herself a techie who likes to learn more about how to leverage online technology.

20. Marla Gottschalk, Ph.D

Productivity at work is essential for all people. That’s the main reason Marla Gottschalk’s profile has become one of the top LinkedIn profiles. Marla writes about change, growth, development, work life, and positivity.

21. Michael (Mike) Stelzner

Mike is a social media expert who founded the Social Media Examiner, the world’s largest social media marketing resource, a website to help marketers discover how to use social media marketing in the best way. Mike also hosts a podcast about social media marketing and crypto business.

22. Jeff Bullas

Jeff Bullas is one of the top digital marketing influencers on LinkedIn. He writes about marketing and gives tips to entrepreneurs on how to grow their businesses. Jeff has written many articles and books about innovation, social media, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, content, and marketing automation. Most of his writings have been ranked on the list of best-selling books and top articles in magazines. That’s why Jess is one of the most influential people on LinkedIn.

23. Pam Moore

As one of the top 5 women influencers cited by Forbes, Pam Moore is a notable woman in business, especially marketing. She provides marketing consulting to B2B and B2C organizations. Pam is also a digital brand psychologist and business brand trainer. As you can see, she has lots of information about marketing, web design, and advertising. That’s what attracts most people to follow Pam on LinkedIn.

24. Ryan Holmes

Ryan Holmes is the founder and board member at Hootsuite, a platform for launching social campaigns. Ryan talks about startups, marketing, and technology and likes to advise startups, especially online shops, to help them grow. That makes him more influential among startups and new businesses.

25. David Edelman

David worked as a chief marketing officer for 30 years. Now, he has decided to start teaching at HBS and transfer his knowledge and experience to newcomers to the business, including startups. On his LinkedIn profile, he posts about digital marketing and technology, marketing strategy, and branding. As a business school professor, David knows how to spread knowledge to others. Consequently, he is one of the top LinkedIn influencers.

26. Bernard Marr

Bernard is a highly respected influencer LinkedIn and a popular keynote speaker who talks about tech, virtual reality, and AI. Bernard Marr is one of the world’s top 5 business influencers on LinkedIn and a well-known author who has written 15 books about data strategy, big data, business analytics, and performance management.

27. James Altucher

LinkedIn cited James Altucher on the list of top 10 LinkedIn influencers. James is the author of several Wall Street Journal books, which have been selected as best-selling books many times. He mainly writes about the economy and investing. Therefore, people who want to know more about investment and financial plans follow him to learn more from his advice.  

28. Sujan Patel

Sujan is a content marketer, a data-driven marketer, and a SaaS marketing leader. Since he is an expert in marketing, he mostly posts about B2B marketing and sales. He provides tips and tricks for improving sales and growing the business via an excellent marketing strategy.

29. Hannah Morgan

Hannah offers job search strategies and provides job seekers with advice that helps them get discovered by top companies. Hannah describes herself as a career development coach. Her profile is the best place for job seekers because they can find interview tips and job searching tips that may be helpful for their next job offer.

30. Jeff Weiner

Who might be a better LinkedIn influencer than someone who works for this platform? Jeff Weiner is the executive chairman of LinkedIn, with 10M followers. He is a mentor and coach that wants to help both job seekers and entrepreneurs find the best solution for themselves. As the number of LinkedIn followers shows, Jess has one of the top LinkedIn business pages with much helpful information about this platform, job searches, and interviews.

31. Jay Baer

Jay Baer is one of the LinkedIn influencers with many years of experience in marketing and customer experience. As an expert, he has written many business books and consulted different brands for digital marketing and how to gain and keep more customers. Jay also hosted multiple podcasts and also owns a Cyber-currency called Jay Coin.

32. Carson Tate

Carson focuses on employee productivity and advises entrepreneurs about what to do to make work more fun and simple for their workers. Thus, most of her followers are top leaders of companies seeking change in their workplace. Carson believes when the employees of a company grow, the business will grow with them. That idea makes her so popular among different brands and companies.

33. Mickey Mikitani

Mickey is one of the top LinkedIn influencers from Japan. He is an expert in e-commerce and has been the CEO and chairman of Rakuten Group, the Japanese mobile network, for over 25 years. Mickey is an experienced person in business and investment who spreads his knowledge on his LinkedIn profile. That’s why he has more than 1M followers on this platform. Most of them are leaders of startups and companies who want to grow their businesses and want to know his tips and ideas.  

34. Dharmesh Shah

Dharmesh Shah is the founder and CTO at HubSpot. He is also the author of a book about inbound marketing. His knowledge of marketing and branding makes him an excellent LinkedIn influencer for small organizations. Startup leaders and people who want to start a business mostly follow Dharmesh to learn from him.

35. Simon Sinek

Every person needs to have someone to give them hope for the future. And Simon Sinek is that person on LinkedIn. Simon is described as an optimist who thinks that people can build a bright future together. His vision is to change the world for a better place. Simon is the one that most people follow to be inspired. That’s what Simon does as an influencer on LinkedIn.

Conclusion 

Influencer marketing doesn’t only belong to B2C platforms like Instagram. If you want to start B2B marketing, LinkedIn is an excellent place. Most LinkedIn influencers are top digital marketers or entrepreneurs of well-known brands and companies. Other people follow them to use their knowledge and learn from them. That’s how influencer marketing works on LinkedIn.