Ever since Google+ burst onto the social media scene in July last year, the blogosphere has been awash with debate on the pros and cons of the new social network.
But what can’t be disputed is the calibre of digital experts publishing their latest thoughts Google+ and the amount of insight and expertise they offer up on a daily basis.
If you’re new to Google+ or just looking for some ideas on who to follow (or ‘Circle’, as it’s known on Google+), I think these are some of the best. The focus does tend to be on social media and search, so if you're looking for advice on more specific channel's see Dave Chaffey's post on the best marketers to learn from on Google+.
So here is my list of 10 great digital experts to get you started or check against your own "must read" circle. Do let me know if you think there are any other candidates for a top 10 I don't have here:
1. Brian Solis – https://plus.google.com/107896527414017792767/posts
Brian Solis is a new media strategist and blogger as well as Principle at the analyst group Altimeter. He’s also the author of two books: Engage and The End of Business as Usual.
Brian primarily uses Google+ to cross-promote his own blog posts and YouTube videos but he also shares his thoughts on new media trends and developments within the comments on each of his posts.
2. Chris Brogan – https://plus.google.com/118320665823821681206/posts
Chris Brogan is one of the leading thought-leaders in social media marketing with one of the most popular blogs on the topic. and was a very early adopter of Google+ (so much so that he’s even written a business book on it. He is an outspoken advocate of the social network and regularly blogs about how it can be leveraged by individuals and businesses alike.
Because Google+ is now Chris’s primary social media outpost, he not only promotes his own content on the site but regularly shares other people’s, too as well as encouraging his followers to join in on a range of discussions on his page.
3 .Robert Scoble – https://plus.google.com/111091089527727420853/posts
Robert Scoble is a blogger, author and technology evangelist based in Silicon Valley. He is a leading authority on everything tech and is usually first with an incisive opinion on current technology affairs.
Although Robert blogs at http://scobleizer.com, he also uses Google+ as a blog itself. As a result, in addition to sharing other people’s posts (to which he often adds his own opinions), photographs and links, he regularly posts detailed, thoughtful posts on everything from major tech events to social networking developments.
4. Rand Fishkin – https://plus.google.com/111294201325870406922/posts
Rand Fishkin is a search marketing heavyweight with an immense amount of experience and expertise in everything ranging from search engine optimisation to social media and inbound marketing.
As co-founder and CEO of SEOMoz, Rand’s Google+ posts naturally lean towards SEO and search marketing, although he also looks at the convergence of social media and search and how this is impacting digital marketing strategy.
5. Jeremiah Owyang – https://plus.google.com/111654284395316165338/posts
Jeremiah Owyang is a leading web strategist (blog) and a new media ‘big thinker’. As a principle analyst at Altimeter, Jeremiah looks very closely at the latest trends and developments in the digital space.
Although Jeremiah uses Google+ to promote his and Altimeter’s content and research, he also uses it for fun, too. His mix of social media analyst reports with beatbox YouTube videos makes him a great person to Circle!
6. Christopher Penn – https://plus.google.com/117916903811396964681/posts
Chris S Penn is one half of the Marketing Over Coffee podcast duo and is an avid blogger and self-appointed ‘bridge’, standing between different fields, professions and ideas (primarily IT and marketing) to help people on both sides understand each other.
Chris uses Google+ in two ways: to say ‘good morning’ (every day) to both his current and new followers and to participate in #the5 – a hashtag trend originally started on Twitter in which he shares five things that caught his eye in the morning news related to marketing, search, social media and fun!
7. Jay Baer – https://plus.google.com/110720576611232766643/posts
Jay Baer is a leading social media blogger writing on the excellent Convince and Convert, consultant and strategist and the co-author of the book The Now Revolution.
Jay Baer uses Google+ to post both original content and share other people’s primarily related to social media tactics, tools and strategy but also looks at other areas of digital marketing including technology, SEO and content marketing, too.
8. Lee Odden – https://plus.google.com/101206766570550710645/posts
Lee Odden is the mastermind behind TopRank Online Marketing [], a digital marketing and PR company and the highly influential TopRank blog.
Lee is a hugely passionate marketer and it shows in the content he produces and shares on Google+. Being a very customer-centric marketer, Lee often posts about search, social media and content marketing and how these can be leveraged to improve the customer experience.
9. Avinash Kaushik – https://plus.google.com/105279625231358353479/posts
It’s fair to say that Avinash Kaushik is a bona fide analytics guru (and I don’t use that word lightly!). Avinash is an avid blogger and the author of two leading books on web analytics: Web Analytics: An Hour a Day and Web Analytics 2.0.
Although Avinash uses Google+ to post about web analytics he also uses the social network to blog about everything else that interests him, including travel, sport and culture. His mix of business and pleasure makes him a super fun person to follow!
10. Danny Sullivan – https://plus.google.com/113217924531763968801/posts
Danny Sullivan is a search engine specialist helping marketers, webmasters and everyday web users understand how search engines work and how they impact the web.
Danny is editor-in-chief at Search Engine Land and therefore a lot of the content he provides on Google+ is related to Google, SEO, PPC and search engines. However, being based in Newport Beach, California, Danny also likes to post jealousy-inducing updates and pictures of sunny days by the seaside!
Thanks to Gavin Llewellyn for sharing his advice and opinions in this post. Gavin is an independent consultant. He is a Chartered Marketer who specialises in digital marketing, specifically in social media, SEO and online strategy. Gavin currently blogs at One Too Many Mornings where he offers advice, guidance and ideas on how individuals and companies can use digital marketing effectively to get found online, build engagement and generate conversion. You an Follow Gavin on Twitter and Google+.
By Gavin Llewellyn
Gavin Llewellyn (LinkedIn) is an independent consultant. He is a Chartered Marketer who specialises in digital marketing, specifically in social media, SEO and online strategy. Gavin blogs at One Too Many Mornings where he offers advice, guidance and ideas on how individuals and companies can use digital marketing effectively to get found online, build engagement and generate conversion. You can Follow Gavin on Twitter.
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