The Top 100 Social Media Influencers Worldwide

Influencers have a huge footprint online. Even small influencers with a few thousand followers can provide brands with key opportunities to reach engaged audiences.

It’s also valuable to research how successful influencers interact with their fans and grow their communities.

If you don’t know Alexa Chung from Alex Stohl, don’t worry – I’ve done the research, so you don’t have to. These are the top social media influencers in various categories that could help you gain more visibility for your brand.

What Is A Social Media Influencer?

Before we start listing off the movers and shakers in the world of social media, let’s first talk about what exactly it means to be an influencer.

As you can probably guess, a social media influencer has established credibility within a certain niche. This person then uses this authority to connect with a large audience on various social platforms. Considering the average internet user spends more than two hours daily on social media, this offers great potential.

Savvy marketers can, in turn, partner with these influencers to promote their brands. Sometimes these individuals are celebrities using their social handles to influence purchasing decisions, while in others, they’re famous for being influencers.

Our list will include both types of these to help you determine who’s worth a follow – and possibly find a new marketing partner.

The Top Social Media Influencers

While some social media influencers make their living only on social media, the most impactful people on Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms are celebrities. But just like professional influencers, a name drop of your brand from one of them can reap huge rewards for your business.

The Top 10 Social Media Influencers Overall (By Total Followers on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter)

Here are the ten people with the biggest global followings:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese athlete (soccer), 787 million followers – Hollywood icon good-looks paired with some of the best soccer skills the world has ever seen put Portugal’s CR7 in the top spot.
2. Leo Messi, Argentinian athlete (soccer), 530 million followers – The Messi-Ronaldo debate may never be settled on the pitch, but it has been in social media. The Argentinian soccer legend falls in behind his generational rival, though he still has more than 500 million followers.
3. Selena Gomez, American actor/musician, 499 million followers – This former Disney star is all grown up, but she still wields a ton of influence.
4. Justin Bieber, Canadian musician, 477 million followers – The Canadian heartthrob attracts more than half a billion followers across social media platforms.
5. Kylie Jenner, American influencer/reality TV star, 450 million followers – Not many social media personalities can keep up with the reach of this businesswoman and socialite.
6. Kim Kardashian, American influencer/reality TV star, 450 million followers – Coming in just two spots down from her younger sister, Kim K was one of the first people famous for being famous in the age of social media.
7. Dwayne Johnson, American actor/wrestler, 435 million followers – Can you smell what the Rock is cooking? A lot of people are at least seeing it on his social accounts.
8. Taylor Swift, American musician, 408 million followers – Being T-Swizzle’s ex-boyfriend isn’t just going to get you excoriated on her next album, but it will get you a lot of bad exposure with her hundreds of millions of followers.
9. Katy Perry, American musician, 395 million followers – The “Dark Horse” singer clocks in just behind her friend-turned-rival with almost 400 million followers.
10. Ariana Grande, American musician/actor, 391 million followers – Pop star Ariana Grande wields a lot of influence over her legion of adoring fans.