Conferences are one of the best ways to grow your career.
Having the opportunity to learn from some of the brightest minds in your industry while simultaneously expanding your network exponentially with hundreds of professionals with diverse backgrounds is an experience you absolutely have to have at least once in your career.
With that being said, each conference should be worth your attendance and provide immeasurable value no matter if your attendance is a once a year treat or something you are able to do often.
Let’s face it, there’s truly nothing more disappointing than spending a huge amount of time and money on a lackluster experience.
To keep you from making that dreadful mistake, we compiled a roundup of the highest-rated marketing conferences that will definitely be worth your time!
The best way to guarantee that a conference will live up to your expectations is through valuable recommendations from your peers.
Without further ado, here are the best conferences to attend (according to those who have experienced it first-hand) for the rest of 2019 and into 2020!
Company: Content Marketing Institute
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Cost: $749 (Onsite) - $2,499
Content Marketing World will provide you with all the tools you will need to create or entirely revamp your content marketing strategy. The tactics learned will lay a strong content foundation within your marketing plan that will ultimately grow your business and inspire your audience.
“CMWorld is the best big “little” conference for content marketers. It’s one of the only industry conferences where you can hear world-class speakers at the top of their game and then run into them to have a chat among regular conference-goers. This conference doesn’t take itself too seriously because, at the end of the day, they understand content marketing should be a little silly, a little goofy, and a lot of fun.”
- Lauren Pope, Sr. Content Marketing Specialist, G2
After hearing so many great things about @AndrewAndPete I could not miss their #CMWorld presentation. Sitting here with this huge unending smile on my face, learning about reaction spikes & the 90/10 rule, I'm beyond thrilled to be at my third @CMIContent conference!! 😍 pic.twitter.com/1oKnXRUK1z
— Kristen McCabe (@AusmericanGirl) September 4, 2019
Company: Hubspot
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Cost: $199-$2,199
INBOUND is for the super curious, question-asking professionals looking to learn from big-names and break-out industry thinkers through highly engaging events and education sessions. Learn from 250+ speakers about everything inbound marketing related in an inspiring and motivating way. This year’s A-list speakers include Elizabeth Gilbert, Jennifer Garner, Katie Couric, Jason Blum, and Chip and Joanna Gaines just to name a few.
“One of the best conferences for marketers is Hubspot's INBOUND. It is an incredibly packed few days with speakers from a number of different marketing roles, as well as some great celebrity guests that are always very inspirational. I highly recommend it to anyone in the marketing and communications field.”
- Jordan Barrish, PR Strategist, Peerfit
“I love this conference because it's a high-quality show that’s very holistic from an inbound marketing philosophy perspective. This means, it not only covers a lot of great up-to-date inbound marketing topics, but it also does a good job getting into inbound sales, and even covers customer service topics.”
- David LaVine, Marketing Consultant & Founder, RocLogic Marketing
Whew!
— Daniella Alscher (@G2_dalscher) September 6, 2019
Finally winding down from an UNBELIEVABLE first conference at #INBOUND19. Grateful for the experience, the speakers, and everything I've learned.
Already missing @chipgaines @joannagaines @katiecouric and Jennifer Garner. 😭
Until next time, @INBOUND! pic.twitter.com/pETe1ETmNa
Company: G2
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Cost: $199
Reach is G2’s first annual conference that is designed specifically for people who sell and market software. REACH promises to provide an unbiased perspective through uncensored sessions with some of the world’s most innovative companies. Hear from big names like Melissa Hartwig, Neil Patel, Meredith Kopit Levian, and so many more!
Don't worry, we will only send you the good stuff.
Company: ManageCamp Inc.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Cost: $2,695
Brand ManageCamp covers everything about brand marketing as it relates to strategy, advertising, innovation, content, insights, customer behavior, leadership, creativity, and more.
“Go to this conference! The 360-degree view of marketing gives you great ideas, makes you rethink how you are doing things, and insists that you are staying relevant in this crazy world of marketing. It's not just great for your current position but helps give you insight on what you should do to be a better marketer and go further in your career.”
- Marketing Coordinator, EDUCAUSE
Company: Advertising Week
Location: New York, New York
Cost: $1,869-$99
Advertising Week is a worldwide event for professionals who work in marketing, advertising, media, technology, and design. Advertising Week focuses on thought leadership programs that provide value as well as actionable learnings to professionals at any level. Top speakers this year include Brian Whipple, Mark D’Arcy, Trevor Noah, Dhanusha Sivajee, and many more!
“When I attended AdWeek2018, I went to nearly 20 workshops in four days, attended nightly networking events and got a ton of free merch from vendors like Instagram, Nike, and Facebook.
After registering for the event, you’re given the opportunity to connect with other attendees based on a profile you fill out. This really heightened my experience since I went solo and was eager for an “in” at the networking events.
There are also hundreds of workshops available and most are an hour-long, so there’s plenty of time to explore the city and find other things to do in between sessions. I think the value-to-cost ratio is incredible considering the venue, the exposure to legacy brands and speakers, and the coverage of the industry with workshops on topics like programmatic advertising to progressive agencies.”
- Evan Alexander, Copywriter, Union
Company: Rachel Pederson
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cost: $797
BossCon is for those with a true entrepreneurial spirit and are ready to take full control of their marketing, business, and life! BossCon will provide clarity and focus to your business in a nurturing and empowering environment.
“This event is designed for marketers looking to take control of their business and their life and truly become the boss. What makes this conference so unique is that it is not all focused on tools of the trade, and the best new software products to help you do your job, but it helps you with mindset blocks, relationship challenges, and how to truly run the business of your dreams. I had attended last year's event and it truly changed the trajectory of not only my business but my life.”
- Kelly Sturtevant, Social Media Strategist, Blue Page Social Inc.
|
TIP: Conferences are a perfect opportunity to network on social media while sharing your findings and key takeaways! Check out the highest rated social networks and choose one that's best for you to use! Remember, don't forget the event hashtag!
|
Company: MarketingProfs
Location: Washington DC
Cost: $1,095-$2,795
B2B Marketing Forum will teach you the latest trends and happenings in the B2B marketing world while sharing insider secrets to success. B2B Marketing Forum is immensely helpful as it focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities that B2B marketers face day to day.
"Marketing Profs B2B Forum is one of the best marketing conferences you will ever attend. Two words: Ann Handley. I'm also super excited to be speaking there again this year because there are so many great people, the best marketing speakers, and this group knows how to have some fun with networking too. This event always feels like coming home for me."
- Michael Brenner, CEO, Marketing Insider Group
“For the second consecutive year, MarketingProfs’ B2B Marketing Forum is the most influential event among decision-makers and is one of the most influential platforms across all marketing channels, almost irrespective of buyer segment or vendor type. There are a handful of platforms that rate well virtually across the board. Facebook is one of those platforms. B2B Marketing Forum is another.”
Company: Demand Gen Report
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Cost: $595-$995
B2B Marketing Exchange is for practitioners ready to implement innovative tactics and technology into their business strategies. The focus on case studies and real-world experiences allows attendees to easily obtain clear and actionable takeaways that can be used in practice right away.
“The main event for education and networking for the tech-enabled marketer … An annual must-have.”
- John Panek, Vertical Marketing, Zebra Technologies
Company: Social Media Examiner
Location: San Diego, California
Cost: $497-$1,697
A large scale conference with over 5000 people in attendance. Social Media Marketing World pushes your creativity far out of the box and allows you to learn tips and tricks that will completely transform the way you approach your social media strategy moving forward.
“Definitely, one of the best when it comes to learning the latest social media strategies and tactics. This one happens in the spring and counts with some of the top experts in social media marketing, such as Mari Smith, Jay Baer, and Amy Porterfield. This conference is great for someone looking to specifically learn everything there is to know about social media and not so much digital marketing in general.”
- Pedro Campos, Founder, PedroConverts
“I came to San Diego hoping to learn valuable strategies and best practices for creating success on social media and left with knowledge I didn’t even know I was looking for that will completely transform the way I approach social media strategy.”
- Elena Griffo
Company: SiriusDecisions
Location: Austin, Texas
Cost: Super Early Bird Special $2,495 (ends December 31, 2019)
SiriusDecisions Summit is a must-attend conference for sales and marketing professionals that drive growth within their companies. Focusing on B2B research, insights, and customer case study presentations, attendees will gain a tremendous amount of actionable takeaways to implement for their own businesses.
“For B2B and B2B2C marketers, I have found Sirius Decisions Summit to be the best conference I’ve ever attended. The content is research-based and presented in a way that makes it very digestible and actionable. The event covers a lot of ground, spanning marketing operations, sales & marketing alignment, and marketing strategy concepts. The structure of the content makes the event valuable to all levels of a marketing organization from entry-level through to the marketing executive. The content is centered around B2B demand generation, so I would advise attendees to be familiar with basic lead generation concepts prior to attending.”
- Wesley Ward, Head of Marketing & Merchandising, Hausera
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Cost: TBA
IRCE is a one-stop-shop for e-retailers and will provide attendees with everything they need to know and do to stay ahead of the competition. With 130 sessions covering a wide range of topics and hottest trends, every attendee will leave with a large amount of knowledge that they can bring back and implement in multiple facets of their e-commerce strategy.
“IRCE is one of the best conferences I've been to as a marketer both in terms of the amount of education, classes, and talks available. What I really enjoyed, possibly even more than the talks and classes, was the expo aspect of it and being able to go around and connect with SAAS services and apps that I use and the companies and reps behind them. I think there's something for everyone here whether you're looking to educate yourself, network, or whatever else.”
- John Frigo, SEO Lead, MySupplementStore
Company: Moz
Location: Seattle, Washington
Cost: $1,299 or $799 as a Moz subscriber
MozCon focuses on SEO, mobile, conversion optimization, and local search. This year’s speakers include Andy Crestodina, Areej AbuAli, Britney Muller and many more! Learn from the best in the industry while expanding your network immensely.
“If you're more SEO or PPC-focused, the best conference that covers both of these topics is MozCon. MozCon hosts the biggest and brightest names in the industry. The guest speakers discuss the future of the industry, tips, and tricks on how to implement effective SEO practices, and how to market your business. The best part is that MozCon is also an event during which you can network. Agencies, corporations, and small business owners are all under one roof. It's the perfect opportunity to chat with like-minded individuals!”
- Audrey Strasenburgh, SEO Strategist, LogoMaker
“MozCon is a conference that every marketer should attend. It not only focuses on SEO, but MozCon goes in-depth on analytics, content, brand development, and more! I recommend this conference because there's something for every type of marketer. From a new hire at an agency to a CMO, people will leave MozCon with a wealth of information and inspiration to use with their respective companies.”
- Ricardo Velez, Content Associate, Fundera
Today's FOMO experience is brought to you by #mozcon. If you're not at the event, many attendees are sharing insights and updates on the #mozcon stream. Carry on.
— Google Analytics (@googleanalytics) July 17, 2019
You can’t go wrong with any of these conferences, so what are you waiting for? Get out there and sign yourself up to attend the ones that caught your eye the most! Trust me, the experiences you have will make a lasting impression on your career for years to come.
Want to know even more reasons to attend REACH? Trust us, you won’t want to miss G2’s first-ever, one-day-only conference. Get your tickets now! We look forward to seeing you on September 11th!
It’s almost here. We’ve nearly reached the 2020s, a decade that once sounded positively...
by Julia McCoy
Seth Godin famously said “Content marketing is the only marketing left.”
by Rachel Cravit
