Marketing conferences offer an immersive experience to stay on top of cutting-edge industry trends and innovations, connect with like-minded professionals, and acquire insight from renowned thought leaders.
Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, attending marketing conferences can provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to keep on top of your game and drive business success.
Below, we’ll discuss the most popular topics at marketing conferences, as well as the marketing events in 2023 that are sure to inspire and educate marketers looking to stay ahead of the curve.
Top 12 marketing conferences to attend in 2023
There are many notable conferences taking place in the areas of social media, content marketing, and digital marketing. From immersive hybrid events to engaging in-person gatherings, keep these 2023 events on your radar.
Social media marketing conferences
1. ANA Digital and Social Media Conference, California and virtual, July 17-19
The ANA Digital and Social Media Conference provides attendees with the chance to network, learn, and grow.
Presented by MNTN, this event will feature renowned marketing leaders such as IHOP’s CMO, Kieran Donahue, JBL’s VP of Marketing, Chris Epple, and United Airlines Creative Director, Meg Mitchell, among others.
The advertising conference provides interactive activities such as small group discussions, panel sessions, and keynote speeches. Participants can gain up-to-date strategies to tackle new challenges in the digital world.
2. Paid Social Show, Brighton Centre, April 19-22
Paid Social Show is an event that attracts attendees from around the world to learn about paid social media advertising across several major platforms, including Meta, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The event will feature distinguished speakers such as Impression’s Head of Paid Social, Amy Stamper, Education Cubed’s Senior Paid Media Manager, Azahara Corrales, and Impression’s Senior Paid Social Strategist, Ben Ross, among other recognized paid-media specialists.
3. Social Media Strategies Summit, virtual, June 14-16
Social Media Strategies Summit will take place entirely in a virtual setting, featuring a lineup of exceptional speakers, such as Bryce Gustafson and Sam Fink from the NFL, Andrea Feminella from Delta, and Mitchell Clements from ESPN.
The conference encompasses various topics: successful social media strategies, auditing, community management, analytics utilization, and leveraging social tools and resources.
Attendees can delve into these subjects through interactive workshops, roundtable discussions, and keynote presentations. Industry experts will provide valuable insights and practical knowledge, allowing participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of the discussed areas.
4. Government Social Media Conference, Nevada, May 2-4
The Government Social Media Conference caters specifically to individuals involved in marketing for government agencies. This hybrid conference offers the flexibility of attending either in person or online.
Participants will learn practical skills for managing public sector social media and get opportunities to network with agencies across the country. Major social networks, industry leaders, and experts will share updates and strategies for leveraging social media for government agencies.
Content marketing conferences
5. INBOUND, Boston, September 5-8
Powered by Hubspot, INBOUND is a popular marketing conference that helps equip businesses to scale, and in turn, contribute toward the collective good.
This content marketing conference attracts content marketers from 161+ countries, primarily in marketing, sales, and revenue operations. Notable speakers for 2023 include Reese Witherspoon, actor, producer, and founder of Hello Sunshine; Derek Jeter, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and National Baseball HOF Inductee; and Morgan Debaun, Founder and CEO of Blavity, Inc.
6. Youth Marketing Strategy (YMS), Los Angeles, November 2
YMS is the premier B2B marketing event that sets the standard for global youth-focused marketing. This conference, scheduled for November 3 in Los Angeles, will provide valuable and current insights on orienting marketing efforts toward Gen Z.
YMS will cover topics including, navigating Gen Z targeting post-Covid, B2B marketing, leveraging Web3 to connect with the younger generation, and developing a content marketing strategy tailored to this demographic. Additionally, attendees will have access to networking opportunities, panel discussions, and well-known keynote speakers.
7. Content Marketing World, Washington D.C., September 26-28
Content Marketing World, supported by prominent sponsors such as MarketMuse and WordPress VIP, boasts an impressive lineup of over 100 distinguished speakers from the marketing industry. These guests include luminaries like Unthinkable’s Jay Acunzo, Salesforce’s Jessica Bergmann, and Group Black’s Bonin Bough.
This 13-year-old event offers comprehensive coverage of various content-related topics, ranging from content innovation, ROI, email, analytics, and brand strategy. Additionally, participants will have a full day on the 29th to engage in networking with like-minded professionals.
8. Customer Marketing Summit, London, November 29-30
Customer Marketing Summit expects to attract more than 75 prominent companies to listen to distinguished speakers such as Influitive’s VP of Customer Marketing & Advocacy, Ari Hoffman, Slack’s Senior Manager of Customer Marketing, Bridget Heaton, and PayPal’s Head of Global Customer Advocacy, Dr. Tiffany Raymond.
This summit offers a unique opportunity for participants to stay on top of emerging trends, establish connections with fellow marketers, and enhance their expertise with cutting-edge best practices, ensuring they leave the conference with newfound confidence.
Digital marketing conferences
9. Funnel Hacking LIVE, Florida, September 27-30
Funnel Hacking LIVE, organized by ClickFunnels, will feature insightful discussions on the most effective funnel strategies for 2023, leveraging AI for greater productivity and output, and other essential topics.
This year’s event will showcase the inspiring Jocko Willink as a guest speaker, whose presentation will align with the conference’s theme of “extreme ownership”—the idea of applying strategies outlined at the event to improve both personal and professional life, creating a positive impact on others.
Although the complete list of speakers for 2023 is yet to be unveiled, the conference has previously featured eminent speakers such as Tony Robbins, Marcus Lemonis, Brooke Castillo, and Russell Brunson, among several others.
10. MozCon, Seattle, August 7-8
Described as “not your typical marketing conference,” MozCon attracts professionals from diverse business domains to participate in expert keynote sessions, engaging mealtime discussions, and even networking opportunities accompanied by drinks and music from a DJ.
The conference primarily focuses on the future of SEO and features industry-leading speakers, such as RicketyRoo’s Director of Digital Strategy, Amanda Jordan, Eximo Marketing’s Strategy Director, Andi Jarvis, and Owner & Founder of BEAST Analytics, Brie E Anderson, among others.
11. DigiMarCon, Denver, May 8-9
DigiMarCon offers a unique opportunity for attendees to learn from world-renowned speakers, gain insights into the latest marketing technologies, and network to build professional relationships.
This year’s event will cover various topics such as neuromarketing, podcast marketing, social commerce, UI/UX, and more. Previous DigiMarCon events have drawn marketing teams and representatives from renowned companies, including Amazon, Meta, Adobe, Airbnb, McDonald’s, and LinkedIn.
12. Digital Summit, multiple U.S locations
Digital Summit will hit multiple US cities in 2023, including Washington DC, Atlanta, Denver, and six others. The upcoming event will feature a wide range of activities, including roundtable discussions, fireside networking/mentoring sessions, and talks by renowned speakers such as best-selling author, Seth Godin, Zillow’s Purna Virji, and SiriusXM’s Steve Keller.
While the agenda for each event may vary slightly depending on the location, attendees can expect a packed two-day program covering various digital marketing topics, including SEO, email, branding, lead generation, and more.
Popular topics discussed at marketing conferences
Let’s delve into three major marketing topics often discussed at marketing conferences worldwide. These topics have undergone significant changes in the past decade, attracting industry leaders and participants to discuss, and at times, debate best practices.
Social media marketing
The social media landscape is vast, with approximately 93% of businesses using it to promote their brand. Companies recognize that the lack of a social media presence can be detrimental to businesses, limiting their ability to reach and engage with their target audience, and ultimately affecting their bottom line.
Social media marketing conferences typically cover a broad range of topics that fall under the wider social media umbrella. Event workshops may include discussions on effective paid media practices, strategies for boosting organic traffic, techniques for successful influencer marketing, and insights into the psychology of graphic design, among others.
Content marketing
Content marketing refers to the process of developing, distributing, and repurposing online materials such as videos, GIFs, and blogs. This content is often worked into a company’s wider content strategy and shared across multiple platforms, such as landing pages, social media, and podcasts, to reach and engage with a wider audience.
Conferences featuring top content creators and marketers have become increasingly popular, as more than 70% of businesses now employ content marketing strategies. Event topics that may be covered include organic traffic, popular forms of content, and algorithmic best practices.
Digital marketing
Conferences focused on digital marketing cover a range of areas, such as content marketing, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, email marketing, growth marketing, mobile marketing, video marketing, and affiliate marketing.
These events offer various activities like keynote speeches, workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions, connecting marketers with industry experts. The primary aim is to educate marketers about utilizing the most up-to-date digital marketing strategies and tools to accomplish their business goals.
Combining marketing and event technology
When considering adopting new event management software, marketers typically have several questions in mind:
- Does the software offer a comprehensive range of marketing capabilities, or will multiple event management tools be necessary?
- Is the software intuitive and easy to navigate?
- Can the software provide meaningful insights and data to track marketing performance?
Historically, event marketers have been accustomed to juggling multiple tools for various marketing tasks. For instance, one platform may specialize in email marketing, another in live streaming, and yet another in networking metrics.
However, recent technological advancements have enabled many marketing tasks to be integrated into a single platform, simplifying the learning curve and facilitating more efficient implementation of marketing strategies.
Here are three ways that event management technology can be utilized by marketers:
Branding and customization
Marketers are empowered with comprehensive event customization options that enable them to align the event with their brand using color schemes, customizable interfaces, splash pages, logos, and icons.
Event recording
By recording keynote speakers, panel discussions, Q&As, and other event activities, marketers are able to capture valuable content that can be incorporated into their content marketing strategy. Event recordings are often utilized for creating organic social media content, landing pages, email marketing campaigns, and promotional material for future events.
Event-specific analytics
Marketers can gather useful information on live stream and video analytics, registration details, networking statistics, and other demographic data. By utilizing this data, they can improve their targeted marketing efforts and fine-tune their strategy for future events.
