2017 is off and running. And before we fill our calendars with conference dates, we wanted to know: what are the best digital marketing conferences in 2017?
Earlier this year we listed the top conferences and events for Digital Marketing, SEO, PPC, Social Media and UX pros.
Now the question is, what events are the best in 2017? So we asked our expert community to share top digital marketing events they’re attending this year. Here’s what they had to say.
MozCon Conference – SEO
MozCon has become a must-attend conference for SEO Pros. Brandon Seymour from Beymour Consulting shares a few reasons why MozCon is worth the trip.
This year, Mozcon is at the top of my list. As far as speakers and presentations go, Mozcon delivers some of the most valuable and actionable insights in the industry. It’s a single-track conference, so you can sit in on all presentations, as opposed to multi-track conferences where you need to pick and choose between sessions. There are over a thousand attendees, so in addition to the awesome speaker lineup, it’s a tremendous networking opportunity. I’ve attended four out of the past five years, and I’ve always left feeling like I got money’s worth.
I live in Florida and Mozcon is held in Seattle. Needless to say, flying cross-country isn’t cheap. Especially when you factor in transportation, hotel, per diem, and the cost of the conference itself. It took some effort convincing my boss to allow me to go for the first time back in 2012. But I was able to apply a lot of what I took away from the conference to the work I was doing in-house, and I leveraged these takeaways to persuade my boss to send me back each year.
SMX Conference – Search Engine Marketing
Who doesn’t like variety? If you’re looking to sharpen your digital marketing toolset, Amber Speers from NT Supply shares why SMX is the event for you.
I’ve attended SMX Advanced in Seattle for the past two years. It’s a great conference because it hits on SEO, PPC and a little bit of social media. There are tons of tracks that you can pick from and awesome speakers. The venue is great and there are tons to do in Seattle. The vendor floor is huge, and there are a lot of people keen to analyze your website and provide recommendations.
It’s great to sign up for free site audits and sit with a vendor for 15-20 minutes. I always learn something new. So you leave with 10 big things you can do to improve your site from an outsider perspective. SMX advanced talks only about new search engine techniques, and won’t go into detail on stuff that you already know about.
ClickZ Live and SaaS North – Digital Marketing
Sometimes you can’t pick just one. Jessica Thiele from VL Omni has two conferences to check out in 2017.
If Digital Marketers are looking for conferences of value where ‘best practices’ are replaced with actionable insight and step-by-step processes on how to apply actual strategies, I’ve got two great recommendations:
1. ClickZLive (series of conferences held across the world): A great series of events. Make sure to attend the day 1 workshops before the event itself starts – and then stick around for the conference itself for the huge networking value.
2. SaaS North: This is the conference to attend for cutting edge insight and networking with some of the best and brightest SaaS executives, marketing minds, and more. If you’re into SaaS, this is the show to attend!
SXSW (South by South West) Event – Interactive Media
Attending digital marketing events takes effort. And when you get there, you want to learn new techniques and trends. That’s exactly why Max Soni from DotCom SEO makes SXSW a top priority.
There’s a lot of great marketing conferences. I’ll be honest, they’re all great – but the one I like going to the most is South By South West. I think a lot of the traditional workshops regurgitate the same ideas, and nothing new is breaking out at those events. In contrast, SXSW (South by Southwest), is where you can speak to thought leaders across a diverse cross section.
In my opinion, the sheer diversity of the people there makes it enriching. For example, I once spent a half hour talking about diversity in the workplace, where we had an investment banker, a female startup owner, and a Fortune 500 CEO participating. To be honest, this diversity is very common in SXSW. I can’t say the same about any other conference.
Denver Startup Week – Startup Marketing
The best digital marketing conferences may be right in your backyard. Jeff Kear from Planning Pod Shares why Denver Startup Week is must-attend.
We’re based in Denver, and every year for the past several years we’ve attended Denver Startup Week – which is a week-long summit for entrepreneurs, founders, and growth-minded professionals. It’s the largest event of its kind in North America – it had 13K attendees in 2016 – and one of its biggest programming tracks is for growth and marketing.
This year’s Denver Startup Week is September 25-29, 2017, and it’s going to include dozens of seminars, panels, and networking events. I love the growth and marketing track because it features marketing pros giving real-world, actionable advice across the marketing spectrum – from product development and pricing to social media outreach and emerging trends. What’s even better, I can connect with them and develop collaborative relationships that last long after the event is over.
INBOUND – Marketing and Sales
Staying on top of marketing trends is tough. It’s one of the key factors behind attending conferences. Jennifer Phillips from TrakTek shares her must-attend 2017 digital marketing conference.
This year I plan to attend INBOUND, HubSpot’s annual marketing conference in Boston. With hundreds of sessions, there’s always something relevant to the marketing challenges I’m facing at the time. The keynotes are educational, inspiring, and entertaining. I look forward to the conference every year. We’re a HubSpot partner, so we not only attend for the informative marketing sessions, but for training and to learn about developments HubSpot’s platform.
It’s important for us to stay on top of marketing trends, best practices and solutions to assist our client’s in their marketing success. And it’s right in our own backyard!
Pubcon Conference – Social Media
There a few digital marketing conferences on every pro’s radar. Pubcon is one of them. Kent Lewis from Anvil Media shares details.
Pubcon, the premier social media and optimization conference hold’s its multi-track Las Vegas event on November 6 – 9, 2017 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Similar to SMX Advanced, this low-fanfare, and long-standing conference is known for giving away the goodies. The presenters are more interested in sharing insights than posturing or protecting their knowledge. We try not to miss a Pubcon Conference.
Best Digital Marketing Conferences in 2017
There’s no shortage of digital marketing conferences to attend in 2017. And thanks to our experts, you now know which conferences are must-attend this year. Thank you to our expert contributors for weighing in.
