5 must-attend social & digital marketing conferences in 2018

This post was originally created by Spredfast before Spredfast and Lithium merged and became Khoros.

When upping your game in social and digital marketing, it’s incredibly valuable to prioritize connecting with leaders who can inspire you to make bold changes. There’s nothing more invigorating than spending a couple days a year around people who share the same pains, desires, and questions as you. We’ve sifted through dozens of social and digital marketing conferences in the spring and fall of 2018 to highlight where you’ll gain the most guidance in the company of the smartest leaders.

Here’s a countdown of the top five conferences we recommend for you and your team members:

November 5-7, 2018 | Austin, TX More than 700 social media and digital marketing leaders from leading brands across the globe gather in Austin for Spredfast’s (now Khoros) Smart Social Summit. Summit offers marketers an intimate experience where they can attend interactive workshops, case-study format breakout sessions with multiple tracks, and hear from awe-inspiring keynote speakers that are pushing social forward as we speak. Smart Social Summit’s goal is to help digital marketers be ahead of the curve and be smarter about the role social plays in our business and in our outreach to customers.

If November isn’t an ideal time for you, Smart Social Events also now offers local events in New York City and London.

October 1-4, 2018 | New York, NY

If you’re the type of person who feels like you need a truly immersive experience, you may want to check out Advertising Week, which dishes out inspiration for a whole week. They always have an incredible roster of speakers, typically founders and CEOs of innovative brands like SOULCYCLE, Warby Parker, and Mekanism. Their roster also features a great balance of brands and agencies, ensuring that the very best minds are in the same room. Advertising Week is seminar- and workshop-heavy for during the day time, with nightly networking opportunities. If you’re focused on learning about the newest and latest ways to innovate in marketing, Advertising Week’s artificial intelligence and cognitive computing track may be of interest to you.

For more information about pricing, click here.

May 7-9, 2018 | Atlanta, GA

The Social Shake-Up is a 3-day conference with content programming focused on general marketing, public relations, and social media marketing. If you’re looking for a conference that has a variety of topics outside of digital & social marketing, then this might be a good opportunity for you to get some brand-building guidance. The presence of case study content is a key differentiator for Social Shake-Up; learn about first-hand successes from professionals with the opportunity to connect with them after.

Learn more about Social Shake-Up pricing here.

September 4-7, 2018 | Boston, MA

Every year, Hubspot’s INBOUND attracts 21,000 marketers and salespeople from all over the globe. The three-day event is action-packed, with almost 300 breakout sessions covering topics like content marketing, sales management, workforce culture, branding, video marketing, and of course, inbound marketing. If you’re the type that’s constantly on the go, asking for more to do, this might be the right event for you, as there are plenty of ways to keep yourself busy while learning at INBOUND.

Learn more about INBOUND pricing here.

March 25-29, 2018 | Las Vegas, NV

Adobe Summit is 3 days of keynotes, sessions, and labs with plenty of opportunity to network with leaders. Their attendees include a high concentration of marketing leaders: think advertisers, analysts, digital campaign marketers, marketing executives, and publishers. Adobe Summit promises to give marketers the tools necessary to deliver exceptional customer experiences –– whether that is through technology or strategic guidance.

What makes Adobe Summit stand out? * 95% of attendees said they received practical information * 93% of attendees said that summit exceeded their expectations * 90% of attendees said that their objectives were met at summit

Find Adobe Summit pricing info here.