Whether it is a virtual, in-person, or even hybrid event, there are plenty of interesting and intriguing social media conferences to attend in 2024. Find the conferences that fit your social media interests and growth needs to learn from the best social media experts in the industry and get valuable opportunities to connect with other attendees.
Why You Should Attend a Digital Marketing Conference
The ever-changing social media world offers specific challenges and opportunities to its industry from marketing strategies and engagements to social media moderation. Social media marketing conferences are great opportunities to seek expert advice to stay in the loop, learn, socialize, get noticed, and grow your business.
Stay ahead of trends
Social media conferences provide a unique opportunity to gain insights into emerging trends, innovations, and best practices shaping the industry. They are a great way to learn about the latest advancements in social media marketing, content creation, influencer strategies, and platform updates. By staying informed and proactive, individuals and businesses attending social media conferences can position themselves and adapt to emerging social media trends to ensure their relevance and success in the industry.
Discover tools and resources
Social media marketing events are a great way to gain fresh perspectives on what works and doesn’t work with your social media strategy, workflow, and overall organization. Social media conferences in 2024 can challenge you to consider new ideas, feedback, and theories that will positively impact your brand. They can also help you discover the latest analytics tools, content creation platforms, or social media management software that will help streamline your day-to-day operations. You might find just the right winning strategy, tool, or tactic to bring back your business and generate positive results.
Learn from industry experts
Social media conferences are a great way to access experts with tons of experience and proven results across industries. Leaders and digital marketers work in marketing environments daily: they know all about the current social media landscape and potential predictions for the upcoming years. For example, imagine attending a conference where a seasoned digital marketing expert with over fifteen years of experience working with high-level brands shares insights on how to leverage social media for business growth. As conference speakers, experts offer in-depth knowledge about the latest trends, best practices, and social media strategies. Their expertise and practical advice provide attendees with valuable insights to enhance their social media efforts.
Networking opportunities
One of the main perks of attending a social media conference in 2024 is creating meaningful connections with other attendees and speakers, as well as networking with potential customers, collaborators, and partners. Social media events group people together who are interested in similar topics. This makes for a great opportunity to connect with people in your industry, build up your professional network, and connect with the right people to help you grow your business by gaining tips and knowledge from their own experience.
Boost your career
Social media conferences present a valuable opportunity for career advancements in digital marketing. These events offer a platform to expand knowledge, develop new skills, and stay updated on industry trends. Workshops, networking sessions, and engaging with industry leaders can help build meaningful connections and enhance professional reputation. Conferences enable individuals to position themselves as a valuable asset within their organization and the broader professional community.
Upcoming Social Media Conferences in 2024
This year is going to be rich with a plethora of events touching different subjects: get excited and attend at least one social media marketing event in 2024.
Ragan Social Media Conference
Dates: March 27-29
Location: Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida, United States
This event offers professionals the opportunity to explore the latest trends, strategies, and best practices in social media marketing and communication. With a focus on innovation and collaboration, attendees will be able to participate in interactive workshops and panel discussions and engage with leading experts.
Keynoters include V Spehar (Creator, Journalist, Podcaster – Under the Desk News), and Andrew Davis (Author of “Brandscaping”), with a feature from Steven A. Miller (Senior Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility and Disney Ambassador Program – Walt Disney World Public Affairs & Communications). During this over three-day conference, attendees will enjoy access to 30+ sessions with 40+ industry speakers in a magical setting.
Reputation Strategy & Brand Resilience Summit
Dates: April 2-3
Location: San Diego, California, United States
During this event, industry-led speakers will discuss their strategies and tactics to manage reputation and build brand resilience in today’s landscape. As an attendee, you will gain valuable insights from industry experts, participate in interactive sessions, and learn best practices to safeguard and enhance your brand reputation. With 25+ industry-led speakers, 120+ senior participants, and 12+ networking hours, attendees will gain valuable insights and key takeaway strategies to ensure their future brand success.
Social Media Week #SMW
Dates: April 9-11
Location: New York, United States
This event brings together professionals from various industries to explore the latest trends, innovations, creator partnerships, engagement opportunities, and strategies in social media and digital marketing. The speakers include a range of talented individuals from executives and agency leaders to creators, such as Alphonzo Terrell (Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer – SPILL), Roxy Young (Chief Marketing and Consumer Experience Officer – Reddit), and Arinze Emeagwali (Brand Marketing Lead – Instagram). Attendees can expect insightful discussions, workshops, panels, interactive sessions, and networking opportunities
Government Social Media Conference (GSMCON2024)
Dates: April 16-18
Location: Virtual + Palm Springs, California, United States
This special event is designed specifically for government agencies, elected officials, law enforcement, and emergency managers involved in social media and digital communications. Attendees from government entities will get a unique platform to explore best practices, innovative strategies, emerging trends, crisis communications, public relations, and community outreach.
Workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions will be led by industry experts and government leaders to offer participants the resources and tools to enhance their social media efforts. Some of the general session speakers include Chris Hsiung (Undersheriff – San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office), Frances La Rue (Public Affairs Manager – City of Anna, Texas), and Katie Grant (Communications Director – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources).
International Social Summit
Dates: May 16
Location: World Trade Center, Barcelona, Spain
This social media event focuses on opportunities and challenges that social media managers and digital marketing managers face while running social media programs across different platforms, industries, and languages. Attendees will get tips and advice on growing an effective and meaningful social media presence for any brand and market. The keynote speaker for this edition is Micheal Corcoran, current head of social media for Ryanair, who has more than 12 years of experience in the field. Some other speakers include Xandrina Allday (LabX Media Group), Resa Gooding (HubSpot), and Libby Windle (connective3).
AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media
Dates: June 3–6
Location: Buffalo, New York, United States
This interdisciplinary conference focuses on the computational and social science approaches to social media research. Attendees will explore topics such as social network analysis, data mining, machine learning, natural language processing, digital humanities, anthropology, and human-computer interactions. The AAAI conference offers discussions, presentations, workshops, and poster sessions about the latest advancements, trends, and challenges in human social behavior on social media. Participants will get the opportunity to share insights, exchange ideas, and explore the latest advancements in social media. The conference also features the prestigious ICWSM Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions to the field of web and social media research.
Marketing Analytics Summit
Dates: Workshops (June 4-5) & Conferences (June 6-7)
Location: Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
The Marketing Analytics Summit shines a light on digital marketing analytics and how to better plan your brand growth for better results. The summit includes hands-on workshops, collaboration consultations, organized networking events, and conferences with social media marketing analytics leaders from well-known organizations. Keynote speakers include Lina Mikolajczyk (Director of Analytics – Bumble), Joe A. Miscavige (Senior Director of Data Distribution Strategy – PBS), Ely Rosenstock (Associate Director, Human Health Digital, Data, and Analytics – Merck), and Jim Sterne (Founder – Marketing Analytics Summit, Co-Founder – Digital Analytics Association).
Social Media Strategies Summit
Dates: Pre-Summit Workshop (June 11), General Summit (June 12–13) & Post-Summit Workshop (June 14)
Location: Virtual
No need to travel to attend this virtual conference, where you will learn from leaders with strong expertise and knowledge of social media strategies. This conference offers speaker-led roundtable discussions and interactive workshops for attendees in need of new viewpoints on how to better structure their social media marketing strategy. This summit offers attendees a chance to learn about the working parts of a winning social media strategy, how to gauge the best opportunities for your brand, what are the tools and resources to keep your social media strategy fresh and timely, and well as many other intriguing aspects of social media.
International Conference on Social Media & Society (#SMSociety)
Dates: July 16-18
Location: London, United Kingdom
This interdisciplinary conference brings together researchers, practitioners, and industry professionals to explore the dynamic relationship between social media and society. Attendees will get the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss the latest trends, present original research, and discover recent and ongoing studies. Keynote presentations, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and networking events will enable participants to engage in meaningful conversations about social media opportunities and challenges.
Dates: June 18
Location: Virtual + Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom
This hybrid conference offers business owners and marketers an opportunity to learn about the best sales and marketing strategies, such as online sales funnels, AI for business, new online technologies, email marketing, audience growth, social media sales strategy, and SEO. Attendees will get access to knowledge, tools, and connections to build the plan they need to take their business to the next level.
With a dynamic lineup of renowned speakers and thought leaders, such as Davina McCall (beloved TV Icon), Lisa Bilyeu (author and co-founder of Quest Nutrition), and Jen Gottlieb (Co-founder of Super Connector Media), attendees will find sessions that fit their needs and interests! All sessions will be professionally recorded for attendees to watch or rewatch when needed.
Dates: June 19–20
Location: UNOH Event Center, Lima, Ohio, United States
The largest social media conference in the Midwest offers a chance to exchange and share knowledge on how to build and sustain a strong brand. During this event, attendees will learn about how to create meaningful relationships with followers, fans, and advocates. This social media conference includes engaging workshops, interactive sessions, and hands-on roundtable discussions to help participants elevate their businesses and enhance their marketing techniques.
Some of the speakers include Roger Wakefield (Texas Master Plumber and YouTube content creator), Katie Brinkley (Author of ‘The Social Shift’, and expert in fostering growth with minimal posting), and Owen Video (YouTube Growth Strategist and High-Performance Coach for the Nations Top Companies & Business Influencers).
Dates: September 3-5
Location: Dallas, Texas, United States
This event is tailored to video content creators, marketers, and digital media professionals looking to explore audience growth, engagement, brand building, and content monetization. Attendees can expect keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and networking sessions with top 1% influencers. The VidSummit is the right event for creators looking for tools and knowledge to enhance their video production skills, expand their audience reach, and optimize their video marketing efforts.
The 2024 keynote speakers have not been revealed yet, but last year’s edition included well-known content creators, such as Mr Beast, YB Chang, Jordan Matter, Hayden Hillier-Smith, and Hopescope.
How to Get the Most Out of a Social Media Conference
Conferences are amazing to learn more about topics you are passionate about and connect with others, but they can also be a huge waste of time and money if you don’t know why you’re attending and what you want to see. Learn how to maximize the value of your trip with our top tips for getting the most out of your conference.
Before the conference
Preparation is key to making the most of your social media conference and reducing stress during the event. Look closely at the conference program to plan and get the most out of your event experience, according to your interests and needs.
- Set some goals (whom you want to meet, what you want to learn, and why)
- Pick the right sessions for you to attend
- Build your event agenda
- Learn about the speakers and their style
- Connect with other attendees and speakers on social media
- Reach out to old contacts or friends to go with you
- Gain visibility by posting on social media that you are going to the event
- Make plans to travel with other attendees
- Find out the event hashtags
- Prepare some event-related conversation starters
During the conference
Social media conferences are a great way to further your knowledge about current social media trends. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your social media event:
- Make your badge or name tag visible
- Remember the speakers’ and attendees’ names
- Take notes (voice recording, pictures, notepad) during sessions
- Post and connect on social media using the event hashtag
- Join other attendees during lunch, at the after-party, in between sessions, or in any other informal setting
- Ask relevant questions to speakers during Q&A sessions
- Introduce yourself to other attendees and speakers when appropriate
- Put away your phone, to soak everything in and avoid distractions
After the conference
Following up after the event is a good way to get the most value out of your social media conferences and strengthen the connections you build and the knowledge you earn.
- Connect and follow up quickly with attendees and speakers
- Send thank you cards to the ones who helped you during the event (organizers, favorite speakers, someone you shared a cab with or signed a book for you)
- Share your learning with colleagues during a meeting or on social media
- Create collaboration opportunities with your new connections
Conclusion
With so many interesting social media conferences to attend in 2024, you will certainly find an event that fits your needs, location, and availability. These events offer opportunities to stay updated on the latest trends, network with industry peers, and gain insights to enhance your social media strategies.
As you plan your attendance at these events, consider how ICUC can help you elevate your social media presence and drive meaningful engagement. Learn how ICUC’s 24/7 social media marketing and social listening services can help you reach your social media goals effectively by scheduling a call with us.
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