When it comes to the world of digital marketing, web design, web development, and SEO, two things are constant: the hunger for more knowledge, new solutions, and the opportunity to connect with other industry professionals.As such, we’re always ready to hear new strategies, ideas, tips, and gain new insights. We’re always excited to learn about where the industry is going and what’s the next big thing in the digital realm.
This is where digital marketing conferences come into play. They are organized everywhere across the globe and give industry professionals a great opportunity to learn more, to mingle, and to realize new possible business ventures along the way.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench into every industries’ machinery and the IT world also felt the blow. It’s true that the digital realm remained safe and even got a few opportunities to size. This was mainly due to the fact that global preventive safety measures prompted businesses to venture more into the usage of online surfaces for marketing. Despite all this, the entire industry has managed to slow down a bit as the economy on a global scale came to a standstill.
The outbreak has influenced this year’s digital marketing and tech conferences as well. Some of them are going entirely virtual and thus, attendee-safe. Others have a more white-knuckle approach with organizers still striving to hold the events in-person with rigorous safety measures in place.
The pros of going virtual
Even though some of these events will be in-person, it’s clear to point out that in some cases, virtual conferences have a few points going for them.
First of all, they are safe, which is, during a pandemic, a key factor. On the other hand, these events or more cost-effective than their physical counterparts. Lastly, they are also more flexible and give you the freedom to multitask while you attend them.
Sure, virtual presence means less chance to mingle with like-minded people and it can also leave you with fewer business opportunities in the short-term, however, it gives you a great opportunity to focus on the knowledge that’s being shared.
Lastly, as trends are slowly shifting towards virtual and online conferences, people are also finding ways to bridge the problems mentioned above, so chances are, you’ll still get the chance to engage with your fellow marketers and IT professionals.
Virtual Digital Marketing and IT Conferences in 2020
Even though we’re halfway through 2020, fortunately, there are still quite a few events you can get tickets to at fairly moderate prices. Luckily, thanks to the Internet and technology advancements, online events are no longer lagging and freezing. Organizers can ensure proper streaming for attendees.
So, without further ado, here are some of the events you should definitely check out.
1. ContentTECH Summit
When: August 10-12, 2020
Cost: Virtual pass: $799 for the base price, and $999 for the conference and the workshop.
ContentTECH Summit was rescheduled from April due to the outbreak and is entirely virtual this August. Formerly called as ICC (or Intelligent Content Conference) the summit this year will focus on helping digital marketers to operationalize content marketing. Apart from that, it will also focus on martech usage and how to better exploit technology stack for more optimized content management.
It’s safe to say that this conference is a must for content strategists, brand marketers, VPs, and all content marketers.
2. GrwthHackers Conference
When: September 1-2, 2020
Ticket prices: The live streaming of the event is free, while for Master Classes and additional recordings, ticket prices are up to $499.
GrowthHackers is going fully-virtual this year and as always, it’s focusing on growth innovation by giving helpful tips to startups in the growth stage and large public corporations alike. Speakers for this year’s event include Hila Qu from Gitlab, Nancy Hensley from IBM, and Rachid Harrassi from StubHub.
3. Brand ManageCamp
When: October 27-29, 2020
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Ticket prices: You can get different passes that let you enjoy different features and possibilities.
Brand ManageCamp aims to give top-notch info for strategy consulting professionals and brand specialists alike. Even though it’s (as of now) an in-person event, live-streaming options will also be available with the same ticket prices. Those who choose the latter option will be able to participate in submitting questions and in a dedicated live chat, apart from watching everything live. The live stream will also include bonus material such as short interviews during meals and breaks with access to the recording for 3 days following the event.
Generally, the conference aims to highlight every different aspect of digital marketing, from branding to technology, user behavior, to more HR-based topics like time management and leadership skills.
Without any doubt, Brand ManageCamp is a great option for those digital experts who are looking for a marketing conference that covers every aspect of the digital world with an added focus on the importance of branding.
4. INBOUND
When: September 22-23, 2020
Cost: Due to the pandemic, the team at INBOUND created a FAQs section with all the info you need.
Rescheduled as an online even this year, with all previously bought passes automatically canceled. A HubSpot-hosted event, INBOUND is notorious for being a high-caliber event that hosted around 25,00 guests from around 100 countries.
Even though the party-like event is going fully virtual this year, those who wish to participate can be reassured that there will be highly innovative presentations and discussions closely related to inbound marketing topics with the intent to help marketers get the most out of their tactics and tools.
5. CTAConf 2020
When: Initially September 29 through October 1, 2020, rescheduled to May 18-20, 2021.
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Ticket prices: Early access ticket prices total at CA$321, while tickets for the Unbounce pre-conference workshops for the non-attendees total at CA$105.93.
So far not planning on going virtual, CTAConf 2020 is a devoted content marketing conference that aims to call its participants to action (pun intended).
Coming from Unbounce, the Canadian event brings guests a great opportunity to learn about the latest trends in everything digital.
6. Adobe Max – The Creativity Conference
When: October 20-22, 2020
Cost: Registrations open in August, currently free.
Adobe Max lets designers learn from the best. With hands-on creativity workshops, the ability to reach out to high-caliber speakers via live chat and to build a productive community within the same makes Adobe Max one of those “must-conferences” for every designer who’s looking for the latest trends and seeks inspiration from the best in the industry.
This year’s speakers will include renowned experts such as Chris Do, Stefan Sagmeister, Lauren Hom, Antoniette D Caroll, Tim Allen, Martina Flor, Paula Scher, and Anthony Jones.
7. Reach
When: October 7-8, 2020
Where: Chicago, IL, USA
Tickets: Keep up with the updates here.
This year’s focus of Reach is software marketing but not just for the public but within your own organizations too. Because of the pandemic, nothing much is known yet regarding the details of the event, so keep an eye out for updates.
8. Content Marketing World
When: October 13-16, 2020
Where: Cleveland, OH, USA
Ticket prices: Virtual passes start at $899.
Content Marketing World has been labeled as the largest event of its kind in the world that’s every digital marketer’s dream come true. With more than 100 sessions each year on relevant topics from all walks of digital marketing to all kinds of fun programs like arcade games, yoga, happy hours, and even evening entertainment make this event a conference to remember.
The current cancellation policy for the event is that you need to cancel before August 17 to get a refund on your registration (minus 10%, which is “the processing fee”). Also, if the conference is needed to be rescheduled, the bookings will roll over to the new dates as well. If the event does not take place within the next year, everybody who registered will be entitled to claim a full refund.
9. Accounting And Finance Show
When: October 20-21, 2020
Cost: free (you can register here)
While not entirely in the domain of digital marketing and definitely not in the tech-savvy IT world the Accounting & Finance Show can give finance-conscious marketing and developing companies a chance to further educate their CFOs, accountants, and other finance experts to fine-tune their chops and to learn about upcoming finance trends.
10. Incite Group Brand Marketing & Digital Summit
When: November 5-6, 2020
Cost: Free, with limited availability.
Focusing on in-house marketers and discussing the importance of delivering impactful and meaningful interactions that show the clear purpose of our brand and our narrative.
A great event for social media and digital marketing team leaders coming from brands.
11. Sales Growth Virtual Summit
When: November 5-6, 2020
Cost: Free (register by clicking here)
Now, this is more up the old digital marketing ally. The Sales Growth Virtual Summit a great two-day event trough November 5th to the 6th, hosts 40 sales leaders across six different categories, (including BDR/SDR and sales management).
With a professional lineup like Trish Bertuzzi, the founder and president of Sales Pro Insider, this conference will surely give visitors a chance to learn more about sales leadership and other topics. The host of the event is Women Sales Pros, a virtual community helping women in B2B sales and sales leadership in general.
12. Internet Summit
When: November 17-19, 2020
Where: Raleigh, NC, USA
Cost: passes start at $245 going up to $645
The agenda for this year isn’t out yet, however, last year’s sessions covered everything from social media and email marketing to mobile, storytelling, metric analytics to UX, and more.
So far it looks like the Internet Summit will be held in spite of the Pandemic, however, the team behind the conference hosts an array of online events as well.
13. Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo
When: December 1-3, 2020
Where: San Diego
Cost: Early bird tickets go for $3,625 by the second of October, after that, standard pricing will be $4,075.
Geared toward Chief Marketing Officers, leadership teams, and other marketing executives, the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo aims to give attendees a helping hand in navigating the latest digital marketing shifts and to help them how to get more out of their data insights. It also focuses on presenting the latest research data available in digital marketing.
Whether you are into innovation and leadership, analytics and data, customer experience, multichannel marketing, this event definitely has something for you.
Originally planned for earlier this year, the conference has been moved to December. Make sure to check their website out on coronavirus updates and possible streaming options.
14. Sales Hacker Success Summit
When: December 9-13, 2020
Cost: Free (register by clicking here)
If you are looking to get your sales skills to the next level, the Sales Hacker Success Summit is the virtual event for you.
The summit has eight different categories, great speakers, and useful worksheets to help you close deals, get into the world of enterprise sales, and generally fill sales funnels out better with more value for the customer.
To get you hyped up you can check out the event from previous years, and once you register, you can track the sessions you are looking forward to attending on your very own event calendar.
15. CONEX – The Content Experience
When: TBD (dates are still open, however, last year, it was held on August 20-22)
Where: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Cost: Previous year’s price tickets started around $899
CONEX – The Content Experience is a conference that aims to connect content marketers to showcase just how important proper content marketing is in the buyer journey from step one. With over 15 keynote speakers, this summit strives to offer an immersive experience focusing on the customer journey, the importance of a well-thought after-sales funnel strategy for every stage of the buyer-seller relationship.
Content writers, content marketers, and brand specialists – don’t miss this one! Unfortunately, exact dates are yet to be announced at the time of writing this article so keep your eyes peeled! Who knows, the conference may even go virtual.
The takeaway
Even though the global pandemic has forced the majority of in-person events to a halt, the digital realm has the tools and the resources to, in some form, take part in these conferences, still giving digital marketers and IT professionals a chance to learn about the latest trends.
And in such dynamic industries, following the trends is crucial for success.
