15+ Social Media Conferences in 2018 You Can’t Miss

Yes, we know it’s unlikely you will get a chance to visit all of them. (Almost) nobody gets to travel to a conference or an industry event more than once a month. Hell, even once every two months is a stretch… But if you do get a chance to go to any conference – we tried helping you narrow down the list.

Social media marketing has allowed us to build brands and increase brands’ recognition and visibility, build relationships and communicate with customers, which directly leads to higher brand loyalty and higher conversion rates.

If you want to learn more about maximizing the potential of social networking platforms – the obvious choice is social media conferences. Live events, presentations, workshops… all provide unique learning and networking opportunities that you just can’t find anywhere else.

More often than not, it’s difficult to keep up with all of the changes happening in the social media landscape. In order to stay on top of your game, you need to learn straight from the experts in the field. And social media events are your golden ticket.

We took the liberty of compiling a list of must-attend social media marketing conferences that we believe will light up the social world in 2018.

Social Media Strategies Summit

• When: Feb 6 – Feb 8, 2018
• Where: San Francisco, California

We’re starting off big with a must-go-to event for any marketer wishing to learn about social media strategies and methods that achieve actual results. Social Media Strategies Summit provides no-nonsense, practical takeaways that you can act on immediately.

Some of the speakers for 2018 conference include the VP of Marketing and Innovation of Campbell Soup Company Diego Norris, the VP of Wells Fargo Machu Latorre, the Storyteller of Microsoft Miri Rodriguez, and many others.

This 2-day conference has a tradition of providing Pre-Summit Social Media Training Sessions, and this time they will be held by Mike Brown, the founder of Brainzooming group. The workshop “Write an effective and sustainable social media & content marketing plan on a budget” will take you through time-saving tools and exercises to cost-effectively enhance the strategic and brand-building impact of your social content implementation.

If for any reason you’re unable to attend the event in San Francisco, there will be another Social Media Strategies Summit in Chicago in April, with real-life case studies, an extensive list of brilliant speakers, and many workshops and interactive sessions.

Bonus: Social Media Strategies Summit Higher Education which will be held in Boston on November 2 and 3 2017 and it is very likely going to be held around the same time next year as well!

GrowthHackers Conference

• When: Feb 6, 2018
• Where: San Diego, California

After you’ve charged your batteries during the holiday season, the GrowthHackers Conference promises to get you ready for the upcoming year by kickstarting your growth at the beginning of February. As the name implies, this conference is all about growing, and it’ll prepare you to utilize the knowledge you’ve acquired during this event. Each year the attention is drawn to social media and the importance of its growth. If you’d like to learn more, you can read about the last year’s conference here.

They’ve already compiled a list of speakers for the 2018 conference, but make sure to check their website regularly as they will be announcing more speakers soon. First and foremost, the presenter we will be hearing from in this event is the GrowthHacker’s Founder and CEO, Sean Ellis, then we have CMO of ClassPass, Joanna Lord, Spotify’s VP of Growth & Marketing, Mayur Gupta, VP of Growth at Skyscanner, Yara Paoli, and others.

And according to last year’s participants, 2017 conference was a win…

Compliments to @SeanEllis & his @GrowthHackers team, awesome conference yesterday. Hopefully, we can host one of the next ones in !

— Yannick Khayati (@Yakha88) May 25, 2017

#GHCONF17 great start with @SeanEllis . Have already had some great conversations. Great info. Awesome turnout. pic.twitter.com/DcwBY8yKfn

— Gianni D’Alerta (@GianniDalerta) May 24, 2017

#GHConf17 so far is fantastic.

— Ethan Garr (@Caprisailor) May 24, 2017

I am loving this presentation about @AdobeSpark‘s approach to growth hacking. So many practical tips re: structure & process! #GHConf17

— Jewel Burks (@jewelmelanie) May 24, 2017

Social Media Marketing World

• When: Feb 28 – March 2, 2018
• Where: San Diego, California

Social Media Marketing World is widely known as the world’s largest social media marketing conference, where you’ll be able to connect with over 5,000 marketers and creators including the top social media pros and experts.

Some of the presenters that will be speaking at this conference include Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist of Canva, Mari Smith, known as “The Queen of Facebook”, and the president of Convince & Convert, Jay Baer.

This event has an outstanding networking system that is going past traditional methods. To make things run more smoothly for you, they have introduced the Networking Ambassadors that will help you with any connection you’d like to make.

They have also organized networking events such as Networking Power Walks, and parties that are providing relaxing atmosphere, making everybody feel more comfortable and more open to connections. Pretty neat!

Adobe Summit 2018

• When: March 25 – March 29, 2018
• Where: Las Vegas, Nevada

The Adobe Summit conference is a no-brainer – although at first glance it may seem like their focus isn’t on social media marketing, industry professionals and Adobe’s own social marketing experts will be sharing insights and strategies that’ll help your company crack the code of social sphere.

They are providing two days of in-depth pre-conference courses, three days of sessions and labs, and all the information your business needs to make experiences the core of your business. Some of the last year’s speakers were Jill Cress CMO of National Geographic, Nick Drake SVP of Digital at T-Mobile, and Pam El, EVP and CMO of NBA.

But the sessions and workshops are just a part of what makes this event such a valuable experience: the entire summit brings countless opportunities to engage with peers, partners, Adobe experts, and all that through Community Pavilion, one-on-one meetings, and plenty of opportunities to network.

Gain insights, develop skills, reimagine experiences in Las Vegas, the city of lights and opportunities!

Online Influence Conference

• When: March 29, 2018
• Where: Bristol, United Kingdom

Social media marketing is global, but even when we talk about one idea opinions might range depending on the area of the world. Why not expand your horizons and book a flight to Bristol, where the Europe’s fastest growing social media innovation conference is held?

Online Influence conference presents a world-class congregation of social, mobile, and technology experts that will discuss the most relevant subjects.

Some of the past speakers might show you the magnitude of this conference: Head of Social Content of Yahoo Tasnim Bhuiyan, Warner Music UK Joshua Saunders, Marketing Director of NBC Universal Colleen Quill, Head Of Social Media & Audience Development at Sky News Richard Evans, and many many more.

Oh, and did we mention it was free?

Just by showing up, you will have access to ignite stage talk, 80 exhibitors, networking breaks, and an all-day entry to the venue, free of charge. There’s also an option that will provide you more access to what this conference has to offer with just £49 per day.

Digital Summit Los Angeles

• When: April 10 – April 11, 2018
• Where: Los Angeles, California

Digital Summit gathers digital thought leaders from top brands that will be sharing their insights with you on the latest digital marketing strategies, trends, best practices, and execution techniques.

Digital Summit Los Angeles 2017 leaders and experts included Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple, Beverly Jackson, VP of Social Media Marketing and Content Strategy of MGM Resorts International, Chris Sanders, Industry Manager and Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook, Brad Spychalski, Creative Strategy Lead at Instagram, and many more respectable speakers, and we’re eager to know who will become a part of the 2018 summit.

What makes this conference unique, is their Digital Summit Series counting 15 conferences all across the US! There’s Digital Summit Kansas City in the upcoming month of May, and Digital Summit Portland in July if you’re not sure if you’ll be able to go to LA one.

I haven’t missed a year! I walk away each year with great reminders, new ideas and vendor suggestions. You guys have grown this thing that gets better each year – Anonymous 2016 Digital Summit attendee

Social Media Week

• When: April 24 – April 27, 2018
• Where: New York, New York

Social Media Week is one of the world’s leading conferences for professionals on the crossroads of social media, marketing, and technology. In 2018, Social Media Week will celebrate 10th annual conference, during which the human connectivity and the power of technology will be celebrated together as the force that brings the world closer together.

Social Media Week will give fresh information, insights, emerging trends, and best practices provided by the most innovative and inspiring thinkers of the social media marketing sphere. Some of their past speakers include the founder and CEO of Buzzfeed Jonah Peretti, EVP at Partners Solutions of National Geographic Claudia Malley, CEO of the New York Times Company Mark Thompson, Global head of brand strategy at Vox Media, Lindsay Nelson, and other respective experts.

If you’re thinking about going to this conference, we recommend you to buy the tickets ASAP while they’re 50% off.

Bonus: Social Media Week annually holds a Chicago conference, so make sure to check their website regularly if you don’t want to miss SMW but you can’t make it in April. This year, Social Media Week Chicago will be held from November 13 to November 17, so bookmark those days for the coming year as well!

The Inbounder Global Conference 2018

• When: April 25 – April 26, 2018
• Where: Madrid, Spain

The Inbounder Global Conference 2018 is taking us to Europe once again, this time to Spain – country of extraordinary wine, delicious paella, and flamenco. After the success of its first event in 2016, the new conference will take place again in the spring of 2018, bringing more than 20 international speakers, success stories, the latest SEO and analytics results, changes in marketing and technology, social media and content trends, and much more!

The Inbounder Global Conference is the result of a congregation of diverse experts with concerns in the sphere of digital transformation and culture willing to share their knowledge with the world.

Some of the speakers from the 2016 Inbounder were Aleyda Solís, International SEO and ASO Consultant at Orainti, Barbara Mackey, Senior Web Analyst for the NET-A-PORTER Group, Clara Ávila, Content Manager at Save the Children, Fernando Macià, Director of Human Level just to name a few.

Adobe Summit EMEA

• When: May 3- May 4, 2018
• Where: London, United Kingdom

Wait, didn’t we already talk about the Adobe Summit? Yes. Except that one will be held in the Western Hemisphere, and this one in Greenwich. Not literally, of course, Adobe Summit EMEA will take place at the ExCeL in London, approximately 24 minutes away from the Greenwich.

This conference is mainly focused on digital marketing, but they believe that cross-business attendees will bring richness and provide a fresh point of view. They claim this event is for almost everyone, advertisers, analysts, campaign managers, content managers, digital marketers, marketing executives, publishers, and social media marketers.

In order to understand how remarkable this conference is, we’d like to share some of the speakers from Summit EMEA 2017: Dr. Rainer Feurer, Senior VP of BMW Group, Colin Firth CBE actor, Nick Drake, Senior VP of Digital of T-Mobile, Emma Scott, CEO of Beano Studios, Belinda Parmar OBE, CEO of The Empathy Business just to name a few.

The Social Shake-Up

• When: May 7 – May 9, 2018
• Where: Atlanta, Georgia

The Social Shake-Up is promising the strategies and tactics that have shaken up the social media marketing world thus far and have no intention of stopping.

With more than 30 years of conference programming under their belt, they are confident in providing high-end interactive sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and much more.

Their focus is on social media marketing sphere as a whole. Every speaker will share an example of out of the ordinary, unique social media success. If the initiative did not shake things up in some way, it won’t be brought up!

Their featured speakers are surely the game changers, we have the Coca-Cola Company’s Group Director and a Brand PR, Kate Hartman, AirBnB’s Americas’ Head of Social Jasmine Atherton, Twitter’s Manager of Content Strategy and Planning, Nina Mishkin, and also the new wave of content creators such as the Digital Marketing Influencer Nathan Pirtle, and Snapchat Pioneer & Entrepreneur Shaun (Shonduras) McBride among others.

In the video below you can see what some of them have to say about the conference.

You can notice the pattern of their incentive: shake-up – and that is exactly what needs to happen in order for social currents to shift.

Social Media Camp

• When: May 3 – May 3, 2018
• Where: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Social Media Camp is Canada’s largest social media conference, with its distinctive outlook on marketing.

They believe that marketing is more than “skin deep”, their focus is on cultural impacts of social media, its effects on politics, and its security and safety implications.

Social Media Camp takes pride in their prominent networking methods where attendees will be able to share ideas, collaborate, and build lasting partnerships effortlessly.

Some of the speakers who have attended the Social Media Camp 2017 are Ramona Pringle, the Creative Director of Ryerson University, Rory Capern Managing Director of Twitter Canada, Bosco Anthony Digital Marketing Strategist of Tribe1, and Ian Cleary, RazorSocial Digital Strategist and Marketing Technologist.

This conference is an inclusive one – everyone from professionals to newbies is warmly welcomed, plus if you are newer to social media, they provide a complimentary coaching program that will help kick-start your Social Media Camp experience!

Take a look at this video to learn a little bit more about it.

Gartner Digital Marketing Conference

• When: May 15 – May 17, 2018
• Where: San Diego, California

Gartner Digital Marketing Conference has been proudly named as a premier gathering for senior marketing leaders. As Nicole Ellis, Senior Marketing Communications Manager at Rich Products puts it:

The only challenge in attending this conference is prioritization of what great insights to leverage and tackle post-conference. A wealth of insights, a multitude of tools, a great boost to any organization’s digital strategies.

Their team of experts are tried and tested marketing pros, including former CMOs and senior agency leaders will give you practical, actionable insight, so you can make important decisions faster, and with more confidence.

Featured speakers are Gartner’s analysts Christi Eubanks and Jennifer Polk, both specialist for digital marketing, and Research Director Chris Ross.

When it comes to exhibitors, the Gartner Digital Marketing Conference will help you develop a short list of digital and service providers who can meet your particular needs.

Engage Prague 2018

• When: May 18, 2018
• Where: Prague, Czech Republic

Engage Prague is a spectacular conference which brings experts from all around the globe who will be sharing their experiences and visions for the future of social media. This sentence may seem repetitive, everyone brings the professionals who will be sharing their experiences, right?

Well, this conference’s main focus is that – they aim to bring only speakers who are on par with their own vision of revolutionizing the digital and social world. Some of the last year’s speakers include Pete Blackshaw VP of Digital and Social Media at Nestle, Beverly Jackson, VP of Social Media Marketing of MGM Resorts International, Thomas Bata, Chief Marketing Officer Global at Bata Group, Laura Miller, Director of Online Engagement in the Office of Digital Strategy at Obama Administration and many others.

Engage also takes pride in their workshops, having done over 40 of them in 2017 and categorizing them depending on the user’s level. One of the workshops for beginners was conducted by Matic Babnik, Digital Communications Coordinator from Renault. An intermediate one was held by Veronica McGregor, News and Social Media Manager from NASA, and one of the advanced workshops by Daniel Biegaj, Media and Business Development Director from Feno.

Take a look at what visitors have to say about Engage Prague!

PubCon Las Vegas

It’s too early to get confirmation about this conference for 2018, but since PubCon Las Vegas 2017 will be held from November 6 until November 9, following the tradition it will surely be happening around the same time next year.

Forbes named Pubcon Las Vegas as the must-attend conference for growing your business as they’re the top event for making your own unique experiences during a week filled with the world’s top technology speakers and Pubcon’s famous networking built on a 17-plus year history!

You can have a look at the extensive list of their past speakers, keynotes, and pretty impressive testimonials.

Social Media Results For PR and Comms Conference

Now that’s a mouthful! And the conference itself is something out of the ordinary. They are passionate about differentiating themselves and creating a better quality conference where the client is at the very core. As they proudly put it:

Our mission is to create a conference experience which is personal, which breathes quality and which represents absolute value for time and money.

Social Media Results For PR and Comms Conference is a one-day, brand-led conference and networking event that will be held on November 23rd this year, and we’re expecting it around the same time in 2018 as well.

Some of the speakers of this year’s conference are Lucy Reynolds, Head of Product PR, Global PR Communications at Jaguar Land Rover, Mark Hooper Head of PR Europe at Visa, Scott Somerville Senior Manager – PR and Issues Management at E.ON Energy Solutions Ltd, Kerry Thorpe Comms & PR Lead for Europe at Ben & Jerry’s.

Social Fresh

Social Fresh is a 2-day conference packed with actionable presentations and case studies. This event is, according to the organizers, the longest running social marketing conference, focusing less on the vague theory and more specific strategies and execution.

If you work in digital and specifically are trying to solve challenges with your social media and content marketing, then Social Fresh is for you. They make sure all content is highly actionable and works for B2B and B2C needs.

This is again one of those conferences we’ll still have to wait for more information about 2018. But looking at 2017 plan you can get the picture of how it might turn out next year.  Some of the speakers for 2017 conference are, once again Beverly Jackson VP Social & Content at MGM Resorts, Brian Fanzo, Founder and CEO of iSocialFanz LLC, Tyler Anderson CEO of Casual Fridays amongst others.

And lastly, you can hear what some of the attendees have to say about it.

This is our list of social media conferences for 2018 that we believe would be more than helpful to anyone aiming to grow their business using social media.

Does any of these conferences spark your interest? Or have we missed your favorite social media marketing conference? Let us know in the comments!