A client recently approached Communiqué PR for a recommendation on the best social media conferences. His goal is to learn more about techniques and best practices for leveraging social media to better engage customers with blogs, social networks and video. He recognized he has a lot to learn as he continues to migrate from traditional marketing activities to online social marketing, and feels that participation at the right conference or event could have a significant impact on his success.
Over the past couple of years, Colleen Moffitt and Jennifer Gehrt have spoken or participated in several social media conferences in Puget Sound, which they found extremely valuable. Jennifer even travelled to Amsterdam to chair a panel on crisis management at Enterprise Social 2.0. She was really impressed with the caliber of individuals at the event.
Given this, we decided to come with a list of top-notch conferences drawing a national audience, as well as mix of global brand name companies and early stage companies. After considering a number of conferences, here are the ones that rose to the top of our list:
- South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive: This conference has been held in March annually since 1994 in Austin, Texas attracting people globally. Twitter got its start at this conference in 2007. According to Patrick O’Keefe, owner of iFroggy Network, “The best aspect of this conference is its networking opportunities to connect with peers and learn how others are using new media.” Some of the past speakers include Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter; Ossama Alami, developer advocate at Google; and Glenn Brown, head of music partnerships at YouTube.
- Blog World & New Media Expo: This conference, held annually in Las Vegas, is largely focused on social media for both newbie’s and the experienced alike. It is a three-day event consisting of a trade show, conferences, networking opportunities and instruction for learning the latest trends in social media. The next Blog World & New Media Expo will be held October 14-16, 2010. To learn more about past presenters click here.
- F5 Expo: Held in Vancouver, Canada in early April, this conference is focused on fast-changing technology and upcoming trends. Its aim is to educate attendees about social media, mobile and online marketing while helping managers with business planning and development. Past speakers include; Malcolm Gladwell, author of “Tipping Point,” “Blink,” “Outliers” and “What the Dog Saw”; Martin Stoddart, senior product manager from Bing; Alfredo Tan, senior director of sales for Facebook; and Wesley Chan, entrepreneur and general partner of Google Ventures.
- Social Media Plus: This one-day event will take place in Philadelphia on May 25, 2010. At this conference, each seminar caters to a specific line-of-business manager at the executive level, human resources, information technology or sales and marketing. The mission of the event is to teach attendees how to implement social media strategies to build their brands, interact with customers and generate revenue. Scheduled speakers include Rohit Bhargavs, founding member of 360 Digital Influence group at Ogilvy; Mary Henige from General Motors; and Kathy O’Reilly, director of social media relations for Monster.com.
- PR + Social Media Summit: This one-day summit is focused on the convergence of strategic communication and social media. Held at Marquette University in Milwaukee in April, this conference provides attendees with insight on how and why to stand out in the cyber world. Speakers include Tim Blaire, vice president marketing communications for IBM; Mo Moorman, public relations director for Jockey International; Casey Kohner, social media manager for Trek Bicycle; and George Wright, vice president of marketing and sales for BlendTec.
If you have experience attending any of the conferences above or have attended others you enjoyed, we would love to hear about them.