Industry events and conferences can be immensely valuable for brands and individuals alike, presenting opportunities to catch up on the latest trends, network with other professionals in the space, and learn how to more efficiently drive results.
With the massive shift in favor of digital or hybrid digital/in-person event experiences in 2021 and beyond, it’s easier than ever to access a range of events tailored to any marketing need. Which presents a time management challenge: how do I find the right events for my needs, and how can I optimize my time at an industry event?
To help, we’ve collected more than 15 marketing industry events to attend in 2021, covering everything from content marketing and demand generation to social media strategy and sales enablement.
Once you find events that pique your interest, check out this post to explore what type of event engagement you should pursue. Keep in mind that the majority of these events have a fee to attend (great content takes resources). And those registration fees typically increase as the event draws closer, so you should act fast to lock in a low rate.
Or, if your team is planning its own event, read through these tips on how to make the digital event experience engaging for your audience.
If we’re missing your favorite marketing industry conference, let us know in the comments! We’ll update this post throughout the year to keep you updated as new events are announced, so keep this bookmarked so you can check back as more are added.
Our Must-Attend Marketing Events for 2021
Adweek Challenger Brands Summit (February 22-25, Virtual)
Pulling from Adweek’s high-profile influence, you can expect a mix of celebrities and the biggest names in marketing as they discuss what it takes to adapt and break through in this era of marketing overload. You’ll walk away with new tactics and best practices that will help your team stay resilient, with topics spanning the rise of social responsibility, how to leverage TV and streaming channels, how to optimize your customer journey, and much more.
Social Media Strategies Summit (February 25-26, Virtual)
This summit is a deep dive on everything social media, and you can expect sessions that cover the latest platform updates, case studies on how brands broke through on social media, and the ways that data can inform your strategy.
MarTech (March 16-17, Virtual)
Hosted by the team behind MarTech Today, the MarTech conference focuses on the technologies that power modern marketing. The 2021 summit will explore how to implement marketing automation, how customer data platforms can enhance a data-driven culture, and attribution best practices, just to name a few.
ANA B2B Marketing Conference (March 24-25, Virtual)
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) hosts several conferences each year, including the annual B2B Marketing Conference. This year’s event will focus on driving business and growing sales through B2B marketing, with these four priorities: brand experience, creativity, and media; data, technology, and measurement; talent and marketing organization; and society and sustainability.
MarketingProfs B2B Forum (April 7-8, Virtual)
Our friends over at MarketingProfs, which includes marketing superstar Ann Handley, host this wonderful annual event that covers everything B2B marketers need to know to succeed today and into the future. If you’re not already a member of MarketingProfs (and you should be!), your ticket will get you a year-long subscription so you can access all of their training resources.
TOPO Summit (April 14-15, San Francisco)
TOPO is a company where marketing and sales analysts help companies accelerate their revenue growth, and the TOPO summit distills some of the best advice and actionable steps you can take to boost your team’s revenue through marketing. Expect sessions that will discuss sales enablement, how to measure your marketing success and tips on how to close deals faster.
LeadsCon (April 14-16, Virtual)
More than 1000 lead generation and performance marketing pros look forward to this annual event, which explores the relationship between sales and marketing and ways to tighten these teams.
Adobe Summit—The Digital Experience Conference (April 27-28, Virtual)
It’s hard to deny Adobe’s influence in the business world, and the team is known for hosting high-quality events on a range of marketing topics. This free virtual event will teach you how to make every action with your (prospective) customers valuable, with a specific look at the ways that Adobe technology can help.
Content Marketing Conference (April 27-29, Virtual)
In addition to more than 50 sessions, 10 keynotes (from the likes of Andrew Davis, Tamsen Webster, Karen X, and Andrew Tarvin), and 10 workshops, attending the Content Marketing Conference grants you access to CMC 365 On-Demand, which has recordings from the 2017-2020 events plus content strategy certification resources.
B2B Marketing Ignite USA (June 1-2, Virtual)
Ignite has six tracks that will cover the hottest topics for B2B marketing, including customer experience, execution and campaigns, growth, marketing operations and technology, brand and content strategy, and more. You’re sure to leave this event with actionable ways to refine your marketing strategies, and you’ll probably make a few friends along the way.
B2B Marketing Exchange (June 7-9, Scottsdale, AZ)
This annual event is hosted by Demand Gen Report and aims to empower marketers with details of the latest trends in B2B marketing. You can expect sessions to explore how content can drive conversions, ways to optimize your account-based marketing approach, and how sales and marketing can better align to improve the customer experience.
Podfest (June 10-13, Orlando, FL)
This event is geared toward content creators interested in audio, video, and new media technologies. The conference spans everything from podcast or video series creation and launches to ways that you can monetize this content and navigate the leading social platforms with video and audio in mind.
MozCon (July 12-14, Virtual)
“Not your typical marketing conference,” MozCon is hosted by, you guessed it, Moz, the popular SEO toolset provider. MozCon tackles everything dealing with SEO, mobile, conversion optimization, local search, and more, and you don’t have to be a Moz customer to attend.
Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference (MAICON) (July 13-15, Cleveland, OH)
Artificial intelligence is (and has remained) a hot topic across industries, and this event is designed to help marketing leaders understand AI, educate their teams, and begin implementing AI into their campaigns.
ANA Digital and Social Media Conference (July 19-July 21, Carlsbad, CA)
This is another annual event hosted by the ANA, with a focus on digital and social media strategies. The 2021 event details are still shaping up, but you can expect sessions that explore personalization, channel optimization, social listening, and measurement.
HubSpot INBOUND (September 7-10, Boston, MA + Virtual)
HubSpot’s annual INBOUND will gather nearly 70,000 marketing, sales, and service industry pros to discuss the latest marketing best practices and trade tips on how to better reach audiences. You’ll learn everything from how to navigate the latest social media platform updates, how to boost your SEO strategy, ways to create better content, and more.
Content Marketing World (Sept. 28-Oct. 1, Cleveland, OH + Virtual)
We’re huge fans of Content Marketing Institute and its incredible set of resources for marketers (which means we’re biased), but Content Marketing World is widely regarded as the marketing industry event to attend each year. Tickets are already available for a discount, and you’ll have access to 100+ sessions that cover the entire range of content marketing needs. Will we see you in (digital) Cleveland?
Looking for additional professional development resources? For more must-attend events, curated content from industry thought leaders, and previews of upcoming #ContentChat conversations, subscribe to The Content Chat Bulletin.
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