In the rapidly evolving digital world of marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), staying on top of the latest innovative technologies and techniques is critical for success. One way to do so is by attending industry conferences, which bring together experts, thought leaders, and practitioners worldwide to share insights, exchange ideas, and learn from one another.
For businesses and marketing professionals in Chicago and other midwestern states, attending local conferences can be an excellent way to stay on top of the latest digital marketing and SEO developments while also making valuable connections within the local industry.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the top digital marketing and SEO conferences taking place in Chicago and other Midwestern states in 2024.
2024 Chicago SEO and Digital Marketing Conferences to Visit
Chicago Small Business Expo 2024
Date: Wed, Apr 26, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum, 725 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL
Cost: $0 – $300
About: Chicago’s Small Business Expo is the largest professional network for small business owners and entrepreneurs across various industries. You can network, get inspired, meet other entrepreneurs who share your interests, and market your business at the conference. Event badges are required for entry. There are five types (Green, Gold, Platinum, VIP, and Elite). The higher the badge, the more expensive and beneficial the membership is.
B2B Online Chicago
Date: Mon, May 1 – Wed, May 3, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Marriott Chicago Downtown, IL
Cost: $2,299 for Manufacturers and Distributors and $3,399 for Solution Providers
About: B2B online Chicago is the place to be in spring with 500+ B2B Leaders, 60 distinctive workshops, and 3 jam-packed days. You’ll get chances to interact, share ideas, and have fun with your peers. The theme of the 3-day event is broken down as follows:
Day 1 – Transformation With Digital Innovation: Going From Good To Great. It will include panel discussions on modern marketing to increase ROI, B2B online, personalization, putting the customer first, enabling distributors to succeed, and defining & creating a content strategy.
Day 2 – Creating A Best-in-Class Customer Experience. The panel discussions will focus on champions of change, headless commerce, leveraging e-commerce for sale, accelerating digital for business, embracing digital to reshape & enhance your business, and building a paid brand presence to reach consumers.
Day 3 – Growing Your eCommerce: Actionable Ideas To Increase Your Sales. This will feature creating content to generate revenue, aligning sales & marketing, improving organic search, creating a loyalty program, building an account-based marketing program, and developing a roadmap for business processes.
TECHSPO Chicago 2024 Technology Expo (AdTech ~ MarTech)
Date: Wed, May 3 – Thur, May 4, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Soldier Field Stadium 1410 Museum Campus Dr Chicago, IL
Cost: From $37 – $697 (save from $10 – $100 when you buy tickets before Apr 21)
About: The Chicago leg of the Techspo, which spans 12 US cities, brings together some of the top developers, companies, marketers, technology suppliers, designers, and innovators eager to set the pace in our cutting-edge technological world. It highlights the latest Internet, mobile, AdTech, MarTech, SaaS, and technology developments.
Speakers from the media, advertising, and digital marketing sectors will deliver practical insights, data-driven expertise, and cutting-edge concepts. Exhibitors can showcase their businesses to customers, potential investors, the media, the most sought-after talent, and the largest group of tech enthusiasts eager to embrace innovative brands.
DigiMarCon Midwest 2024
Date: Wed, May 3 – Thur, May 4, 2024
Format: In-person and online
Location: Soldier Field Stadium 1410 Museum Campus Dr Chicago, IL
Cost: $247 (for online), $647 – $1,297 (for in-person)
About: The conference in Chicago’s Soldier Field Stadium is jam-packed with information on digital marketing best practices, current trends, practical solutions, strategy, and networking opportunities. You can also learn about the newest Internet, mobile, AdTech, MarTech, and SaaS technology developments.
The two-day marketing and advertising conference will leave you motivated, inspired, and transformed by the gifted speakers and presentations made to enrich you and your company. In the 4th edition of the DigiMarCon Midwest leg, you will discover more at this conference about:
- Content Marketing
- Data Science & Big Data
- Email Marketing
- Inbound & Outbound Marketing
- Influencer Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Paid Search Marketing
- Sales & Marketing Automation
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Marketing
- UI / UX Design
- User-Generated Content
- Video Marketing
- Web experience management, etc.
Retail Innovation Conference & Expo
Date: Tue, Jun 13 – Thur, Jun 15, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: McCormick Place, Chicago
Cost: Free (expo hall pass) and $1,295 (all-access pass)
About: What executives are thinking about right now and the trends and technology that are causing the next wave of disruption in the sector are themes covered at the Retail Innovation Conference & Expo (RICE).
Although the Retail Innovation Conference & Expo serves as the overall venue for the event, the sessions and panels are divided into three smaller conferences called IRCE, Design: Retail Conference and Expo, and Retail Innovation Summit. These conferences were thoughtfully created to address the specific needs of various job roles and teams.
The IRCE, which focuses on digital marketers, will be a meeting place for digital teams and e-commerce leaders to exchange knowledge about expanding their brands across social, mobile, marketplaces, and other channels.
Chicago eCommerce Summit
Date: Tue, Sept 26, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel
Cost: $200 – $1,500
About: The Chicago eCommerce Conference is a professional networking and learning opportunity. Local eCommerce decision-makers and professionals from Chicago-area retailers, brands, merchants, and solution providers will unite for one day in person.
The conference is designed to make a big impact, exchanging ideas, learning, and networking. The day includes lectures, panel discussions, and one-on-one sessions about eCommerce strategy, marketing, operations, customer experience, payment, shipping, loyalty, and other topics.
5th Annual Digital Marketing for Financial Services Midwest Summit
Date: Tue, Sept 26 – Wed, Sept 27, 2024
Format: In-person and Virtual
Location: Chicago
Cost: $995
About: The 5th Annual DMFS Midwest Summit is one of the most important events in the Digital Marketing for Financial Services summit series. The most recent developments in FinServ marketing will be examined, including personalization, AI, mobile, consumer behavior, and influencer marketing.
It will also offer helpful advice on email marketing tactics, social media, creative analytics, and digital marketing. In order to improve customer interactions, it will connect teams and brands across various businesses.
2024 Midwest SEO and Digital Marketing Conferences to Visit
Midwest Digital Marketing Conference (MDMC23)
Date: Mon, Apr 17 – Tue, Apr 18, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri, St. Louis (UMSL) campus.
Cost: $99 – $299
About: Deep-dive sessions will be given on Monday at the 2024 Midwest Digital Marketing Conference. There will also be featured keynote speakers and over 20 breakout sessions led by industry leaders in digital marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, data and analytics, and more on Tuesday.
Minneapolis eCommerce Summit
Date: Thur, Apr 27, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: The Loews Minneapolis Hotel
Cost: $200 – $1,500
About: The Minneapolis chapter of the eCommerce Summit is a premier digital marketing event. The one-day event will local eCommerce experts and decision-makers from retailers, brands, merchants, and solution providers.
Like the Chicago chapter mentioned above, it is intended for making a big impression, exchanging ideas, learning, and networking. The summit includes panel discussions, presentations, and one-on-one sessions on eCommerce strategy, marketing, operations, customer experience, payment, shipping, loyalty, and more.
Confab: The Content Strategy Conference
Date: Sun, Apr 30 – Wed, May 3, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN
Cost: $695 – $2,795
About: Confab is a gathering of individuals interested in enhancing the usefulness and usability of content for all users. It is intended to assist in bridging the gaps between the several practice areas that concentrate on various types of digital content. Speakers include industry pioneers and content executives from major businesses who bring intriguing, fresh insights every year.
Participants worldwide can network with other content lovers from companies like Atlassian, Adobe, Facebook, HubSpot, Microsoft, Oracle, and Zendesk. The talks cover a variety of related subjects, such as:
- Website content strategy,
- Content design for digital products,
- Enterprise content operations,
- SEO for findability,
- Analytics and performance,
- Workflow and stakeholder management,
- Content accessibility and inclusivity,
- Growing your career in content, and more.
DigiMarCon Great Lakes 2024
Date: Thur, Jun 8 – Fri, Jun 9, 2024
Format: In-person and online
Location: Westin Book Cadillac Detroit Hotel in Detroit, Michigan
Cost: $697 – $1,397
About: DigiMarCon Great Lakes is jam-packed with new trends in digital marketing, tried-and-true strategies, networking opportunities, and cutting-edge technology.
Professionals in digital marketing, media, and advertising will impart to you the skills and knowledge so that you can enhance and change your company by utilizing the most recent digital marketing strategies. You will be inspired, engaged, informed, and encouraged to work more effectively by thought-provoking, keynote speakers.
These digital marketing strategies and solutions will be discussed, along with success stories from companies that have successfully implemented them. You will leave with your mind, notebooks, and professional tools full of action items and ideas to lead and propel you to even greater success.
Social Media Week Lima 2024
Date: Web, Jun 21 – Thur, Jun 22, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: UNOH Event Center, Lima, Ohio USA
Cost: $50 – $250
About: Digital Media Week Lima returns in 2024 with innovative concepts and brilliant marketing ideas. The social media conference will teach you how to create and maintain an unbeatable brand. The two-day conference will help you grow your company and improve your marketing strategies.
Midwest E-com Conference 2024
Date: Wed, July 19 – Fri, July 21, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Minneapolis
Cost: N/A
About: The Midwest e-Com Conference was developed by business owners for business owners. This event educates sellers on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other platforms about changes in the e-commerce industry, emerging strategies, guidelines for selling on these many platforms, and how to expand their businesses. It attracts vendors with a wide variety of experience, from newcomers to experienced ones. You can network with retailers, vendors, specialists, and more by attending the Midwest e-Com conference!
Digital Summit Minneapolis 2024
Date: Wed, Aug 16 – Thur, Aug 17, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 Second Ave S, Minneapolis, MN
Cost: $895
About: Digital Summit was developed with marketers in mind and would benefit their careers and marketing the most. The Digital Summit conferences draw seasoned marketers, creatives, and other professionals from Fortune 1000 companies and other top businesses. It includes deep dives, 1:1 mentoring, 30- to 45-minute breakout sessions, roundtable conversations led by attendees, and fireside chats with top experts.
Digital Summit Detroit 2024
Date: Tue, Sept 19 – Wed, Sept 20, 2024
Format: In-person
Location: Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Avenue, Novi, MI
Cost: $895
About: Similar to its Minneapolis counterpart, the Detroit chapter of the Digital Summit is a two-day gathering that includes 30- to 45-minute breakout sessions, participant-driven roundtable discussions, fireside chats, mentoring, and deep dives. It gathers digital marketing professionals from Fortune 1000 companies, experienced marketers, designers, and more.
The Bottom Line
Attending digital marketing and SEO conferences in Chicago in 2024 can provide an excellent opportunity for marketers and SEO specialists to learn, connect with industry experts, and stay ahead of the game. Don’t live in Chicago? Don’t worry, more conferences are taking place across Midwestern states and beyond. Learn about SEO strategies and social media marketing, branding, and customer engagement.
Attending a conference can be a valuable investment for anyone looking to take their digital marketing or SEO game to the next level. They can gain valuable insights from some of the most well-respected professionals in the marketing and advertising industry and gain a competitive edge in the fast-changing world of digital marketing and SEO.
And for those in need of expert help and guidance in navigating the complex world of digital marketing for their business, Comrade Digital Marketing Agency is always available. As a full-service digital marketing agency, Comrade offers a wide range of services to help companies to succeed online, including SEO, PPC advertising, web design, and more to help businesses achieve their digital marketing goals and grow their revenue.
