Top Influencer Marketing Events and Conferences to Attend in 2019

Influencer marketing has increased in popularity over the last few years to the point where many now consider it mainstream. There are many events and conferences held around the world, aiming to increase peoples’ knowledge of influencer, content, and social media marketing. Many of them also provide excellent opportunities for brands and marketers to network with influencers.

Although there are fewer specialist influencer marketing events aimed at newbies, you are sure to find something that will interest you or your staff – particularly if you are willing to travel. Here is a list of relevant influencer marketing events and conferences still to come in 2019.

1. Social Media Strategies Summit

Chicago, IL USA – 30 April – 2 May 2019
New York City, NY USA – 15 – 17 October 2019

A series of Social Media Strategies Summits have been held across the USA during 2019. There are still two summits to be held, in Chicago and New York.

The Social Media Strategies Summits cover a full range of ways businesses can use social media to their benefit. This, of course, includes influencer marketing.

Each summit offers three days of social media marketing courses. The New York summit also provides a Higher Education strand parallel with the main summit.

The Chicago Summit includes sessions on:

• How to Engage and Manage Influencers for Your Next Marketing Campaign
• Leveraging Social Media to Increase Brand Loyalty
• Return on Influence: Rethinking and Maximizing You Influencer Marketing Strategy
• Why TikTok Has Influencers Dancing for Brands
• How Walgreens Uses Influencer Marketing to Support Retailer Owned Brands
• Influencers, Search Rankings and Collaboration – How to Work with Influencers to Drive Search Results

Relevant sessions that will be offered in New York include:

• Convert Viewers into Customers with YouTube Marketing and Ads
• Humanizing Your Brand with Internal Influencers – Employee Advocacy 2.0
• Influencer Marketing Case Study & Fireside Chat
• Influencer Marketing Tools to Help You Manage, Measure & Grow Your Program
• How to Run an Authentic Micro-Influencer Campaign that Boosts Your Bottom Line

2. The Social Shake-Up

Atlanta, GA USA – 6 – 8 May 2019

The Social Shake-Up an annual conference that grows in popularity each year. It aims to allow you to hear from the movers and shakers in social. It calls its participants “shakers.” As its name indicates, the conference covers all things social.

Sessions that are likely to be most relevant to those interested in influencer marketing include:

• Influencer Marketing: From Nano to Macro, Creating Partnerships That Work
• From Storytelling to Action: Tying Content Marketing to Business Goals
• Make YouTube More Than Just a Video Repository for Your Brand
• How to Use Social Listening for Better Marketing Campaigns
• Brand Ambassadors and Social Sellers: Influencers on Instagram and Facebook

The Social Shake-up will offer numerous networking opportunities, as well as an Influencer roundtable and a Meet the Influencers/Drinks with Shakers evening.

3. #Blogher19 Food

Brooklyn NY, USA – 8 May 2019

#Blogher runs a series of one-day events to inspire, empower, and celebrate women content creators. Next up is this year’s #Blogher19 Food. Hundreds of food content creators, influencers and entrepreneurs will come together for inspiration and learning throughout one day of food-focused panel discussions, interviews, and activations. More than 500 food content creators, influencers and entrepreneurs will come together for inspiration and learning.

Some of the main topics that #Blogher19 Food will highlight include:

• Passion to Profit: Gives the opportunity for participants to meet the influencers and entrepreneurs who have taken their passion for food and turned it into a thriving business or brand
• Learn from Her: Female leaders talk on trending food topics, the growing digital food industry, how to build your business, and more
• Winning Women:  Empowering conversations with strong women who are breaking boundaries in the food industry to make the world a better place for all

4. Influence This: Social Content Edition

Toronto, Canada – 15 May 2019

Influence This promotes itself as Canada’s premier Influencer marketing conference. It targets marketers, agencies, publishers, media, and advertising technologies, and creators.

Some of the relevant sessions on its agenda include:

• The King Makers of The Instagram Economy
• Create, Upload, Publish: A Cheat Sheet for Maximizing Reach and Engagement of Your Video Content
• Creator Media: The Evolution of Influencer Marketing
• The Art & Science of Picking the Right Influencers for Your Brand
• Measuring Return on Influence
• Designing and Executing Micro Influencers Programs

5. Savage Marketing 2019

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – 12 – 13 June 2019

If you are involved in B2C marketing and can get to The Netherlands in June, then Savage Marketing 2019 may be of value to you. It will feature 50 speakers holding 40 sessions for 500 marketers.

It covers all spheres of marketing but will include much of value to influencer, social media, and content marketers. Some notable items on the agenda include:

• Speaking Gen Z: Preparing for The Future
• Human or AI Centered Innovation!
• Creating Storytelling Ambassadors
• Overcoming Content Creation Hurdles with Hyperpersonalization
• Brand Building for Young Digital Natives
• Activating Youth Through esports

6. Digital Growth Unleashed

Las Vegas, NV USA – 17 – 19 June 2019
London, UK – 16 – 17 October 2019
Berlin, Germany – 18 – 19 November 2019

Digital Growth Unleashed used to be offered as the Conversion Conference, held more than two dozen times at various locations since 2010. It will focus on how to create the most compelling customer experiences by meeting the needs of your clients and prospects more fully.

The Las Vegas conference includes the following topics on its agenda:

• The Future of Digital Marketing
• Personalization Without Being Creepy
• Using Content to Drive Down the Funnel
• Become a Badass Brand on Social
• Content Recycling 101​

7. VidCon 10

Anaheim, CA USA – 10 – 13 July 2019

VidCon runs for the 10th time in 2019. It focuses strongly on the world of video and features all social channels that allow video, e.g., YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitch, and TikTok.

Attendees can choose from three tracks depending on their interest:

• The Community Track – for fans who come to VidCon to meet their favorite creators and have a good time
• The Creator Track – for video-makers wanting to learn how to make better content, break into the industry or meet fellow creators
• The Industry Track – for companies, brands, and technology companies who wish to build the strategies, insights, and alliances

Marketers, business owners, creators, and influencers wanting to participate in video Influencer marketing should follow the Industry Track, which has a separate lounge, and its own seminars, keynotes, panels, and fireside chats.

8. Haven

Atlanta GA, USA – 18-20 July 2019

Haven pitches itself as the DIY, design, and lifestyle influencers conference. It targets passionate bloggers, as well as influencers interested in do-it-yourself projects, and creating beauty in the home.

The conference brings 350 pro-bloggers together with over 100 sponsor representatives for a 3-day event. Sessions will focus on improving skills in blogging, decorating, home improvement, photography, writing, social media, brand relationships, book writing, and more.

The conference sessions are split up by type, including Influencer Business, at both beginning and advanced level.

Influencer Business – Beginner sessions include:

• Branding for the Beginner
• Setting up a Blog Beautifully
• Starting to See SEO

Advanced Influencer Business sessions include:

• Advanced SEO – Advanced
• Tools of the Instagram Trade

There will also be more than 10 other influencer-related sessions targeted at a more general knowledge and experience level.

9. Beauty Con Festivals

Los Angeles, CA USA – 10 – 11 August 2019

The Beauty Con Festivals provide an opportunity for anybody with an interest in beauty to meet up with the real influencers in the industry. Many top beauty-related influencers make a point of coming to the festivals to meet up with their fans in person.

The New York Beauty Con festival was held on April 6 and 7. West Coasters can network with top beauty influencers in Los Angeles in August.

Last year 30,000 people came to the Los Angeles Beauty Con. More than 150 brands chose to attend, giving an up-close look at their best products.

10. CM World 2019

Cleveland, OH USA – 3 – 6 September 2019

The CM World (Content Marketing World) Conference and Expo returns in 2019. Leading brand marketers and experts from around the world will present over 120 sessions and workshops, covering strategy, storytelling, ROI, demand generation, AI, and other new ideas.

The conference includes an extensive agenda, covering every strand of content marketing, across 25 tracks. These range from the keynote topic (Big Ideas) to visual storytelling to SEO and AI/machine learning.

11. Tastemaker Conference

Portland, OR USA – 19 – 21 September 2019

The Tastemaker Conference is a food blogger conference for influencers and content creators where food bloggers and Influencers can mix with vendors and foodies. There will be a wide range of sessions relevant to food bloggers and influencers.

The Tastemaker Conference also gives opportunities for brands sponsoring and attending to connect with high-profile food bloggers and influencers.

The third day of the event, Saturday, September 21, gives an opportunity to participate in a “foodie excursion” in the Portland area.

12. Influencer Marketing Show

London – 22-23 October 2019

One of the few scheduled specialist influencer marketing events this year will be London’s Influencer Marketing Show. It aims to educate brands, enabling them to make smarter influencer marketing decisions.

Organizers have indicated that they will cover:

• The most effective ways to work with influencers across the globe to ensure campaigns consistently hit KPIs.
• How AI and data will be essential in future influencer marketing campaigns
• Hands-on interactive workshops to give the skills required to run campaigns and actionable tasks to take back to the office
• Key areas of consideration you need to consider if running influencer marketing campaigns in 2019 and 2020
• Key strategies required to run multi-channel award-winning campaigns
• Virtual Influencers. Is this the future? How can your brand be informed and ready for the inevitable rise of virtual influencers.