The leaves are changing, and the holidays are approaching, but Chicago is a lively city that's full of members of the marketing community, and that means that there are plenty of great events scheduled for the upcoming month. We're excited about the following events, and we hope to meet you if you're planning to attend any of them!
Election Day
While this isn't technically a marketing event (although we can definitely learn plenty about marketing from the candidates' campaigns), don't forget to vote on Tuesday, November 8! If you still need to register, or if you need to find your polling place, Illinois residents can visit this page, and people in the rest of the country can find information here.
Events and Conferences
General Assembly's Made in Chicago Week
General Assembly presents their second annual Made in Chicago Week on November 3-11, which features a number of free events and workshops that explore the tech, design, and media that is being created in Chicago. Here are a few of the events that marketers will be interested in:
- Thursday, November 3, 6:00-8:00 PM - The Future of Media + Technology. This panel discussion will look at how social, mobile, and video technologies are changing the media industry and what the future of that industry will look like.
- Friday, November 11: 12:00-1:30 PM - Run Social Media Ads Like a Pro. This workshop will look at how to find success with social advertising, including an in-depth examination of the Facebook Ads network and a discussion of what the future holds for social media ads.
Sales and Marketing Alignment Summit
This one-day summit, which will take place on November 3, will feature discussions about how to align sales and marketing teams to drive revenue growth, along with opportunities for networking with other members of Chicago's marketing community. Tickets to this event are $10.
Content Marketing Master Class
This one day conference from the Content Marketing Institute will take place on Wednesday, November 9, and it will feature a number of great speakers and workshops who will look at topics like managing content creation, treating content as a product, and storymapping. Tickets to this event are $695.
Digital Experience (DX) Summit 2016
This event from CMSWire, which takes place on November 14-16, will feature many leaders in the fields of Digital Customer Experience and Marketing Technology, providing a wealth of opportunities for education and networking. Tickets to this conference start at $750.
Social Media Week Chicago
This conference, which takes place from November 14-18, will feature some of the top leaders in the fields of entertainment, media, marketing, and technology, and attendees will be able to experience a number of sessions and workshops on topics such as measuring engagement, local social media marketing, and creating engaging video content. Tickets to this conference start at $579.
Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit
This event, which will take place from November 29-30, focuses on the importance of data analytics to today's businesses. In addition to many sessions which will cover how organizations can use data to drive ROI, marketers can learn about how to use attribution data and real-time personalization. Tickets to this conference start at $995.
Classes and Workshops
- Thursday, November 3, 12:00-1:30 PM - Automate Your Marketing! Planning Ahead To Convert & Keep. This free class presented by Illinois Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) at UIC will look at how small business owners can use automated email campaigns to connect with their customers.
- Thursday, November 3, 6:00-8:00 PM - Content 101: Email Marketing & Social. This free workshop will look at how to get started creating content that engages your customers.
- Monday, November 7, 6:00-8:30 PM - Pinning for Success: Growing Your Business with Pinterest. This class will look at how to get started using Pinterest to engage your customers and drive traffic to your website. Tickets to this class are $120.
- Wednesday, November 9, 3:00 PM - Mastering the Art & Science of Webinar Marketing. This free workshop from On24 will cover how to plan and execute engaging webinars that help you find new leads and close business.
- Friday, November 11, 8:30 AM-12:30 PM - Here's How: Step-by-Step Marketing Advice from Chicago's Top Startups. This event will feature some of Chicago's top startup marketers discussing how they acheived success through online marketing. Tickets are $49.
- Friday, November 11, 1:00-6:00 PM - Connecting Chicago through Analytics: Government, Industry, Academia. This free symposium from the DePaul DePaul Center for Data Mining and Predictive Analytics (DAMPA) and the Chicago Analytics Consortium will look at how data science and predictive analytics are driving innovation in Chicago and beyond.
- Monday, November 14, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM - Single Day Seminar With Six Social Media Experts. This workshop will look at how marketers can use digital storytelling, marketing automation, and live streaming video to connect with their audience. Tickets are $127.
- Wednesday, November 16, 11:30 AM-!2:30 PM - Social Media Insights Series, Part 2: Twitter. This class will cover the basics of using Twitter in your social media strategy. Tickets are $15, or free for members of 2112.
- Wednesday, November 16, 6:00-7:00 PM - Getting Social with Photos and Video. This workshop will discuss how marketers can add video to their social marketing strategy. Tickets start at $10.
- Thursday, November 17, 6:00-8:00 PM - Social Media Advertising. This class will cover the basics of advertising on social networks like Facebook. Tickets start at $10.
- Friday, November 18, 4:00-7:00 PM - Free Small Business Saturday Bootcamp by American Express. This free event will help small business owners get ready for the holiday season, interact with other members of the small business community, and create free custom marketing materials.
- Monday, November 21, 6:00-8:00 PM - Hella Good Content. This workshop will help bloggers, entrepreneurs, artists, and marketers learn how to make sure the content they create gets the attention it deserves. Tickets are $40.
Networking
- Thursday, November 3, 6:30-9:30 PM: Socialize Chicago - The Who's Who in Social Media & Digital Marketing. This night of dinner and drinks will be a great opportunity to meet other members of Chicago's marketing community, and it will also include a presentation from Elly Deutch, the Global Social Campaign and Advocacy Manager for McDonald's. This event is free.
- Friday, November 4, 4:30-7:30 PM - General Assembly Second Birthday + Made in Chicago Week Kickoff Party. Join other members of Chicago's tech and marketing community for a night of food, drinks, and conversation. This event is free.
- Tuesday, November 15, 6:00-9:30 PM - WOMMY Awards Program & WOMM Hall of Fame Induction. This event from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) will celebrate the year's most inspiring marketing campaigns. Tickets are $50.
- Wednesday, November 16, 5:30-9:00 PM - Uncubed Live. This event features speakers from companies like Sprout Social and Salesforce, focusing on startup companies and emerging technologies, and it provides a great opportunity to network with members of Chicago's tech community. Tickets are $30, and they include food and drinks.
- Friday, November 17, 5:30 PM - Table Tennis Tech Tournament. Join other technology companies for a tournament to benefit the Chicago Tech Academy. Registration is $1000 for a team of 5-6 players.
We're excited about these November events, and we hope you are too! If you're going to be attending any of them, please let us know, and if you have an event that we didn't mention or you want us to include your upcoming event in any future roundups, please leave a comment below. We hope November is a great start to your holiday season!
Image credit: Chicago Skyline in Winter 2007, by Nimesh Madhavan (CC BY 2.0). Text added to original.
