It’s finally time to get your travel bags out of storage!
It’s true, professionals in every field can’t wait to get out of their COVID shell and actually dress up like an adult, put on a name tag and get out there and shake some hands.
Still, PR pros really need to get out and back in the in-person swing of things even more than most. This is because the entire face-to-face experience is so much more a part of the business. After all, this is a people business and Zoom, despite being a lifesaver for many, is still a poor substitute for the real thing.
PR industry events are gradually getting back into action while dealing with ongoing pandemic-related issues. While 2020 was basically a complete loss and 2021 was a mixed success, let’s hope for a better 2022 and the chance to get back to something that looks like a normal calendar of events for PR professionals.
Here’s a list of some can’t-miss PR conferences in the coming months and the ways they can benefit both yourself as a PR pro and your clients:
Bear in mind that the next edition of these events may or may not be in person, online or a mix of the two. Unfortunately, the pandemic will likely keep us guessing much longer than we’d like to.
Best PR conferences in 2022
Web Summit
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Next event: November 1-4, 2022
Have you ever heard of Web Summit? This is when, for four days, Lisbon, Portugal becomes the center of the tech universe and — even with the pandemic ruining everything — draws north of 70,000 attendees. Web Summit modestly describes itself as “the most important tech event in the world” and we won’t argue.
Part of what makes this such a great event is that everybody from the smallest startups that turned on their computers for the first time last week to the Godzillas of Silicon Valley goes to Web Summit.
While the “tech” part might dominate the headlines, Web Summit also draws pros from many related fields, like venture capital, marketing, design, branding, and a lot more.
Like journalism, for example.
With so many opinion makers, influencers, and media people there, Web Summit is a great PR networking event.
You actually have to work hard to not bump into people from the biggest media outlets and platforms in the world, who are all there in an effort to cover announcements from the giants and keep their ears to the ground for news about up & comers. Outside an actual newsroom, it’s hard to imagine anywhere full of more journalists per square foot than Web Summit.
But that’s not all. With so many high-level brands present, Web Summit is also a great chance to just absorb what’s going on and learn from other pros. How are these mega-brands or new, young & hip startups handling their social media or marketing or communications?
There’s nothing wrong with getting inspired by others and with so many bright, creative minds under one roof, you will definitely learn a lot just by looking at what others are doing.
Inbound
Location: Boston, USA
Next event: TBA
It’s no accident that Hubspot, the darling of inbound marketing, named its three-day mega-conference and celebration of all things marketing Inbound. The 2022 event will be the 10th anniversary of this gathering of Hubspot devotees and, conditions permitting, will almost certainly set another impressive attendance record.
Inbound has a well-deserved reputation for attracting the best speakers and presenters. It’s also known for the rich variety of workshops, sessions (spotlight, meetup, breakout), and topics (marketing, sales, customer success, RevOps, Hubspot Academy) to choose from. The only downside here is that there’s no way to take it all in.
Again, opportunities for PR networking and making the right connections are everywhere at events like Inbound. It’s not an exaggeration to say that everybody who is anybody in the world of marketing is there. Once you build a certain profile in marketing, you have to be at Inbound.
Which is great for PR pros. With everyone at the same event, it’s easy to line up meetings, catch up with old contacts and “accidentally” bump into anyone who’s been hard to connect with.
Again, the value of attending something like Inbound doesn’t stop with the people you can meet. Inbound is the center of the universe for brand marketers and communications professionals.
Every stage and every podium are constantly occupied by someone with valuable advice for building the reputation and visibility of your PR agency and those of your clients. Make a contact one moment, have a revolutionary insight into how you up your PR game the next — that’s life at events like Inbound.
PRWeeks’ events
Location: New York, USA
Next event: Check the schedule
There’s an entire ecosystem of events, all organized by PRWeek, the iconic industry magazine for PR pros. These events include the Global Awards, BrandFilmAwards, PRWeek Awards, HallOfFemme, Connect, 40Under40, PurposeAward, OnDemandWebcasts, and more.
PRWeek’s flagship event is PRDecoded, an annual three-day conference covering all challenging and trending topics in the PR industry. The theme of the 2021 edition of the event was “Purpose Transformed”, with important contemporary topics like Pride in PR: How to be an inclusive brand all year round & The racial pay gap among influencers is real - and vast - by any measure.
In addition to the standard feast of networking, PRWeek events are tailored to PR, so it’s a great space to immerse yourself with pure PR content. The agenda is structured in a way that covers the most important PR challenges connected to brands, media and culture.
You’ll find masterclasses on the kinds of very focused topics that are rarely heard outside of PR conference rooms and get useful insights from people who know exactly what you deal with on a daily basis.
BrightonSEO
Location: Brighton, UK
Next event: 7-8 April (in-person), 21-22 April (online) | 29-30 September (in-person)
Don’t let the “SEO” part confuse you here. Yes, BrightonSEO is primarily aimed at digital marketers and all things related to boosting your online profile but that last part should sound familiar to PR people as well.
Started in a pub and now one of the biggest such events on the UK calendar, BrightonSEO takes place twice a year and branches well out from its original purpose to include lots of talks, workshops, and more on topics like digital PR, link building, outreach, and branding.
BrightonSEO has expanded in recent years through some fringe events for smaller but very targeted audiences, including their Online PR Show for digital public relations, outreach, and influencer marketing. Topics may vary from technical sessions like Product, Service, and Category Page Links (and how to get them) to more generic for example What Actually Is A 'Successful' Digital PR Campaign.
Yes, PR networking is once again among the main benefits of attending, but this time it’s a little different in a good way. The event’s vibe is more informal and casual, plus the size of the conference - about 3,500 attendees - makes it easier to socialize and work the room.
Plus, if you’ve been to Brighton, you know how many places there are to keep the conversation going long after the conference is done.
And one more thing. As a cool bonus, BrightonSEO keeps all previous online sessions in a vault that you can access with your ticket any time - a very useful feature for busy PR managers.
Other PR industry events to consider
Here are a few other events worth attending that provide many of the same benefits listed above.
PRovoke Media Events
These PR industry events are held around the world throughout the calendar, so one just might be coming close to you soon. They’re primarily awards ceremonies, recognizing outstanding work in PR and media but they come with conferences, roundtables, and meet & greets that can boost your skills while you make the kind of contacts you need in PR.
PRSA ICON
It should be obvious that any big event put on by the Public Relations Society of America should be on your radar. From big-picture, blue-sky approaches to the issues to tech trends to business strategy and pretty much anything you can think of, PRSA ICON will give you plenty to think about and help you climb the PR ladder.
Crisis Communication Conference
The line between PR and communications is blurry but the ability to handle crises needs to be in the toolbox of every PR pro. The CCC is organized and intended for the public sector but the lessons they share are universal. If you’re not 100% confident in being able to make the right move when things go wrong, check in with the CCC.
Content Marketing World
Like other entries on this list, while Content Marketing World wasn’t designed with PR people in mind, the knowledge and experience they share apply to public relations firms as well. After all, it’s all about getting noticed in a crowded digital landscape. SEO, marketing analytics, keywords, and phrases, writing tips — get a massive upgrade in the online footprint of both your agency and your clients by focusing on these skills.
Crisis Communication Bootcamp
We’re back in the world of crisis management here, but this time with a more multifaceted approach. An impressive list of speakers takes attendees through the full timeline of potential threats, from preventative measures against crisis damage to post-crisis reputation management. These are the kinds of skills you hope you never need but being caught without them can result in disaster. Let this bootcamp get you into crisis management shape.
Planning to attend the best PR conferences in 2022? Hope to see you there!
Cover photo by John-Mark Smith
