It's that time of year to plan and project the upcoming year. I like to start by figuring out which conferences I'll be attending. Conferences are important to attend not only in your industry but those for the types of clients you serve. Getting to know people in person with all the networking opportunities at these events can catapult your business.

For my business, digital marketing conferences are for what I do and entrepreneurial conferences are for a portion of clients whom I serve.

Here's a list of conferences to consider for both.

Social Media Examiner's Social Media Marketing World 2020 in San Diego

Each year, Social Media Examiner's Michael Stelzner puts on Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, CA. This event has over 5,000 attendees who are searching for the latest, greatest tactics and strategies in social media marketing. Speakers consist mainly of independent professionals who serve entrepreneurs, small businesses, and marketing departments of bigger companies. With social media in an ever-changing state, it's important to keep up with the latest methodologies and platforms available for marketing and advertising.

According to their website, speakers at the Mar 1 to 3, 2020 event consist of the following:

• Mari Smith (leading Facebook expert)
• Jasmine Star (Instagram expert)
• Mark Schaefer (social futurist)
• Jay Baer (social customer service authority)
• Michael Stelzner (Social Media Examiner’s founder)
• Jon Loomer (Facebook ads expert)
• Tim Schmoyer (leading YouTube expert)
• Sue B. Zimmerman (Instagram expert)
• Viveka von Rosen (top LinkedIn expert)
• Derral Eves (YouTube authority)
• Marcus Sheridan (leading content marketing ninja)
• Molly Pittman (Facebook ads expert)
• Christopher Penn (analytics guru)
• Ann Handley (MarketingProfs’ chief content officer)
• And many, many more

If you'd like to follow along, their hashtags are #smmw20 and #smmw2020.

Kajabi's Impact Summit 2020 in Irvine, CA

As of right now, Kajabi's Impact Summit in Irvine, CA is taking names on their waitlist. By the time you read this, it could possibly be changed over to buy tickets to the September 11 - 13, 2020 event.

I attended the 2019 conference, which was an amazing show of inspiration. There were no break-out sessions to work on your business, and the networking between guests was lacking. However, the resources and inspiration from the speakers was very high-vibe and encouraging.

Read: Highlights from Kajabi's Impact Summit for Online Business Owners

I even ran an ad to get to know some people at the event.

Hubspot's Inbound 2020 in Boston, MA

According to their website, "INBOUND is an annual experience uniting super curious, question-asking professionals with big-name and break-out industry thinkers, high-octane events, and boundless education sessions. Our 250+ speakers are reshaping the future and will help you pump change-fueled adrenaline into everything you touch."

Held in Boston, MA, I attended surrounding events related to the Inbound conference in 2019, which had 25,000 attendees. That's a lot of bodies to move around!

Instead of attending the actual event, I went to a dinner put on by Wave.Video, which has their headquarters in Boston. The intimate networking that went on was invaluable with Mari Smith, Daniel Glickman, and others.

For 2020, the event will be held August 18 to 21. With 4 days of conferencing and workshops, it's bound to be good.

Midwest Digital Marketing Conference 2020 in St. Louis, MO

Another promising venue is the #mdmc conference in St. Louis from April 8 to 10, 2020. I noticed that several of my social media marketing cohorts will be attending, and it's not that far from my hometown of Nashville, so it could be on my list.

Check it out here on Facebook.

In 2018, they had over 130 speakers with nearly 2,000 marketers in attendance. Their focus was based on tracks: Data, Digital, Social Media, Creative, E-commerce, Innovation, academic/student, Tech and entrepreneurial.

Elevate Live 2020 near Birmingham, England

For a more intimate business event that focuses on small, women-owned businesses, be sure to look at Gemma Went's Elevate Live. It has limited attendance in an intimate setting on the grounds of a beautiful spa hotel in Sutton Coldfield, England, about half an hour from Birmingham.

Last year I attended this conference to get away from the hustle and bustle of the larger events I had attended earlier in the year. Here's my take on how it went:

Read: Elevate Your Business by Attending Live Events

Christy Wright's Business Boutique 2020 in Nashville, TN

If you don't know who Christy Wright is, you may have at least heard of Dave Ramsey of Ramsey Solutions. This company is better known for their financial advice to help people get out of debt. As an extension of their financial consulting, Christy Wright has been tapped to lead a women's business movement called Business Boutique.

My company exhibited at this event in 2019 meeting, greeting, and having deep conversations with hundreds of women who need help with social media marketing.

Read: Lessons from Exhibiting at Business Boutique

This event is more of a feel-good gathering with inspirational speakers on stage and a few breakouts. It's not for those looking to dig deep into understanding business concepts or digital marketing aspects, as the sessions were few and more on the beginner side with their implementation advice.

Based on the feedback heard, many attendees were looking for more networking opportunities. Hopefully that will happen at their event in 2020.

Sigrun's Selfmade Summit 2020 in Reykjavik, Iceland

This female online entrepreneur summit is promised to be full of "online business strategy, mindset breakthroughs and meaningful networking guaranteed to propel your business forward", according to their website.

I just snagged a ticket for myself since I'll already be in Europe the week before. It makes sense, as the attendees of this event are more likely to be my ideal clients for the sales funnel and Facebook ads services and coaching that I do.

It helps that I met Sigrun a few years ago in San Diego, so it's not like we're strangers. Opportunities to connect again and again in person are important if you want to keep expanding your network. It doesn't hurt that the event is in Iceland, a place I've been before on vacation and look forward to visiting again.

What conferences are you planning to attend?

Do some searches on Google and Facebook to see what turns up in your world. Look for business and marketing events that will help accelerate your position, and find events that cater to your ideal clients, so you can get to know the heartbeat of those you serve.

Feel free to comment below to let us know what events are on your dream board.