My favorite networking events and marketing groups in the Raleigh area

People often ask me to recommend marketing-related networking and education events in the Raleigh area. If you’re new to the Triangle — or have been here for a while and want to grow as a marketing professional — here’s an all-in-one roundup of my favorites. If you have any additions, please let me know.

Meta-lists: Where to find out what’s going on

  1. Inside Triangle PR, Marketing and Communications — the definitive list of upcoming Triangle marketing events — plus a professionals-only LinkedIn group – run by Pat O’Neil.

  2. Triangle Area Career Development Newsletter – newsletter covering marketing and software events, published by Harold Meder.

Triangle marketing organizations where I’m most active:

  1. Triangle AMA (VP & board member) — American Marketing Association chapter and the largest marketing trade association in the Triangle, with 400+ members, monthly lunch-and-learn events, and members-only Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Not cheap to join, but worth it if you’re committed to your career.

  2. Refresh the Triangle (past co-organizer) — monthly education and networking events for web professionals (designers, developers, marketers, and more).

  3. TIMA (volunteer & former board member) — the Triangle Interactive Marketing Association runs monthly events with an interactive marketing focus, plus the annual Internet Summit After-Party.

  4. Raleigh SEO Meetup (attendee) — monthly educational events on all aspects of search engine optimization, led by Phil Buckley.

  5. Raleigh AIGA (member) — events with a focus on graphic design and related creative fields, as the Triangle chapter of the professional association for design.

  6. Ignite Raleigh (attendee & past speaker) — TED-like event where presenters get 5 minutes and 20 auto-advancing slides to tell their stories.

  7. New Media Leaders (past co-organizer) — open networking events for anyone involved in marketing or media (events on hiatus as of 2012).

Events I’ve attended at least once:

  1. Orangutan Swing — thought-provoking events, including “improv for ideas” roundtables, focused on sparking great dialogue.

  2. Creative Mornings RDU — our local edition of the international Creative Mornings group, with a targeted speaker each month and chatting before and after. I like their approach to icebreaker nametags. Follow on Twitter at @Raleigh_CM for the latest event registration info.

  3. Function Pink — events on front-end development and web design.

  4. TriDUG (Triangle Drupal Users’ Group) — monthly educational events on the Drupal open-source content management system (CMS).

  5. Triangle Tweetup – high-attendance social media events, including the annual “Deep-Fried Tweetup” at the NC State Fair every October.

  6. AAF-RDU (American Advertising Federation) — events with an advertising and marketing focus.

  7. ProductCamp RTP — occasional “unconference” with a focus on product management and product marketing.

  8. WAW Triangle (Web Analytics Wednesday) – occasional events on web analytics.

  9. NCPRSA (Public Relations Society of America, NC Chapter) — events focused on PR and media.

  10. IABC (International Association of Business Communicators, Triangle Chapter) — events focused on PR and internal communications.

Any additions?

I’m always looking for new opportunities. Any other Triangle marketing organizations or events you’d recommend? Let me know!