Hate marketing? This event has your back.

Megan Raposa -

This is a paid piece from the I Hate Marketing Conference.

Simplified: Business owners and marketing professionals often have to wear a lot of hats, and it can get frustrating to try to keep up with all of the trends. The new I Hate Marketing Conference on Oct. 26 will give people an outlet to both express frustrations, share knowledge and build a community of people who can help.

Why it matters

  • For small business owners, marketing can be overwhelming – especially if you're trying to keep up with different social media channels, photos, videos, search engine optimization, branding, your website – it's a lot.
  • And even in larger businesses, it's not uncommon for marketing to be handled by one person or maybe a small team. That means marketers are asked to be experts in all areas, but then they can easily get spread too thin to really be successful.
  • Enter the I Hate Marketing Conference. Attendees will get a chance to hear from local experts in video, SEO, branding, photography, web design and more to help them escalate their business, make connections and voice frustrations in a safe space.
"We welcome the frustration, and we understand the frustration," said Jeff Pickett, partner at 4Front Studios and one of the creators of the I Hate Marketing Conference. "We're this group that wants to help you overcome those frustrations and meet you where you're at."

Tell me more about the conference

The half-day conference will start at 11 a.m. on Oct. 26 at the El Riad Shrine in downtown Sioux Falls.

Speakers and topics include:

  • Jeff Pickett and Vince Dahn, on video production,
  • Maddie Peschong, on building your personal brand,
  • Melissa Heckel, on business branding essentials,
  • Mychelle Garrigan, on digital marketing,
  • Peder Aadahl, on digital advertising in the age of AI,
  • Pete Kleinjen, with free SEO audits, and
  • Phil Brinks, on what your website really needs.

The event also features John Meyer, former CEO and co-founder of Lemonly and current executive director of Leadership South Dakota.

What will I leave with?

The goal is to create a community that exists beyond the day of the conference, Pickett said.

You'll leave with actionable marketing tips, but you'll also meet people who can help you in the areas where you're not an expert.

"Above and beyond everything, this conference is a way for us to recognize that we don't have to come up with the solutions all of the time," he said. "If we can find people to do some of these marketing tasks for us, it's a way of buying back our time."

Ok, I've got to go to this

You really do.

Tickets are $75 and can be purchased here. Ticket sales end Oct. 25.