We’re currently finishing preparations for the first big speaker and sponsor announcement for #CSMDay2019. We’re also putting the finishing touches on the ticket sales launch.
So what better time than now to take one last look back at last year’s event!
Over the last 4 months, we’ve had some time to reflect on #CSMDay2018 and to think about the things that went well, as well as those that needed some improvements.
Even though we know a bit more about organising an event like this, there are still lots of unknowns and moving parts that need figuring out.
But one thing is absolutely clear to us. We wouldn’t have been able to pull off Cambridge Social Media Day 2018 without the help of our amazing sponsors and supporters.
In particular, there was a bunch of crucial people and businesses working with us, without whom #CSMDay2018 wouldn’t have been possible.
All of them together create the perfect events team! Here are some of the #CSMDay2018 heroes we’d like to particularly applaud:
Jemma and Justin Crane from Crane Event
From the first moment we started thinking about running this conference, we knew we’d need as much help as we can get. Being our first ever event, we literally had zero idea what we were doing when we conceived #CSMDay2018. We didn’t even know where to start, let alone what to be aware of and what mistakes to avoid.
Luckily, we knew Justin and Jemma from a networking group called Drive The Network, and they offered us their help.
From helping us find the right venue and advising on the structure of the day, to pricing and helping us with marketing, Justin and Jemma were there with us the for the whole journey. Holding our hands, sharing their valuable expertise and answering all our questions (no matter how big or small).
On the day of #CSMDay2018, Justin and Jemma ran the whole show for us, allowing us to focus on hosting.
They did a fantastic job making sure the day ran smoothly, that all attendees were happy, that all our sponsors knew where their stands were and that all the speakers were taken care of. We couldn’t have done it without them!
If you want to know more about Jemma’s and Justin’s work, check out their #CSMDay2018 Case Study.
Emma Sheppard from Big Bear Creative
Very early on we knew that we’d need lots of design support and there was only one person for this job – Emma! She worked with us very closely from the initial concept right up to the final touches to the event’s programme. She helped us create the branding, designed our logos and all additional elements, plus she worked hard on all promo materials and signage and was always on hand whenever we had some questions.
As with most of the things we did, lots of our design requests were put together last minute, but Emma was always very accommodating and extremely helpful.
If you need any branding, design or help with your website and SEO, make sure to get in touch with Big Bear Creative!
David Orchard from Web Lad
Dave is our website superhero. He had our back from the very beginning and he helped us build a beautiful and effective website to suit all our ever changing needs.
He managed to deal with our last minute requests, frequent changes and never-ending stream of random questions. He’s always super kind, friendly and supportive, never made us feel unwelcome or annoying (but trust us, we were pretty annoying at times).
Do you need to refresh your website design or want someone to help you with managing your WordPress site? Dave is your guy!
Rachel Way from The Work Bees
As we’re still a pretty small operation and the Cambridge Social Media Day is just a side project to our main business, it was important for us to get us much help as possible – especially when it comes to staying organised, being efficient, managing our inboxes and thinking about all the millions of small things required to deliver an awesome event.
Rachel and her team worked closely with us to keep the project on track (and helped us understand what’s actually involved in the making of a great event). Thanks to them, we now have much more planning knowledge and that’s something we will absolutely utilise when organising this year’s event.
Are you thinking about outsourcing, but don’t know where to start, how to find the right people and make sure you get the best person for the job? Get in touch with Rachel and she’ll sort you out!
May King Tsang of MayKing Tea
May King is not only a fanTEAstick TEAnote speaker and a lover of TEApuns, but she’s also a brilliant live tweeter. Aside from speaking on the stage, she also ran all our social media channels on the day – tweeting a storm away!
Thanks to her, we managed to get #CSMDay2018 hashtag trending for most of the day and create incredible buzz beyond the walls of our venue.
She was also very helpful along many other steps of the way. Always happy to talk and share her thoughts and experience from many world wide events and incredible conferences.
We’re over the moon to have her back as the official #CSMDay2019 Correspondent and FOMO Creator this year.
No matter if you’re running your own event, attending a conference or exhibiting at an industry event, May King will make sure that your brand is visible and connected to your customers! Give her a shout to find out what she can do for YOU!
A HUGE thank you to all these incredible people and everyone else involved with making #CSMDay2018 a huge success. Thank you a million for all your help and support!
But you know what the best part is? Everyone mentioned above has agreed to be part of this year’s conference as well. Yay! We’re super excited to have all of them back for some more shenanigans!
