On Thursday, Oct. 19 to Friday, Oct. 20, SocialEast, Atlantic Canada’s largest social media and digital marketing conferences, will be hosted at Parklane Cinemas in Halifax, N.S.
Now in its fourth year, SocialEast showcases the remarkable talent in Nova Scotia, catering up to 400 attendees yearly.
The company was founded by Mike Morrison in 2018 and was designed to keep Canadian digital marketers and communications professionals ahead of the trends and at the top of their game. Morrison also organizes the largest marketing-focused conference in Canada, SocialWest.
“When we decided to expand, Halifax was our natural choice for the first addition,” says Mike Morrison, SocialEast and SocialWest Founder. “Growing up, I knew how rare it was for events to make their way to the East Coast, so I was determined to change that trend, and the response has been nothing short of amazing.”
Caley Dimmock is an industry leader and will be presenting at SocialEast on Meta ads. Dimmock has been in the digital marketing realm for over a decade and offers her clients a wealth of experience, as well as providing education and mentorship. She offers online programs for businesses who want to learn how to run their own ads and keep them in-house, as outsourcing costs can add up.
If companies have the capacity in-house but don’t have the skills, they can sign up for one of her training programs to learn the necessary skills. Dimmock has clients all over the world.
As Dimmock recalls, digital marketing didn’t fully exist when she was growing up. She had a strong aptitude for math and strategy but was also artistic and creative.
“During my early 20s, the world of digital marketing really started to blossom, and new opportunities appeared. I realized that there’s a need for people like me who have these aptitudes,” says Caley Dimmock, Founder of Dimik Creative Group. “With digital marketing, you benefit from having that combination of being analytical and creative.”
Dimmock grew up in Nova Scotia and moved to Vancouver in 2009, where she began her business. In 2019, she moved back to Halifax. The decision to move back was not made lightly, as her career and network was already established in Vancouver.
“My business has only grown here. The community welcomed me back with open arms. Everything has moved to be so location-independent, so I’m able to run a digital business here and watch it thrive. I don’t need to be somewhere else,” says Dimmock. “Originally, I actually left Nova Scotia because I didn’t feel like my dreams would be possible here. Since moving back, my business has actually tripled. It’s incredible! Nova Scotia is growing and it’s really a place of possibility now.”
Dimmock will be presenting at SocialEast 2023 on how to engineer a high converting Meta ad, using data to look at different types of media and strategies with calls to action, messaging and text copy.
“SocialEast is a really great conference! Mike and his team do an incredible job. He brings in speakers from the major social platforms,” says Dimmock. “Attending it is a no-brainer. You can’t get this kind of experience anywhere else in Atlantic Canada.”
Julie Ogilvie is another entrepreneur who will also be presenting at SocialEast 2023.
Ogilvie has been working in marketing since 2009. In 2017, she and a partner opened a digital marketing agency in Montreal. In 2020, she sold her shares and moved to the Annapolis Valley, where she worked at the local farmer’s market in marketing and communications. She saw the opportunity to share her expertise with the market vendors, but also beyond.
In 2021, Ogilvie launched her own business, helping small businesses with their marketing strategies. Business boomed during the pandemic as businesses realized the importance of digital marketing and having an online presence.
“The pandemic has dramatically impacted the way that we all do business,” says Ogilvie. “It was another reminder to everyone that we have to embrace this world of online e-commerce in order to make sure that we can sustain ourselves for the long haul.”
Ogilvie has moved 14 times and lived in five Canadian provinces. She loves living in Nova Scotia and running her business here.
“This is the first time that I felt really at home since I was a child,” says Ogilvie. “The most important thing to me was community and I really wanted to establish a place where I felt like I belonged.”
Ogilvie attended the SocialEast conference last year and found it to be vibrant and informative. This year, she’ll be talking about how to take customer testimonials and turn them into transformation stories that help put other people into the shoes of those experiences.
“I’m incredibly grateful to this province and its people,” says Ogilvie. “There are resources available to people that are looking to start their own business in Nova Scotia. It’s a wonderful place to open your own business and there are lots of opportunities available.”
Participants of SocialEast 2023 will be walking away from the event with new perspectives and strategies they can implement. They will be better able to refine their digital voice, tap into their audiences, analyze their data, and push beyond their comfort zones to enhance their strategies, tactics, and deliver results.
“There’s definitely something that you can pull from every talk,” says Dimmock. “Mike always says to me that he would rather people feel like they got too much information than not enough.”
If you are interested in learning more about SocialEast or to purchase tickets, please go to socialeast.ca.