Rebooting SocialNext for Growth
Website Design
Digital Infrastructure
Marketing
Website Development
Software Development
SocialNext specializes in events that center digital marketing and social impact. From conferences to speaker series, their team curates experiences designed to educate, inspire, and mobilize. When we first met them, SocialNext was a one-person operation with a big vision—and a digital infrastructure that wasn’t keeping up.
Opportunities/Challenges
SocialNext was rapidly growing in influence but lacked the technical foundation to support that growth. Their systems were disjointed, their digital assets were underdeveloped, and their internal operations relied heavily on manual processes. Paper Crane helped them to streamline their internal processes and operations, centralize their data and communications systems, and automate many aspects of their business. This created a scalable infrastructure for the company to grow.
Working with limited internal resources, we had to design a system that was not only cost-effective but intuitive enough for a small (but growing) team to manage. The tech needed to be flexible, future-ready and highly consolidated to reduce redundancy and inefficiency.
The Solution
We approached the project with a focus on long-term scalability and operational clarity. This meant not just creating websites or designing assets—but fully reimagining how SocialNext operated behind the scenes.
Part of creating this solution, included:
- Website Design & Development: Paper Crane launched socialnextevents.ca and designed the new nextspeakers.ca site (currently in pre-launch), reflecting their brand’s energy and professionalism.
- Infrastructure Overhaul: We replaced disconnected systems with a unified digital ecosystem—everything from budgeting tools to day-of-event operations, onboarding flows, CRM automation, and internal communications.
- Process & Platform Strategy: We found and implemented the right tools for their specific needs, consolidating operations into as few platforms as possible while keeping flexibility for future scaling.
Results
Quantitative Results:
- Were able to expand their team from two to five people
- Record-setting sales every year since launch
- New partnerships, including a growing speaker association
- Expansion into new markets and audience segments
Qualitative Results:
- Simplified top-down management
- More time spent growing the business, less time managing data
- Improved internal collaboration and team efficiency
- Stronger brand presence and clearer digital identity
Key Takeaways
Through our work on this project, we’ve learned:
- Success isn't just about new tools—it's about the right tools
- Designing systems for where a business wants to be, not just where they are, pays dividends
- Consolidation brings clarity; when everything works together, teams can focus on mission, not maintenance
We treated SocialNext’s digital infrastructure as foundational, not supplemental. By helping them build a centralized, automated and scalable system, we set them up to grow confidently—with fewer barriers and more insight into how they operate.
