Want to take charge of your marketing this year and make sense of social media? This series of seminars is just for you.
With an exciting range of topics covered by a range of talented presenters we're sure there's something for every small business owner who wants to know more about social media and how they can use it to grow their business.
You can attend any one or combination of events when it suits you. There are no prerequisites. Ticket discounts are offered when consecutive seminars are booked - a promotional code for the next seminar is sent with the online ticket.
The seminars are for women and men who want to grow their businesses and take advantage of the very affordable marketing opportunities through social media.
Join the seminar email newsletter for all the latest news and your 25% Off promotional code.
Social Media Seminar Times
All the seminars run to the same schedule with:
5.30pm for 6pm start for registration and networking
6.30pm - 7.30pm presentation
7.30pm - 8.30pm networking
Tickets
Tickets are $45 and available online. Early bird tickets $36
The seminars are being held at The Rocks Pop-Up in creative and inspiring venues such as 47 George Street, The Rocks.
Small Business Social Media Seminar Calendar
Find the ideal seminar for your marketing needs:
Early bird tickets available!
How Can Business Make Social Media Work - Discussion Panel
Thursday 24th at 47 George Street, The Rocks
This is the second in our dynamic panel discussions where we bring you passionate entrepreneurs to share how they are making social media work for their businesses and you get to ask your questions.
Jen Bishop is editor and publisher of Dynamic Business magazine and, in her spare time, blogger at Interiors Addict.
She spearheaded the use of social media at Dynamic Business in 2009, once using Twitter to canvas who should go on the cover of the magazine. Twitter became such a big part of the brand she eventually had to hire someone to manage the online side of things!
Suzy Jacobs, founder & CEO of She Business. She Business offers a full suite membership for women dedicated to building high growth businesses. The 3 tiers of membership cater for women at all stages of the business cycle and provides a clear focus on partnerships, profitability and performance.
Brendon Walker of Centric Social Media is the social media expert who is generous with his advice and is passionate about empowering business owners to make the most of the opportunities social media offers.
Mariette Rups-Donnelly of Powerhouse Presentation is our MC for the evening.
Mariette has taken her years of experience as a leading actor and teacher of actors and combined it with an astute business understanding to create programs that go to the core of presence, presentation skills and business performance.
Since 2003 her company Powerhouse Presentation has run a wide variety of one on one programs and customised workshops for small business owners, professional speakers executives and corporations. She draws her expertise from a 34‐year career as an Actor/Singer/Dancer and 26 years of teaching in some of Australia’s leading acting institutions.
Your Questions Answered
A key feature of this seminar is the opportunity to have your questions answered by the panel experts. This is a great chance to be making sure your individual questions are asked and answered. The audience questions are really important as there is always someone else around you who has the same question! So be sure to get the questions out there so the knowledge can be shared by the panel.
If you prefer, you can have Belinda of She Inspires put your questions to the panel.
Tickets are limited so book your tickets today.
June
How to Make Twitter Work For Business with Andrea Culligan
Wednesday 20th at 47 George Street, The Rocks

Are you wanting to grow your marketing reach? Have you heard about Twitter and want to know whether it is worthwhile getting involved with to grow your audience and customer base?
Find out what's involved, if it suits your business and how to make it work for your business goals with Andrea Culligan of Unimail.
Twitter can be a dynamic tool to help grow both your professional and personal profiles, bring a targeted audience to doorstep and increase your sales but it isn't necessarily for every business. Find out if it is for your business and if so, how to make it work.
- what is Twitter and what are the audience numbers involved
- Who uses Twitter for what
- How to develop a business strategy for Twitter
- Whether Twitter is suitable for your business needs or not
- Key features of Twitter and how to use them
- Working with scheduling tools - how and when
- Incorporating Twitter into a daily routine
- How to use Twitter to promote blog posts, websites, promotions, products, Facebook and more
Who should come along to this event?
Business owners and professionals who are interested in:
- understanding whether Twitter is right for them and their business goals
- growing their networks and influence online
- taking advantage of the free marketing available online
- making your business grow irrespective of the economic environment
- having an effective way to market your business with very little expense
- putting their businesses ahead of competitors and their noise
- learning what's involved in online marketing so they can make informed business decisions
Tickets are limited so book your tickets today.
Strategy, Campaign and Tactics with Laurel Papworth
Thursday 28th at 47 George Street, The Rocks
You have a Facebook Page but do you have a strategy? You have campaigns but are you building community?
This session takes you practically through the 9 steps of a Strategy of which step 7 is a Campaign.
Then the 5 steps of a Campaign including Facebook and Twitter, Blogs and YouTube, and how to integrate them back into your strategy.
So if you want to take a big picture approach to your branding and marketing you'll love this seminar with Laurel Papworth.
Laurel has been creating and managing virtual communities for 20 years, teaching social media for the last 5 years and was named Industry Head, Social Media by Marketing Magazine (Australia) in 2010.
Forbes Magazine named her in the 50 Most Powerful Social Media Influencers in 2012 and she is also listed in the 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter, as well as Number #12 AdAge Marketing and Media blog (Australia).
This session is about sharing practical tools to boost your marketing efforts so they leverage off each other for greater results.
Who should come along to this event?
Business owners and professionals who are interested in:
- making all the individual social media efforts work triple time and pull together
- figuring out what is their big picture so they can make the little pieces fit together snugly and cost effectively
- taking advantage of the free marketing available online
- getting an understanding of how to make the most of social media
- making your business grow irrespective of the economic environment
- having an effective way to market your business with very little expense
- putting their businesses ahead of competitors and their noise
- creating lasting customer relationships that bring repeat sales
- learning what's involved in online marketing so they can make informed business decisions
- seeing change is the only constant and learning is fun
** The NSW Small Business Minsiter Katrina Hodgkinson is attending this seminar.
Tickets are limited so book your tickets today.
July
Wednesday 18th Want to achieve solid social media growth and success within a year? Learn how with this dynamic business case study of Christina Butcher of Hair Romance as she shares how she's taken a startup blog to a full time profitable business with the use of social media and a healthy dose of determination.
Thursday 26th explore how to make Facebook really work for your small business - this seminar is entirely focused on Facebook with Brendon Walker of Centric Social Media.
August
Wednesday 22nd learn from talented business owners how they are making the different social media platforms work for them with the talented MC, Kerry Chikarovski
Thursday 30th Find out how to get TV and radio interviews and coverage and how to leverage the exposure through your social media platforms with Jill Chivers from Your Media Mastery.
September
Wednesday 12th The difference in mindset between entrepreneurs and government managers can be challenging but the benefits for all involved in having business and government work effectively together can make a real difference so find out how to make this happen with Kerry Chikarovski.
Wednesday 19th we all love learning from the practical experience of marketing experts and this social media seminar is ideal for looking at making it a cost effective marketing tactic for small business owners.
Thursday 27th the last social media discussion panel for the series is set to be a big one with a table full of small business entrepreneurs sharing their real life experiences and skills and answering your questions.
October
Wednesday 17th as Facebook continues to dominate the social media scene we learn from the experts how to make it a sparkling asset for your business with this dedicated seminar.
Thursday 25th we're finishing the seminar events year with a biggie - learning about how to make Google work for you, getting on the front page of Google without spending a cent and bringing all your social media and internet marketing strategies together for success.
Click here for more information about the presenters.
Earlier this year...
February
Wednesday 22nd eMarketing Unplugged with Linda Hailey sharing her experience about successfully incorporating Social Media marketing plans in your annual marketing strategy. So we're starting with the big picture of where it fits with your marketing efforts.
Click here for the PDF of Linda's presentation on eMarketing Unplugged for Social Media.
Tuesday 28th with Catriona Pollard CP Communications
Think social media is hard? Too complicated and time consuming? It isn't! Come and learn a step by step guide to social media and how you can use it to increase the profile, credibility and reputation for your business – and yourself.
A not to be missed event where you will leave understanding how you can use social media to build your business and career.
Click here to see Catriona's presentation on PR and Social Media Presentation.
March
Wednesday 21st a panel discussion with Angela Vithoulkas of Eagle Waves Radio, Nancy Georges of Magnolia Solutions and Mat Beeche of Shoe String Launch Magazine that is moderated by Mariette Rups-Donnelly of Powerhouse Presentation.
The panel discussion is about how small business owners can make social media work for them with 30 minutes audience questions to the panelists.
Thursday 29th with Laurel Papworth
Using free tools we build a social media website, blog, shopping site. Learn how to integrate Facebook and Twitter into your website and your overall strategy.
The site can either be used for Press Releases alongside a traditional website OR replace your main site as a business shopping social portal. Even if you are happy with your current website, learn what to ask your web developer for in adding "social media" and the sort of costs you should pay.
Includes tips on building a blog from one of Australia's top bloggers (according to Forbes Magazine and AdAge).
April

Wednesday 18th SEO for Beginners with Dave Chaffey
Is your goal this year to start using Google and search engines to promote your business?
Do you have no idea where to start? Then this seminar is the ideal event for you. Learn how to make your website or blog Google friendly with search engine optimisation
(SEO) with marketing expert Dave Chaffey of Netreach.
Dave will explain what is SEO and how you can use it to get your business appearing organically on the front page of Google and other search engines. Dave will also discuss how SEO can be simple to implement to get the best results.
This is a practical session focused on sharing skills, advice and know-how with plenty of time for you to ask your questions so it all makes sense.
Finding the right SEO consultant to help with your business is so much easier when you know what to ask, realistic costs and what's involved.
Thursday 26th How to Make Google Analytics and Google Adwords Work for Your Business
Want to make Google work for your business but don't know where to start? Find out how with the Google Engage program and Philip Shaw as he shares how-to information about powerful tools such as Google Analytics and Google Adwords.
Measuring your marketing equals money in the bank. Google Analytics is a phenomenal free tool to help you understand how well your different marketing strategies are performing.
We will cover:
- How to increase the leads your website is currently generating
- How to know if your SEO or AdWords is working properly
- Why advanced segments are so important
- Tips & tricks to finding actionable insights faster
Google AdWords is an incredibly fast way to get new leads for your business. It's also very measurable, and if done correctly, can provide massive returns on your budget.
We will cover:
- How to measure how well AdWords is working (R.O.I. anyone?)
- The critical secret to lowering your AdWords spend
- The number #1 reason why you may have failed with Adwords
- The number #2 reason why you may have failed with Adwords
- The most critical campaign setting that many people ignore
- An incredibly effective strategy that everyone should implement for their website, whether you're currently running ads on Google or not.
Understanding these two powerful Google tools will empower you to make the right decisions for your business growth and success.
May
LinkedIn: How to Build Great Personal & Professional Profiles with Shona Mackin
Wednesday 16th at 47 George Street, The Rocks

Are you looking to raise your profile online? Have heard about LinkedIn but want to know whether it can really help you and your business to reach clients and grow your network?
Find out how with Shona Mackin from
socialface as she discusses what's involved with LinkedIn and how to make it work for you.
LinkedIn can be a great tool to promote both your personal brand and your business. In this session we will look at how you can integrate LinkedIn into your social media strategy.
You'll learn:
- A checklist of what you need to get started, images, text details and more
- Discover tips to complete your profile and look great online
- Social Plug ins to maximise your ROTI (Return on time investment)
- Building a great looking business page
- Using your LinkedIn profile as a resume
- How to be recommended for your work
- Showcasing your products and services through your company profile
- Staying Current and up to date
Seminar Presenters
We're bringing you presenters with practical, real life social media skills, from small business owner such as Angela Vithoulkas of VIVO Cafe and Eagle Waves Radio, to marketing and agency experts.
There's nothing academic about this series, it's all no-nonsense, useful information and skill sharing from experience.
Networking for Small Business Owners
A key part of the success of our 2011 seminars was the opportunity for attendees to meet selectively invited VIPs such as the NSW Small Business Commissioner and the NSW Transport Minister along with senior government and industry representatives and all in a creative and inspiring environment and away from crowds.
Social Media Seminar Location
Be inspired to learn and grow your professional network charming heritage buildings that are part of The Rocks Pop-Up for 2012.
Seminar tickets will confirm all the location details and clear signage will be up on the night.
Creativity is a powerful force for inspiration and growing your business through effective marketing requires not only skills but also inspiration so we'll be hosting a diverse range of artistic and creative exhibitions for each seminar.
Meet Our Sponsors
This social media seminar series is only possible with the generous support of a great group of organisations and individuals who passionately believe in empowerment through education.
Come visit our
Sponsors Information page and be inspired by those who are willing to play an actively supportive role for non-profits and the local business society.