Guests were entertained by a Million Dollar Babes showcase and B105 Breakfast Crew's Stav.

Guests were indluged with a Chalk and Cheese Wine & Tasting, Amstel beer, Nudie drinks and Edible Blooms for a chocoloate dessert.

Here is our Networx Brisbane event in the social pages of 'Image Magazine':

Special thanks to our sponsors: Red PR, Chalk Hotel, Chalk & Cheese, Million Dollar Babes, Austereo (B105 & Triple M), Conrad Treasury, FoxxHouse Design, Aquent, Edible Blooms and Fairchild Multimedia.

Event photography by Iceberg Events.

If solid relationships are the key to business success, where and how can these be cemented? What is the role for corporate hospitality and how do make this investment deliver a return for your business?

The panel discussed:

The networking and panel event was held at The Gabba, Wooloongabba with guests overlooking The Gabba playing field.

This is our event in "Out & About" in The Courier-Mail: 

Thanks to our sponsors: Red Carpet Projects, The Gabba, Brisbane Lions, Michael O'Brien Catering, Aquent, Fairchild Multimedia.

Event photography by Esther Cole, Frollop.

Brisbane's marketing and communication industry got together on Wednesday 28 March 2007 to learn about 'Schmooze or Lose? Corporate Entertaining and Events' with guest speakers:

If solid relationships are the key to business success, where and how can these be cemented? What is the role for corporate hospitality and how do make this investment deliver a return for your business?

The panel discussed:

The networking and panel event was held at The Gabba, Wooloongabba with guests overlooking The Gabba playing field.

Thanks to our sponsors: Red Carpet Projects, The Gabba, Brisbane Lions, Michael O'Brien Catering, Aquent, Fairchild Multimedia.

Event photography by Esther Cole, Frollop.

Brisbane's marketing and communication industry got together on Wednesday 28 March 2007 to learn about 'Schmooze or Lose? Corporate Entertaining and Events' with guest speakers:

If solid relationships are the key to business success, where and how can these be cemented? What is the role for corporate hospitality and how do make this investment deliver a return for your business?

The panel discussed:

The networking and panel event was held at The Gabba, Wooloongabba with guests overlooking The Gabba playing field.

Thanks to our sponsors: Red Carpet Projects, The Gabba, Brisbane Lions, Michael O'Brien Catering, Aquent, Fairchild Multimedia.

Event photography by Esther Cole, Frollop.

Held at the GPO Hotel in Fortitude Valley, the audience heard from the following speakers:

Our "Fanfare, Fashion and Fuel" panel will discuss:

This is our Networx Brisbane event featured in 'City News':

Thanks to our sponsors: Red Carpet Projects, Aquent, GPO Hotel, Fairchild Multimedia.

Event photography by Esther Cole, Frollop.

In the last decade we've been given an entirely new set of marketing tools: Banner ads, email marketing, micro sites, social networking, mobile marketing, virtual worlds and online advertising.

How does the new world of online advertising work? What do you need to be aware of? How can you use it effectively?

Technology no longer drives it enables. So what's coming for the next decade? What should you be planning for, but aren't? What is the next big thing in this constantly evolving space?

Our presenters are:

This is our Networx Brisbane event featured in Business Acumen 'Demystifying the Digital revolution' with Jodie Parker, of Networx:

Thanking our sponsors: LapePhelan Marketing Communications, Aquent, GPO Hotel, Fairchild Multimedia

The Brisbane networking seminar event was held on Wednesday, 25 July 2007 at the GPO Hotel, Fortitude Valley.

In the last decade we've been given an entirely new set of marketing tools: Banner ads, email marketing, micro sites, social networking, mobile marketing, virtual worlds and online advertising.

How does the new world of online advertising work? What do you need to be aware of? How can you use it effectively?

Technology no longer drives it enables. So what's coming for the next decade? What should you be planning for, but aren't? What is the next big thing in this constantly evolving space?

The audience heard interesting presentations from:

Thanking our sponsors: LapePhelan Marketing Communications, Aquent, GPO Hotel, Fairchild Multimedia

Brisbane's marketing, PR and communications industry learnt how to 'maximis the media':

Are you struggling to get your story noticed by the media? Are you at a loss as to what will get it over the line? Perhaps a stronger 'hook'... a different spokesperson maybe... or is the solution as simple as the actual 'day' you sell it in? Find out what works and what doesn't when it comes to securing editorial coverage.

The panel covered:

 Speakers were:

Thanking our sponsors: LapePhelan Marketing Communications, Aquent, Brisbane Powerhouse, Edible Blooms, Fairchild Multimedia

Held at GPO Hotel, Brisbane's marketing and communications industry discussed 'marketing marketing':

How often have you felt like banging your head against a brick wall due to your company not quite understanding the importance of the marketing role within the organisation?

How often have you heard that marketing is a cost centre and can be referred to as a "nice to have", rather than an "essential" business unit that adds value in a myriad of ways?

How often does your marketing budget get trimmed down due to company cost cuts?

Over the past year, Networx has facilitated many marketing events and when talking to marketers, have recognised that there is a common trend amongst our great Brisbane marketers, they do a fantastic job but very rarely get the kudos that they deserve.

So, to help Brisbane marketing professionals combat some of the issues, we have invited a Marketing Manager from a prestigious city law firm, a CEO froman Information Services firmand a Marketing Agony Aunt who is a specialist consultant in helping marketers "market marketing".

Our experienced panel will talk through a range of different situations they have encountered which will assist in helping Brisbane marketing professionals handle the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis.

Speakers were:

Thank you to our sponsors: LapePhelan Marketing Communications, GPO Hotel, Aquent, Edible Blooms, Fairchild Multimedia

Held at the TCB Centre in Fortitude Valley, the Networx Brisbane 'Fashionistas and Fanfare - Entrepreneur Panel' event was also featured in 'The Courier-Mail' on 27 March 2009, page 76 (pictured right).

Brisbane's marketing and communications industry participated in a panel discussion about:

Do you have creative business ideas? Have you seen something that you could turn into your own business venture?  How did all those successful businesses out there start? Was it purely by chance or a long labour of love?

What does it take to be a success in a crowded market place? How do you motivate yourself to make the leap from job security? What are the thrills and spills you can expect along the way?

Join us for an unique insight into three entrepreneurs as they discuss how they started, where they faulted and how they have turned their entrepreneurial dreams into successful business endeavours.

Speakers were:

Thanks to our sponsors: LapePhelan Marketing Communications, TCB Centre, MBE STones Corner, Superfox Merchandise, Edible Blooms

Event photography by Chris Winters, Winters Design

'Gender Divide Crossed' - Networx article in 'Brisbane Times'. 

'Gender Divide Crossed Photo Gallery' - Photos from the Networx event in 'Brisbane Times' online photo gallery.

Our Networx 'Gender Marketing' event featured in 'The Courier-Mail', 4 May 2009, page 44:

Below is the Networx event held on 29 April featured in 'Style Magazine (North)', June 2009, page 32: 

Our pannellists were:

Brisbane's marketing and communications industry came long to discuss:

Primary Market Segmentation - Male/Female.  Why do it?  How do you market specifically to these segments?  What works and what doesn't?  Could segmenting your market in this way work for your product or service? Do men and women use the internet in the same way?  And what strategies - both traditional and new media - should you use when specifically targeting men or women?

Thanks to our sponsors: LapePhelan Marketing Communications, Exchange Hotel, MBE Stones Corner, Superfox Merchandise, Fairchild Multimedia. 

Event photography by Chris Winters, Winters Design

Here are some quick tips for writing a good brief (they may seem obvious but you would be surprised how many people neglect the right detail):

By Trina McColl
Managing Director
LapePhelan Marketing Communications.

Iceberg Events Managing Director Ms Jodie Parker said after only two years coordinating the popular networking event Networx Brisbane she has felt the full effects of this shift with attendance figures doubling to100 individuals per event.

“I’m proud to admit I’ve relied entirely on networking to grow my business and the success of Networx Brisbane is a testament to the fact networking really works,” Ms Parker said.

“Our clientele range from small business owners to corporate executives, but they all have one thing in common – the desire to succeed – and networking events are often the catalyst for this success.”

Ms Parker said the biggest networking challenge faced by businesses and individuals alike, was understanding how to network properly.

“While there are no hard and fast rules to obey, I do have some tips to improve your networking skills.

“Firstly, be courageous and make the first move; don’t wait for the other person to come to you as, more often than not they won’t.

“Secondly, don’t be a snob - be open to conversing with anyone in the room, no matter what their employment background and you might be surprised by what they can offer your business.”

Ms Parker also suggested focussing on making a few, meaningful exchanges instead of trying to meet everyone in the room.

“The most successful networkers have a ‘how can I help you’, rather than a ‘what can you do for me’ attitude.

“Many people make the mistake of treating networking like a job interview, but the reality is, no one wants to hear your sales pitch within the first five minutes.

“You’re more likely to have success if you pay attention, seem genuinely interested in what the other person has to say and try to offer a helpful suggestion, or referral, whenever possible.      

“And finally, make sure you have plenty of business cards on you at all times. No matter how engaging your conversation may have been neither party can follow-up without swapping contact details.”

Ms Parker also had some tips for choosing the right networking event for you.

“Expect to pay anywhere between $55 and $155 to attend a good networking event but don’t be fooled into thinking the more you pay, the better it will be,” she said.

“Sit-down breakfast events often cost more but I have been to plenty of poorly organised sit-down breakfast that are not worth the paper the invite is printed on. 

“My advice is to do a bit of background research into the organisation hosting the function, its guest speakers and the topic of the event. If you find you’re not happy with the results, don’t attend the event.

“At Networx Brisbane, we aim for informal, yet informative, networking events that don’t cost the earth.

“We provide practical workshops and interactive panels, with handpicked guest speakers to ensure you get value for money and the best networking experience we can possibly provide.”

Networx Brisbane holds functions every month, the upcoming agenda and is listed at www.networxevents.com.au.

For further information or to arrange an interview or images please contact Trina Phelan at
LapePhelan Marketing Communications on 07 3368 1650.

Guest speakers Lisa Butler, Darryl King, Greg Lexiphanic and Clare Lancaster of networking and social media fame will impart their expertise on Facebook etiquette and “tweetiqueete” and brush up attendees’ face-to-face networking skills.

Director of Dot Marketing and Author of 'Using Twitter for Business' Clare Lancaster said the event would be a great opportunity for social media addicts as well and newcomers to the trend.

'Despite the buzz about Twitter there are still many people who are yet to take a look at what it is all about,' she said. 'The best way to understand how to use social media is to sign-up and starting looking at how others are using the medium.

'For people already using social media it is about assessing how you are using it. It should be about engagement and interacting with people.

'Start considering how you are 'working' your virtual room – are you building relationships as you might in the real world?'

Lancaster said she thought most businesses could find a use for some element of social media in its operations.

'There are many tools out there and it is a matter of finding the best one for you. It is about being certain about why you want to use social media, for example, it may be to monitor people’s comments about your business and provide better customer service, or about engaging with others by offering a promotion, or simply about being an opinion leader.'

- Ends -

For media enquiries, please contact Trina McColl at LapePhelan Marketing Communications.

I have listened to past Networx speakers that your logo is NOT your brand.  And I think Karoline Cumming's slide of the 'Brand Circle' illustrates this point really well:

Karoline says that a successful brand is made up of 3 key components:

How does this fit into 'Marketing with Love - creating brands that people adore'?

You have to look across all of these areas to ensure that you're getting your brand's message and value across consistently. 

Read more:

Chambers, TQ’s Director of Digital Marketing, will be joined on the night by a panel of PR and Marketing industry leaders including;

Chris said having people talk about your product or brand in a positive way online could be far more powerful than traditional advertising. 

“Simply engaging in social networking, or PR, or advertising on their own won’t build ‘buzz’.  It’s the right combination of all three that has the magic effect,” he said.

“Building buzz through social media isn’t just for big business. There are many ways SME’s can harness the power of Facebook and Twitter and I will be discussing these.” 

With each panelist bringing their unique experience and insight to the discussion, guests will have the opportunity to hear tips on how to generate positive word of mouth, the role of PR and viral marketing in mainstream media, how to sustain interest and momentum in a campaign and sourcing news across all media platforms.

For media enquiries:
Lani Pauli, LapePhelan Marketing Communications
P: 07 3368 1650 E: lani@lapephelan.com.au

By Kelly Quinn

Director
Superfox Merchandise
Phone 07 3899 8109
Email kelly@superfox.com.au

Networx Brisbane's 'Cracking the Creative Brief' event - 25 August 2009 at Zuri Bar & Dining.

2. Before you brief a consultant – brief your boss
It’s no good giving a really good, thorough brief to your design consultant and getting things started only to find out later in the process that the powers-that-be aren’t onboard with the concept.  Getting signoff on a brief/concept before you get too far into a project can save you lots of money in unnecessary design hours.

3.  Copy is key
Content is equally as important as the look and feel of a project so ensure if you’re going to spend time and money getting the design right that the copy is also spot on.  Copywriters are cost effective and the better quality the writing is, the better hit rate you will get with the reader.

4. Unnecessary edits = unnecessary cost
Little things like pictures choices/finalizing copy 100% before you are too far into the design process can save you money in unnecessary edits down the track.  If there are several copy changes or the amount of copy changes (either decreases/increases) it can affect the design and reworks mean more time being spent on a project which means increased costs.

By Felicity Corbett

Managing Director
Facet Marketing
Phone 0412 663 244
Email felicity@facetmarketing.com.au

Networx Brisbane's 'Cracking the Creative Brief' event - 25 August 2009 at Zuri Bar & Dining.

2. Be aware of who your target audience is and tailor the content and experience towards them.

3. Give the design agency as much information relating to your brand and business as you can - even if you think it might not be relevant.

4. Know your budget and timeframe for execution - both of these have a significant impact on the project.

5. Remember - spending time on developing a great brief will save you time and frustration in the long run.

By David Steel

Director - Creative
Vivo Group (@vivogroup)
Phone 07 3368 3860
Email david@vivogroup.com.au

Networx Brisbane's 'Cracking the Creative Brief' event - 25 August 2009 at Zuri Bar & Dining.

Principal of eponymous marketing consultancy, Mel Kettle said in her experience the economic downturn had forced businesses to tighten up their spending across the board, not just with marketing budgets, and had made companies more aware of their return-on-investment.

“Evaluation has always been an important part of marketing but now that budgets are tighter companies are focusing more on the bottom line and want to ensure they’re getting their money’s worth,” she said.

“I’m hoping to share three low-cost yet effective ideas people can apply to their marketing strategy which can be evaluated and will bring in an ROI – whether that’s through increased sales, brand awareness or an achievement of specific business goals.”

Guests will also hear advice on proven cost-effective communication tools, what has worked for previously successful low budget campaigns, the art of negotiating partnerships, sponsorships and freebies, and what to do when your client or boss want to cut the marketing budget or postpone a campaign.

For more info about Networx's networking seminar event: Marketing on a Shoestring Budget.

For all media enquiries contact Lyla Lopez at LapePhelan Marketing Communications
on 07 3368 1650 or email lyla@lapephelan.com.au

"Three years ago a spark was lit and now LapePhelan explodes into a new era with a fresh brand... Ignite PR & Marketing.

"We look forward to sparking further growth in your brand" says Trina McColl, Director of Ignite PR on behalf of her PR & marketing team.

We wish Trina and her team all the best!

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog
(social networking guru)

http://sethgodin.typepad.com
(marketing guru)

www.blackbaud.com.au
(excellent free webinars)

http://socialmediatoday.com
(social media and web 2.0)

www.fundraising123.org
(Learning centre of Network for Good)

www.commoncraft.com
(explanations in plain English)

www.everydayhero.com.au

www.campaignmonitor.com

www.mailchimp.com

www.surveymonkey.com
 

By Madeline Egan
eCommunciations Manager
Mater Foundation

Don’t be a binge marketer – plan what you will do and be constantly marketing your business. If we think of marketing as an engine, it needs to be ticking over steadily at all times. A quiet spell now often signals a lack of marketing six or nine months ago.

By Mel Kettle
Director, Mel Kettle Communications
Tel:  0404 600 889 | E:  mel@melkettle.com.au | W: www.melkettle.com.au | Twitter: @melkettle

Read Mel Kettle's bio.

I really enjoyed Rob's entertaining and informative presentation.

You can check out Rob Hudson's full presentation on 'Digital Marketing Plan 2010'.

Rob also talked about how creativity can make a difference to your marketing project, and how the creative guys from GPYR tested it out!

Yvette's presentation was titled 'Digital Marketing Strategies for 2010' and she gave us all tips on how to find the right balance of the marketing mix for your business.  She looked at the relationship between digital marketing and offline marketing and she also discussed budget allocation. 

Full presentation of 'Digital Marketing Strategies for 2010' by Yvette Adam from Creative Collective.

www.thecreativecollective.com.au
Phone 07 5454 1315
Follow on Twitter: @creativecollect

George Patterson Y & R's motto is 'Resist the Usual' © - love it.

Rob illustrated this perfectly by showing us 'The Wicked Sick Project' - made by the GPYR creative team.

So - does creativity make a difference?

These guys bought a BMX on ebay and relisted it with some creativity and it sold for 5 times the purchase price catching everyone's attention in the process.

Check out the 'The Wicked Sick Project' video here:

So next time you think about your marketing, don't forget to put a bit of creativity into it - and stand out!

For those who have been hiding under a rock, Sesame Street is an American Children's TV series that premiered on 10 November 1969 and is the longest running children's program on US television.  The show is produced in the United States by the non-profit organisation Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.  It's a sophisticated children's program that combines education and entertainment.  Even celebrities have enjoyed guest appearances on Sesame Street over the time (more than 250).  With 122 Emmy Awards and shows in more than 140 countries, it has such a long history. 

After 40 years, Bob McGrath (core part of the show since its inception) describes it as a dream come true on the Sesame Street website:

“[The beginning] was like a magic carpet ride,” he says. “It was a tremendously exciting time. It was just one of total exhilaration. None of us anticipated that it was going to have the impact around the world that it has had. We didn’t have any long-term outlook. It was just a very joyous thing from the get-go. But I think we all had a good gut feeling after that first year that we were on to something special. It was an extraordinary experiment that’s worked out miraculously.”

I have such fond memories of Sesame Street when growing up, who could not forget the wonderful and warm Sesame Street muppet characters, created by Jim Henson.  Some of my favourites were Big Bird, Snuffleupagus, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Oscar and Telly Monster.  I'm talking about wathcing Sesame Street in in the 1980's though!  There's so many  new characters now of course for new generations to enjoy.

When I first started work with Jodie Parker of Iceberg Events (the events company that look after Networx Brisbane), the computers networked on the server were named after Sesame Street characters.  I thought it was the coolest thing. Years later and as the old computers were replaced, we actually ran out of characters that we remembered (and cared for) from Sesame Street, so we then started on Jim Hensen's The Muppet Show.  My computer was aptly called Miss Piggy (because of my constant snacking).  Then we moved to our commercial office space in Milton (Brisbane) and  then did away with our 'childish' ways (sigh).  (Besides, it got a little too confusing trying to remember all the names!). 

So back to my joy when I see that that Google pays tribute to Sesame Street's 40th anniversary with more than one Google Doodle! 

4 November 2009 - Big Bird, Sesame Street:

5 November 2009 - Cookie Monster, Sesame Street:

6 November 2009 - Bert and Ernie, Sesame Street:

7 November 2009 - Oscar, Sesame Street:

8 November 2009 - Elmo, Sesame Street:

9 November 2009 - Count von Count, Sesame Street:

These special Google logos were designed by Dennis Hwang and you can find the complete list of holiday and event Google Doodles here, including the Sesame Street logos that featured in other countries.

And lastly, here are a couple of notable quotes:

“Hello everybodeeeeeeeee! It is I, Grover!”
"À la peanut butter sandwiches!" - The Amazing Mumford
“Hi ho! Kermit the Frog here!”
“I’m too tall to be short” - Big Bird
“I can’t hear you - I’ve got a banana in my ear.” - Ernie

Ms Goddard who is the Director of the Buzan Centre – Australia / New Zealand is uniquely qualified to help people explore their memories and improve them on a practical level, and helps organisations across Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA, Middle East, South Africa, China and South-East Asia to be more innovative, creative and memorable.

She said memory was an important aspect of business and marketing specifically, as both required a good memory.

“Memory is used to remember clients’ names and faces, facts and figures, and tasks or projects,” she said.  “The success of an organisation is based on its staff having the memory to call a client back and do the urgent tasks as well as the important but not so urgent tasks.

“Memorability on the other hand is about making an impact and being remembered by potential or existing clients – whether it’s your company or a marketing campaign.

“The more memorable you are the more top of mind you become to a client, and if you’re in their mind the more likely they are to turn to you if you can provide a product or service they need.”

Ms Goddard said the most important facts she wanted to leave Networx attendees with was the understanding that memory is a skill, everyone can have an excellent memory and develop their memory further, and there are basic principles that can be applied to “age-proof” one’s brain so it can be simple to remember “that person’s name with their face.”

Guests will also learn about the Twelve Memory Principles and mind maps.

Tickets are $60 per person with group bookings and event packages available. For more information or to book call 07 3876 4911 or online at www.networxevents.com.au/brisbane. 

What:   Networx “Memory and Memorability” industry networking event
When:   Thursday 19th November, 2009
Time:    6.00pm – 8.00 pm
Where:  Press Club, 339 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley

For all media enquiries contact Lyla Lopez at
Ignite PR & Marketing on 07 3368 1650 or email lyla@ignitepr.com.au.

Our memory and memorability workshop facilitator is Jennifer Goddard, director of the Buzan Centre – Australia / New Zealand and co-founder of Mindwerx International is she's uniquely qualified to help people explore their memories and improve them on a practical level so that we all can be innovative, creative and memorable.  She will also be sharing the secret to good memory and memorability.

We'll be doing our normal networking game at the start, and then Jennifer will take over and that's where the fun will start.  For one of the networking activities, we'll be working with 'wine whirls'. 

Wine whirls came about when Jennifer's company Mindwerx were doing their annual challenge of doing something different with the Christmas cards.  They wanted to help their clients and supporters stimulate creativity and give something fun for them to do over the festive season.  Wine whirls are coloured beads on a piece of wire (pictured below) and are made by the Vocational Class at St Vincent School for the Deaf in South Africa. You can read the full story of 'Creativity Wired' and St Vincent School for the Deaf.

'Creativity Wired' turned out to be a great exercise in creative marketing.  They blogged about it on their Fuzz2buzz website and invited recipients to send in their photos of their most creative uses for the wine whirls:

Mindwerx International received a lot of positive feedback from this campaign overall and it certianly proved to be memorable.

All Networx attendees for 'Memory & Memorability' will receive one of these wine whirls for one of the networking activities.  What you do with it after the event, is up to you!

Here are a couple of photos from the networking with creativity activity:

More photos from the Networx 'Memory and Memorability' networking event.

What:   Networx Brisbane networking seminar event:  “Memory and Memorability”
When:   Thursday 19th November, 2009
Time:    6.00pm – 8.00 pm
Where:  Press Club, 339 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley
 

Everyone wants a better memory, but perhaps even more importantly everyone wants to be more memorable - particularly if it leads to greater success in life.  In this fun and fast paced workshop you will learn to enhance your memory, using the same principles applied by Memory Olympians as well as ordinary people with extra-ordinary memories. 

Building on the flip side of having a great memory you will also learn how to develop the quality or state of being memorable. Memorability is vital for success in almost everything you do. 

Marketing and communication professionals, sales people, business owners, entrepreneurs, job candidates - everyone can achieve greater success by developing the ability to be positively memorable.  Marketing campaigns, business promotions, presentations, in fact any event or organisation that applies memorability principles will be more successful.

Copyright Buzan Centre: Australia/NZ and MindWerx International

Jennifer Goddard also taught us we can take this and learn how to mind map.

So you can turn a boring list...

...into a work of art:

Copyright Buzan Centre: Australia/NZ and MindWerx International

As Jennifer says, mind maps are the 'swiss army knife' for your brain and memory!

How to Mind Map

Event details: 'Memory and Memorability'

Jennifer Goddard, Director, Buzan Centre: Australia & NZ's presentation notes for: 'Memory and Memorability'

Ignite PR 's blog post about Networx's 'Memory and Memorability' event

Networx blog post: Networking with Creativity at Networx's 'Memory and Memorability'

Networx blog post: Networx Brisbane to share secret to good memory and memorability

Sponsorship vs Community Investment - What is best for my organisation?
Speaker: Julian Moore, Strategic Membership Solutions - our sponsorship expert
Speaker: Phil Hayes St Clair, HSC & Co - our corporate community investment expert
Venue: XXXX Alehouse, Milton

The Green Maze - Guiding you through Sustainability & 'Green' Marketing Practices
Panel discussion
Venue: The Ship Inn, South Bank

If you have any suggestions for topics, speakers, venues or caterers, please visit our FAQs or contact us.

Please note, whilst every care is taken, the above dates may be subject to change without notice due to availability of speakers and venues.

Time: 6.00pm-8.30pm
Venue: Various funky and unique venues around Brisbane

This year celebrates 5 years of Networx in Brisbane!  Look forward to catching up with you!

Cheers!
Lisa, Jodie, Jasmine & Emma
Networx Brisbane (managed by Iceberg Events)

Interactive Minds looked at predictions from 2009 and gauged from the audience at how much of these have been achieved:

Dale Rankine, CEO & Founder, Moket (Flash Lite mobile content):

Click here to download a Dale Rankine's presentation in PDF.

Darren Sutton, Managing Director, XCOM Media:

What people are already saying about their brand, products or service and will continue to do across social media…

Millions are using it and its growing quickly:

Though whilst an eye on the future is good - Don’t forget to look properly at what is happening NOW – using analytics and refine to improve on results – for ever – ongoing – your work is never done – there is always something that can be improved.

Yaro Starak, Entrepreneur & Professional Blogger, EntrepreneursJourney.com:

From Darren Sutton:

Please note, whilst every care is taken, the above dates may be subject to change without notice due to availability of speakers and venues.

If you have any suggestions for topics and speakers, please visit our FAQs or contact us.

Look forward to catching up with you!

Cheers!
Iceberg Events team
managers of Networx Brisbane

Links:

Branding is building a relationship between a product or service and the consumer. It is how we feel about that brand that will determine whether we as consumers want to have a relationship with it or not. So I believe that personal branding is the relationships an individual has with its public essentially personal public relations.

Effective relationships are built by communication. Personal branding is communicating the inner essence of you – your uniqueness, qualities, strengths, skills and passions. It is also about your visual communication. Not only your business communication collateral such as stationery and websites but how you appear through dress, style, personal presence and of course profile.

These people are all famous but they have built their brand and reputation in a variety of ways.  Over the next few months through my newsletter we’ll explore some paths to help build your personal brand and make a positive impression. Who knows you might end up famous too.

The first step to realising our personal brand is to understand ourselves better. What kind of personality do we have, what is the impression others have of us? To do this write out a list of words you think describe you. What adjectives would you choose if you were a journalist and writing a story about you? How would you describe that person?

What about your passions? What is it you really love doing and what is the feeling you get from that? How do others see you? Can you get some feedback from your family, work colleagues and friends? Ask them to choose words to describe you and see what they come up with – good and bad! Did those words match up to your list? If so then you are getting close to your true personality.

Have you some hidden dreams, ambitions that are yet to be realised. Perhaps there’s some negativity or attitudes or behavior that needs to be modified.  It can be hard to self-reflect but is invaluable to really understand yourself more.

Is there a characteristic or talent that sets you apart? For Elle Macpherson it was her amazing figure that launched her career. Kylie Minogue – her singing talent. They had those raw talents but needed to develop other skills, package themselves better and grow as businesswomen to really move on.

Once you have an understanding of your personality and your positive attributes, combine that with your skills and talents and work toward writing a personal brand statement that is just for you – your internal dialogue – then you can use that as a basis for external communication.

Why not try Wordle, an online website for generating “word clouds” from the text that your provide. It is is a fun way to visualise your personal brand. Simply enter all the words you have come up with such as personal values, strengths and motivators into the site at www.wordle.net.  The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can also tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes then print it out as a visual reminder of your personal brand.

Sue Currie's blog

Sue Currie presented 'Build Personal Brand and Buzz to Boost Business' at the Networx event on 24 March 2010.

If you find the concept of networking distasteful, take heart – you are not alone. Many people are hesitant to network, which is a shame, considering how powerful networking can be. If practiced effectively, networking can be an extremely valuable business, career, leadership and personal development tool. It can save you time, money, stress and make you more productive.

Over the past few years, and with the growth in particular of online networking (the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter spring to mind), networking is becoming more and more significant. But how can we take advantage of the opportunities that networking provides if we don't feel comfortable with it in the first place?

My intention in this article is to prove to you that you can significantly reduce your stress levels when networking, and as a result feel more confident and comfortable and achieve greater value from networking.

I will do this by:
1. Busting some of the common myths about networking which generate hesitancy to network,
2. Discussing how to build your networking skills to increase your confidence and chances of success.

Below are some of most common myths which I believe create networking hesitancy in many people. Bust these myths, and you will feel more confident when networking, and be able to develop the skills to be more successful.

Myth #1: Networking is selling.
Successful networkers know that the true nature of networking is developing and maintaining genuinely helpful relationships with others. They also know that the focus should be on finding ways to help others. People who focus on selling themselves or their services are taking a short term approach and do not understand the true nature of networking. They will receive negative reactions from those they network with.

Myth #2: You don’t need to build relationships because you are an expert.
Technical ability is the ticket to the game but it doesn‟t mean you will win. Be careful not to make assumptions about why people will buy your services. Don‟t assume that your technical ability speaks for itself and should be enough to get you business. Relationships are key to business success, and networking can help the work come in the door more easily!

Myth #3: It’s pointless to follow up unless there is actual business to discuss.
If you network well, you would have created an opportunity to follow up that is more focused on helping the other person rather than you. This makes it much easier, and less stressful, to follow up appropriately. It‟s also important to recognise that you don‟t always have to have a reason to catch up with people. People accept networking at face value, as long as they can see that you are genuinely interested in helping them.

Myth #4: Networking ability is innate, not learned.
Networking ability is not necessarily innate. Some of the best networkers I have ever met are highly introverted. Networking doesn‟t come naturally for everyone, and it is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice.

Myth #5: Networking is a waste of time – you never get results.
Accept that networking is a long term proposition. Attending networking events is only one avenue to build relationships, and it is what you do afterwards that makes up the majority of your networking effort. Take a strategic approach to networking, and you will find that you are more likely to attend the right things, network with the right people, and maintain contact with those people with ease.

Bust these myths in your own mind and you will find it will be easier to network effectively.
Your barriers to networking can be overcome if you are aware of them, and learn how to address them through learning the skills and techniques of networking, some of which are mentioned below.

From my research and experience, I have noted that successful networkers effortlessly and confidently meet people, manage conversations, find ways to help people and follow up and maintain contact in an appropriate manner.

They seem to possess four core characteristics. They:
1. have a networking strategy, and keep effective records to track, monitor and maintain regular contact with the people in their network
2. focus on helping others, rather than themselves
3. are genuinely interested in other people and generate positive and memorable impressions
4. interact well with a wide range of people and develop warm and valuable relationships in a short space of time.

I have good news for you - these skills and characteristics can be learned through observation, awareness of techniques and tools, practice, and patience. They will also significantly reduce the amount of time you need to spend networking and selling your business, and the stress involved!

So how can you develop these characteristics? There are many tips and techniques covered in my book. However, here are a couple of tips to get you started (and they don't take a lot of time!):

a) Take a strategic approach. Many people network haphazardly, attending random events with the wrong people. This is a waste of your time, and adds to your burden. It is important to consider why you are networking, and what you hope to achieve from it. Build networking strategies into your business plan, so that you can be certain that you are networking in the right way, in the right places and with the right people to help you achieve your business goals.
You should be spreading your networking effort across a range of different activities with different people. Many people tend to focus their networking efforts on their existing clients – and whilst they are important it is critical you also network with prospective clients, referral sources, advisors and others.

There is so much more to networking than just attending events. This is an avenue to meet people or maintain relationships, however networking is so much more than that. Most of your time in networking should be spent keeping in contact, connecting people, and finding opportunities to help the people in your network.

b) Prepare well. Fortunately, much of your preparation can be delegated (reducing your burden!). Preparation can reduce your networking hesitancy as you will feel more confident and in control. Prepare by conducting some research before you go (for example on the event, the speaker, the people who will be there, current events, industry related information). You can then consider who you want to meet or catch up with, and have some conversation topics and questions to ask. Be prepared physically as well – if you don't look or feel ready to go, chances are you will not look like you really want to be there.

c) Get your Mindset right. If you think positively in any situation you increase your chances of success. As Martin Seligman points out in his book Learned Optimism, people can learn to think optimistically and reap the benefits (Seligman, 1991). Seligman's research showed that you can control your thinking to enhance optimism and reduce pessimism.

Seligman, and also the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Minnesota YOUA) have found that people who are positive, optimistic and have a sense of humour, have healthier, longer and more successful personal and career lives. Interestingly they have fewer heart attacks, a boosted immune system, reduced pain and stress, they live up to 8-10 years longer than their pessimistic colleagues, and they perceive themselves to be happy (Seligman, 1991; Maruta, Colligan & Malinchoc et al, 2000).

When networking be aware of the thoughts that just pop into your head telling you that you “shouldn't go to this networking event because you are tired/overworked/don't feel like it”, or that “it will just be a waste of time” or “I'm not good at these things”.These inner voices often determine the outcome before you even head off to the event. If these voices take over, chances are you will unconsciously display your true thoughts and feelings through your energy and your demeanour.

References:
Maruta, T (MD), Colligan, R, Malinchoc, M, Offord K. Optimists vs pessimists: survival rate amoung medical patients over a 30-year period. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2000; 75:315-318.
Seligman, Martin. 1991, Learned Optimism, Simon and Schuster, New York

The reality and opportunities linked to community investment for companies is clear. Where to begin is the challenge.  Did anyone really understand what corporate social responsibility (CSR) meant when it appeared on the scene in the mid 1990s? Arguably it still remains a mystery to many executives today. The concept itself is not necessarily difficult to grasp.

The real difficulty for business leaders continues to be developing and practically implementing a CSR strategy.  Although companies have embraced CSR to varying degrees, since its inception another trend has emerged from the philosophical and somewhat titanic CSR movement.  The notion of community investment is practical, implementable and results oriented. When structured to complement a company’s commercial focus that delivers shareholder return, this concept helps companies tangibly demonstrate their social responsibility to shareholders, customers, the market and the community.

Paring away the altruistic intent of an organisation’s leadership or its people, community investment strategy can enhance reputation or help mitigate risk.

The term ‘investment’ correctly suggests a return - have you ever known a company to ‘give away’ anything? When determining an appropriate return on investment the solid starting point is social outcomes. Social outcomes vary but can mean improved education for marginalised children, finding cures for diseases, addressing environmental challenges or generally helping those less fortunate. It’s these outcomes, when woven into traditional marketing mechanisms and internal cultural initiatives, that enhances reputation (or helps manage risk).

The bottom line is that this adds value to a company, shareholders and the community. 

Realising the benefits of this opportunity begins with identifying an organisation’s intent and the way in which its resources can be applied to enhance reputation using community investment.  The starting point is not selecting a charity to support or hosting an event, these come later. These independent and tactical activities, in the absence of a strategy, usually result in resource-intensive outcomes and people questioning the ‘bang for buck’.

1. Thinking for smaller organisations

The community investment approach taken by these businesses relies on their appetite to explore new ways of leveraging resources to help enable social outcomes.  A conservative approach should initially focus on determining the logical fit of core capabilities (e.g. IT, construction, finance, professional services) with social challenges.

The next steps involve introducing processes and systems needed to mobilise resources and coordinate the presentation of outcomes that comes from the investment in community programs.

Innovative small businesses also undertake activities of their conservative peers and can then look to partner organisations (i.e. inter-sector relationships, suppliers or even peers) for collaboration opportunities. Practically, this can mean agreeing to combine respective skill-sets to tackle specific issues one business cannot do alone.

Key advantages:
1. Experienced providers of systems and process (as noted above) are readily available in market.
2. The appetite of small business to join forces in addressing social issues is increasing.

2. Considerations for large organisations

The emphasis on aligning core capabilities with social challenges is amplified when dealing with larger organisational resources. Increasing size usually suggests geographic and/or cultural divides across the resource base which can lead to challenges associated with focusing effort.

To be successful, an organisation with a conservative approach to community investment should ensure that key strategy enablers are well established and operating effectively across the organisation. These enablers may include infrastructure like endorsed volunteer and probono programs, executive appointment programs1, workplace (payroll) giving, online collaborative project environments and coordinated fundraising campaigns. The backbone of these enablers is whole-oforganisation policy that helps guide, refine and communicate (internally and externally) the collective benefits.

Key advantage: Leveraging enablers helps large organisations focus effort and demonstrate community intent.

Larger organisations with a focus on innovation can begin exploring new ways of addressing social challenges. Companies operating in this territory usually have a deep and well articulated community engagement history -  usually 10 years or more. With well established and supported key enablers (as noted above), these companies invest in identifying and finding ways to support social enterprises2 that bring a strong innovation focus as a means to solving social challenges.

A key differentiating factor for these large organisations is that they are often able to leverage or refine traditional systems to enable them to successful support the start up and survival of younger social enterprises.

Key advantage: Social innovation based community investment is a powerful platform to further enhance reputation.

References:

1 Placement of staff as directors on non profit organisation boards
2 Social enterprise - for profit or non-profit organisations that have a social mission

© HSC & Company - All rights reserved

By Phil Hayes St Clair
CEO,
HSC & Company

Phil Hayes St Clair will be presenting at Networx's 'Sponsorship & Community Investment - Both Side of the Coin' on Wednesday, 19 May.  he will be discussing the following:

You will learn how to:

Networx event: Sponsorship & Community Investment - Both Side of the Coin
Wednesday, 19 May 2010, 6.00pm-8.30pm | Event & Booking Information

This is exactly what happened in Australia just months ago when the concept of social enterprise was put into practice. The acquisition by a mission driven organisation is an Australian first which focuses on early childhood education as the means to reduce social disadvantage.

The Australian government-led privatisation of Australian childcare in the1990s resulted in company's building profitable empires of childcare centers. One of these organisations and a key provider of early childhood services, ABC Learning Centers Limited (ABC Learning), was carrying $1.2b worth of debt when it fell victim to the global financial crisis in late 2008.

Private equity professionals quickly identified ABC Learning as a potential acquisition target. So did Australian social visionary Michael Traill. The founder of Social Ventures Australia, a Harvard graduate and former private equity titan, Michael was contacted by entrepreneur Evan Thornley who queried whether converting the ABC Learning business into a 'for purpose' operation would be an option. What ensued was the formation of a unique cross sector, non-profit syndicate called GoodStart Limited.

As Michael explains: “We recognised this as a once in a generation opportunity to significantly change Australia's childcare sector for the better. It is now well documented by Australian and International research that effective early learning is vital to positive social outcomes later on in life regardless of family background. The most important period of learning is the first five years of life.”

Apart from the philanthropic potential of the project, the economics made sense. GoodStart's winning bid - rumoured to be around $100m - for 678 ABC Learning centres beat other private equity bids for the $600m turnover business.

The funding model included:

Traill notes the contribution of individuals and non-profit organisations was critical: “What made this last capital layer so unique was that we structured it to attract these individual investors:
subordinated debt with a commercial, albeit below-market, return”.

GoodStart Limited Chairman Robin Crawford later revealed that the philanthropists would be paid a non guaranteed 12 per cent a year on their unsecured notes (compared with commercial rates of 15 per cent plus) and repaid at the conclusion of the eight year term The government loan was also to be repaid over 7 years at the government's cost of finance (then at 6.4 per cent).

Myself, along with our team at HSC & Company believe GoodStart may very well provide Australia, and indeed other nations, with the blueprint for partnership funding that works to deliver social outcomes practically, not just theoretically.

Traill says that GoodStart is important for three main reasons:

GoodStart demonstrates that in fact capital is available. Why? Firstly, a commercial return, albeit below market rate, is available. Secondly, partnering with likeminded individuals and organizations is critical to establish a critical mass. Thirdly, GoodStart asked the federal government for a loan – other ABC Learning bidders did not. Finally, a clear and detailed plan demonstrated how the GoodStart syndicate would turn a previously profitable empire into a sustainable, non-profit, social-impacting business.

References
1. Michael Traill, 'Social Ventures Australia'
2. 'A capital idea' (Michael Traill), 'The Australian', 3 March 2010
3. 'Charity takeover of ABC Learning' (Natasha Bita), 'The Australian', 10 December 2009

© HSC & Company - All rights reserved

By Phil Hayes St-Clair
CEO,
HSC & Company

Phil Hayes St-Clair will be presenting at Networx's 'Sponsorship & Community Investment - Both Side of the Coin' on Wednesday, 19 May.  he will be discussing the following:

You will learn how to:

Networx event: Sponsorship & Community Investment - Both Side of the Coin
Wednesday, 19 May 2010, 6.00pm-8.30pm | Event & Booking Information

Your clients can tell you everything you need to know – just ask them!  Market research can appear to be a confusing array of academic methodologies but you can break it down to tools you can utilise in your business …  it is really just about asking intelligent and timely questions.

By Sue Holz
Principal Analyst
Research By Design

Sue Holz will be presenting at Networx's 'Taking the Mystery out of Market Research' on Wednesday, 23 June. She will be discussing the following:

Is market research too complicated - or too expensive?  This presentation will peel away the mystery of market research and give you an insight as to how easy it is to use market research and market information to your advantage. 

Learn about the importance of talking to your customers and knowing what your competitors are doing.

Sue will cover:

Networx event: Taking the Mystery out of Market Research
Wednesday, 23 June2010, 6.00pm-8.30pm | Event & Booking Information

View the upcoming Networx event here.

If you have any suggestions for topics, speakers, venues or caterers, please visit our FAQs or contact us.

Time of our events: 6.00pm-8.30pm
Format: Pre-presentation networking (standing cocktail style) and then theatre-style format for the panel discussion or presentation
Number of attendees: 80-120 (dependant on venue capacity)
Venues we like to use: Various funky and unique venues around Brisbane

Please note, whilst every care is taken, the above dates may be subject to change without notice due to availability of speakers and venues.

Look forward to catching up with you!

Cheers!
Lisa, Jodie, Jasmine, Kara
Networx Brisbane (managed by Iceberg Events)

Expressions Dance Company, Judith Wright Centre and Misinterprotato present revealing tales of sass, sin and secret identities, which emerge in the hidden worlds of the night.

Intimately choreographed by Natalie Weir and fused together with emotionally charged jazz sounds, this performance will have men salivating and women fantasizing.

For the first time, the Judith Wright Centre foyer will transform into a live piano bar, providing stunning pre-show entertainment. Delicious tapas and wine, jazz music and an evening of surprise.

All you have to do is book your cabaret table and prepare to step into a world where the intensity and emotion of cutting edge contemporary dance will take you on a deeply evocative journey.

Book now and be awakened to the world that exists.

We recommend you start the evening in the Judith Wright Centre foyer, which will transform into a live piano bar, with a delectable range of tapas and pre-show drinks on offer.

CORPORATE SPECIAL: Tables of four or more people: $35 pp (save $5 per person) + receive a glass of complimentary champagne on arrival (one glass per person). 

Date: Thu 12 - Sat 21 August 2010
Time: 7.30pm (each night excluding Sunday to Tuesday), Matinee 2pm Saturday 21st, 5pm Sunday 15th
School Preformances: 11.30am Wed18th - Fri 20th
Duration: 80 minutes, including interval
Tickets: Cabaret Seating - Full $40; Conc $35; Groups of 4 per table $35.
Theatre Seating - Full $35; Conc $30

“Weir’s choreography is breathtaking – she moves the human body in ways you haven’t seen it move before…” – ourbrisbane.com

Piano Lounge: For pre-show tapas dining, book through Glass Bar 3252 0533.
Present your ticket to the show and recive a 10% discount on your meal.

420 Brunswick Street (corner Berwick Street)
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
Ticket sales: 07 3872 9000
Enquiries: 07 3872 9018
judithwrightcentre.com

Box Office Opening Hours
9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday and 90 mins prior to every performance
Visit judithwrightcentre.com for 24/7 bookings

Make people feel something.

Tweeting and posting comments on Facebook won’t cost a cent.

Leverage your own audience/friends/followers and provide them with something they find fun and engaging.

Latch onto a current trend/or something topical and promote your product/service around this.
If you are part of a trend, or can spot a trend, think hard about how your audience might be influenced.

Get influential people to talk about your viral campaign

Think about how you can promote your product through different channels.

View these 'Tips on Effective Viral Marketing' as PDF.

These slides were part of the presentation by David Steel, Creative Director, Vivo Group at the Networx Brisbane 'Effective Viral Marketing - Making it Work in Your Marketing Strategy' event.

By David Steel
Creative Director
Vivo Group - digital agency, website design & development

All entries have a chance to win one night’s accommodation with breakfast for 2 guests in Deluxe Accommodation at Mantra Legends Hotel valued at $360!  Survey closes on Monday 18 January 2011 and the winner will be randomly drawn on Tuesday 19 January 2011. 

Thank you to everyone who participated! Congratulations to Belinda Haynes.

Mantra Legends Hotel offers friendly service, fabulous facilities and a mouth watering menu to satisfy the most discerning guest.

There is every opportunity to relax, unwind and rejuvenate with an extensive range of facilities and services including Fables Restaurant and Tales Bar, an outdoor heated swimming pool, gymnasium, steam room and Swedish-style sauna.

For guests visiting from out of town, the hotel offers 403 spacious, affordable hotel rooms and deluxe suites featuring their own private balconies with stunning views of the ocean or Gold Coast City skyline and Hinterland. All rooms have stylish décor and a full range of services to make you feel at home whether you are travelling for business or pleasure.

All of these attributes are enhanced by Mantra Legends Hotel’s prime location, conveniently located 100 metres from the beach in the heart of Surfers Paradise on Australia’s legendary Gold Coast and within walking distance to cafes, restaurants, shopping and night life.

mantralegends.com.au

Throughout the evening Rob showed us some fantastic campaigns.

Today, we see Brisbane Marketing's launch of Together Brisbane and wow, what a great example of how user-generated content can work as part of your marketing strategy.

Here is what we've come up with for our first attempt:

We want to make more posters, this is fun way to get your message across! So not only are we generating content for the Together Brisbane campaign, we're believing in what we do too.

Don't forget to LIKE our Networx poster and share it!

Start a photo album showing off your office or staff and write some interesting facts about them in the description section. (Idea #22)

Explain how to do something – everyone needs a helping hand every now and then! (Idea #34)

Tell people about the highlights from an event you’ve attended (Idea #43)

Write a Note and tag other Facebook pages in your industry so that your note shows up on their wall (Idea #54)

Create a photo album from a networking event you were at, explain the photos in the description section and then post to the wall (Idea #56)

Create a video response for any questions posted on your Facebook wall (Idea #58)

Link your Facebook page to your blog – so that every time you write a blog it shows up on the wall of your Facebook page. (Idea #59)

Here's a bit of an event wrap-up, via Twitter:

http://bit.ly/NX0511 

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

He discussed the importance of videos coming up in blended search results and shared the following tips...

For videos:

Use keywords in your video titles, description, tags and links.

For blogs:

Use keywords in your blog article headlines, internal links,<h> tags, categories and tags.

Target 'conversational' or 'informational' search terms.

Once a user has landed on your blog/video, you need to have some conversion elements on the page.

These are usually “softer” than an advertising landing page.

View Craig Somerville, Reload Media's presentation slides PDF

http://bit.ly/NX0511 

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

#1 The DIY Way:
Kodak Zi8 + Tripod + Lapel Mic + Lights
PC: Sony Vegas Studio HD, Mac: ScreenFlow

#2 The “On The Cheap” Local Way:
Film Students

#3 The Pro Local Way:
Expensive, But Easiest And Great Result

#4 The Pro Outsource Way:
Affordable, But A Little Bit Of Hassle

Here is an example of one of Gideon's video produced using video production option #4:

Great video to watch too!

Download your free copy of The Rapid Video Blogging Report at: http://www.rapidvideoblogging.com

Check out Gideon's blog: http://gideonshalwick.com.

View educational and informative videos by Gideon at his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/GideonShalwick.

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0511 

Visit our YouTube channel for a post-event interview with Gideon: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

Panel Facilitator and Interviewer: Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson

The panellists were asked questions that weren't asked on during the panel discussion on the night.

00:27 - What is the value of having a branded YouTube channel versus just uploading YouTube videos to my own account?
01:24 - So for somebody who is new to YouTubing and particularly to getting their own channel your advice would be don't spend a whole lot of time getting the branding spot on, just start getting video out there?
01:54 - So your top tips would be, get started, and subscribe to others in your niche. So you can see what's going on?

02:35 - I've noticed that Reload, now your not video bloggers however you have recently transitioned from using amateur do it yourself video marketing posts, to professional ones. Why did you move to professional?
03:19 - Are you seeing an improvement in the level of engagement that your getting from your followers now that you have switched to professionally produced videos?
03:48 - I guess my final question then would be, we have talked a lot tonight about how important it is to have your videos obviously on YouTube, that is where you put them, but it is also about putting them everywhere else and embedding them into your other sites, not just linking to them?

04:36 - One thing that we didn't get to talk about tonight was how do we choose a topic? And particularly how do you choose a topic that is going to work in a blog?
05:32 - If its, if for example there is a lot of magazines on a subject, lots of magazines for men's sports, or for fishing and stuff does that mean its going to translate well to an online/blog online?
06:25 - Okay cool, is there a rule of thumb in terms of how often you have to write your topic in order to build a decent amount of traffic?
07:02 - Okay cool, so the key take-aways there are do your research and find a topic that people are going to actually come too and then build as much content as you possibly can?

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0511 

Visit our YouTube Channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Networx Brisbane provided business and marketing professionals in Brisbane the chance to gain insights into the quickly expanding video marketing and blogging industry.

Key points were covered around the effectiveness of Video Marketing, Blogging & the use of YouTube for business use.

Panel Facilitator: Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0511 

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

with Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson facillitating the discussion.

XMPieman Jeff Polley

http://bit.ly/NX0611

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

Panel Facilitator: Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson

During the one-on-one interviews, each of the panellists were asked questions that weren't asked during the panel discussion on the night.

00:26 - How do you build and collect more data with EDM's?
01:40 - Can platforms like vision 6 continue to integrate information and data collection so that you can provide customized campaigns?

02:37 - You said that paper was sexy in a direct marketing campaign, can you tell us more?
03:22 - Are you saying that direct mail, as in snail mail, is a more effective communication channel these days?

04:59 - In a direct traditional market, how are you making sure that your message is going viral?
06:07 - How are you promoting sharing with direct mail?

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0611 

View this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/7Rlzyl26nGQ

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Panel Facilitator: Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson

During the one-on-one interviews, each of the panellists were asked questions that weren't asked during the panel discussion on the night.

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0711

View this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/g-Y4pTFiiMs

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

with Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson facillitating the discussion.

http://bit.ly/NX0811 

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

Panel Facilitator: Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson

During the one-on-one interviews, each of the panellists were asked questions that weren't asked during the panel discussion on the night.

00:33: How can we give you a press release that gives you everything you need to know without filling up your inbox?
01:18: Is it worth building up a relationship with an editor through social media?

02:27: How can small businesses and not for profits utilise radio to leverage and extend their reach?
03:20: Can I get on the radio with little to no budget?
04:00: Can I come to you with an idea and let you guys do the rest?

04:42: How can small businesses and not for profits use your angle to get exposure in a sports break?
05:28: What can I do to prepare my event so that I get the most out of my TV exposure?
06:16: If there is a risk of my event being overshadowed by a high profile individual or celebrity how can I make sure I still get my point across?

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0811

View this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/iCROQvwMrU8

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Networx Brisbane provided business and marketing professionals in Brisbane the chance to gain insights into why Direct Marketing is still a viable and successful approach in reaching your target audience.

Video production by Ride Free Media

Panel Facilitator: Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0611 

View this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/nR6AHhGnp9U

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Our panellists included:

with Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson facillitating the discussion.

ClaireMT Claire Taylor:

Tick of approval from our panellist for everyone's awesome tweets:

vanjastace Vanja Stace

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

This event gave insight into the world of Inbound Marketing, the current market trends and how best to implement Inbound Marketing into your marketing mix.

Our panelists were:

And as always our Panel Facilitator was the lovely Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson.

During the one-on-one interviews, each of the panellists were asked questions that weren't asked during the panel discussion on the night.

00:25 How do we measure the effectiveness of our blog posts?
01:32 Is it important to encourage conversations to happen on your blog site or can they happen elsewhere on other sites such as Facebook?

03:09 Is Inbound purely an online platform?
03:55 How do you integrate a direct mail piece into an Inbound Strategy?
04:35 What are your thoughts on traditional channels such as Yellow Pages being used as an Inbound source?

05:20 Is Inbound Marketing really that new?
07:03 Why do you think Inbound Marketing is such a new phrase?

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0911

View this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/jhzqlJJ_yNU

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Our panellists included:

with Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson facillitating the discussion.

You can find out more about the event here: http://bit.ly/NX1011

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

Mobile has meant a whole new range of options are now available to the savvy marketers. In this video the panelist's discuss how businesses can make the most of Mobile Websites, Apps and QR codes.

Our panelists were:

And as always our Panel Facilitator was the lovely Cat Matson @catmatson

00:15 Can you tell us how to make QR codes work effectively in our marketing?
01:34 Can you give us an example of how you've seen a QR code used effectively?

02:25 What are the distinctions between a Mobile Site and a traditional Website?
04:11 What is an example of a company using the both a Website and a Mobile Site effectively?

06:22 How can Apps be used effectively to enrich the customer experience?
07:24 So is it important to define what your strategic objectives are?

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX1011

View this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/0MVfvB1VvJE

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Networx Brisbane delivers informative and inspirational networking seminar events to people in business, marketing, communication, PR, creative and digital whilst showcasing various funky, unique venues across Brisbane.

Our events kick off at 6.00pm, with networking opportunities over drinks and finger food until 6.30pm when the panel discussion or presentation commence. We aim to wrap up by 8.00pm and that gives you the opportunity to head home or stay back for some more networking.

Keep in the loop with our events.

We look forward to seeing you again in 2012!

Here are our event dates for 2012:

View the upcoming Networx event here.

If you have any suggestions for topics, speakers, venues or caterers, please visit our FAQs or contact us.

Time of our events: 6.00pm-8.00pm
Format: Pre-presentation networking (standing cocktail style) and then theatre-style format for the panel discussion or presentation
Number of attendees: 80-120 (dependant on venue capacity)
Venues we like to use: Various funky and unique venues around Brisbane

Please note, whilst every care is taken, the above dates may be subject to change without notice due to availability of speakers and venues.

Look forward to catching up with you!

Cheers!
Lisa, Jodie, Kara & Stephanie
Networx Brisbane (managed by Iceberg Events)

The Networx website won the top award for the following categories: 'Events' and 'Professional Services':

The IMA judges evaluated websites based on five criteria: Design, Content, Feature Functionality, Usability and Standards Compliance. 

The Best in Class award is descibed by Interactive Media Awards as:

"The Best in Class award is the highest honor bestowed by the Interactive Media Awards. It represents the very best in planning, execution and overall professionalism. In order to win this award level, your site had to successfully pass through our comprehensive judging process, achieving very high marks in each of our judging criteria - an achievement only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each year."

Vivo Group was successful in other categories too.  Congratulations to David Steel and the Vivo team on a deserving win!

Our panellists for the evening:

with Cat Matson, Business CATalyst @catmatson facillitating the discussion.

Tweeps looking forward to the evening...

And then we get into it...

Tessa M ‏ @SolarGoz

BWH Communication ‏ @BWH_Comm

(zero)seven ‏ @zeroseven

Rachael Hedges ‏ @Rachael_09

The next day...

Scott Esdaile ‏ @scottesdaile

You can find out more about the event here: http://bit.ly/NX0212

Post by Lisa Ma (@lisama_)
MC & Event Coordinator- Networx Brisbane
Follow on Twitter: @networxevents

Social Media has exploded over the last couple of years and with new social media channels popping up weekly, it is becoming incredibly hard for businesses to not only stay up to date, but also to optimise and effectively market through these channels. In this video the panelist's discuss how businesses can make the most of Social Media Networks and the rise of Google Plus.

Our panelists were:

And as always our Panel Facilitator was the lovely Cat Matson, Business CATalyst, Alito @catmatson.

00:20 If you were advising Kyle Sandilands, what would had been your advice?
01:00 If our brands got into similar trouble, how can we control what is being said online?

01:37 Why is Google Plus so important?
02:25 Will the results that I see through organic search be impacted by my Google Plus circles and influence?

02:50 How do we stand out in an increasingly cluttered social media space?
03:44 What is the distinction between social and all other media?

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0212

View this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Nhnk8ambw

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

The panelists discussed how a brand is more than just a logo and how business can start building a culture to develop brand equity.

Our panelists were:

And as always our Panel Facilitator was the lovely Cat Matson, Business CATalyst @catmatson

00:24 Why is it important to have brand valued in the balance sheet?

02:11 How do you build a brand and culture for a small business?

Event website: http://bit.ly/NX0312

View this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp3MEJFFnmk

Visit our YouTube channel for more event videos: http://youtube.com/networxbrisbane

Building Online Communities: Engaging users for a stronger brand

View the upcoming Networx event here.

If you have any suggestions for topics, speakers, venues or caterers, please visit our FAQs or contact us.

Time of our events: 6.00pm-8.00pm
Format: Pre-presentation networking (standing cocktail style) and then theatre-style format for the panel discussion or presentation
Number of attendees: 80-120 (dependant on venue capacity)
Venues we like to go to: Various funky and unique venues around Brisbane

Please note, whilst every care is taken, the above dates may be subject to change without notice due to availability of speakers and venues. Last updated: 10-May-2013

Look forward to catching up with you!

Cheers!
Lisa, Kara, Stephanie, Krysty & Jodie
Networx Brisbane (managed by Iceberg Events)