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Social Media Articles/Services

Social media expert and RBF Member Kathie Melocco of The Ruby Room has written a series of excellent articles on developing and maintaining a social media strategy in your company. Click on the links below to open each as a PDF in a new window

For SMEs, Kathie introduced in September 2010 a fantastic new service for small business owners who want to use social media for marketing their business but don't know how to plan a strategy or social media campaign. It's the Small Business Social Media Strategy Overnight Kit. The deal is:

Send Kathie details about your company and what you want to achieve, together with logos and images you'd like on your social media pages, by 2pm and Kathie will provide you by 9am the next day with a personalised strategy for your business and images to use as backgrounds and branding for Facebook, Twitter and one other social media site (of your choice).

This service costs $585 including GST. You'll get quality advice and unique backgrounds for your social media pages.

While the Starter Kit will get you up and running, Kathie has introduced a Small Business Social Media Coaching package. This is one-on-one coaching for small business owners. Kathie will help you discover your brand essence online, identify your social media purpose, key messages and Unique Selling Points. You'll have fun too, with someone who will guide you through all the jargon and get you started. One hour per month with follow up email and telephone support as you go costs $600/month with a minimum contract of three months.

It's becoming increasingly apparent that if you're not using social media to market your brand, product or services you are being left behind and missing out on countless opportunities to make new contacts and clients. Social media is here to stay and will only get bigger. Larger organisations are able to incorporate social media staff into their marketing or corporate comms teams. For SMEs it's a lot harder managing your usual work activities and your social media. Using a coach such as Kathie can help you refine what you're doing with social media and how to manage your social media time so it's truly effective for you.

Useful Links

We have selected a number of links that we believe are useful to not only Ryde Business Forum members, but also site visitors from outside the Ryde or greater Sydney area.

Education	Macquarie Community College Macquarie University Macquarie Graduate School of Management Meadowbank College of TAFE Ryde College of TAFE
Government and Organisations, Assistance with Business, Developments and Infrastructure, Chambers of Commerce and Networking	City of Ryde Council main site. There are some great business resources here to research, including Community Profile - a throrough searchable resource for demographics in the City of Ryde. The Ryde Community Profile presents a comprehensive socio-demographic profile for the Ryde LGA and for smaller designated areas within it. It presents statistics from the 2006, 2001, 1996 and 1991 Censuses of Population and Housing in table and graph format. Community Atlas - The Community Atlas includes key socio-demographic characteristics for the City of Ryde presented as interactive maps Population forecasts - The City of Ryde population and household forecasts are designed to inform community groups, Council, investors, business, students and the general public. To achieve this, forecast.id® is formatted to present the data in simple, clear tables and charts with concise factual commentary Sustainable business. Council in collaboration with Sydney Water and the Office of Environment & Heritage (OEH), is helping local businesses target water and energy efficiency and waste management. The ‘Sustainable Businesses in Ryde’ initiative offers assessments of your business’s water use, energy use and waste generation to help you improve resource efficiency and cut costs. Economic Development. The City of Ryde Economic Development Strategy 2009 - 2014 provides a dynamic framework for the sustainable economic growth of the City of Ryde. View the Economic Development Strategy (PDF 9.6 MB). AusIndustry Austrade Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Business Register Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) Australian Government Business Entry Point Australian National Retailers' Association Australian Safety and Compensation Council Australian Securities Commission Australian Tax Office Business Australia (Australian Government Directory) Dept of Employment of Workplace Relations and the associate WageNetportal Federal Privacy Commission Hunter's Hill Council IP Australia (Intellectual Property) Law Society National Insurance Brokers Association NSW Business Chamber NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Department of State and Regional Development NSW Industrial Relations (Fair Go NSW) NSW Office of Communications & Technology (Dept of Commerce) NSW Office of Fair Trading - Business Information NSW Office of State Revenue NSW Parliament NSW State Awards NSW TAFE Plus Flexible Training Solutions Parliament of Australia Prime Minister of Australia Register of Trade Marks City of Ryde Council main site. Click on these links to Control Plans and other documents for areas within our city: Eastwood Urban Village, Gladesville Town Centre, Macquarie Park Employment Area, Meadowbank Employment Area,Top Ryde Urban Village, West Ryde Urban Village, Urban Village Policy,Section 94 Contribution Plan. Superannuation Choice Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (TIDC) WorkChoices WorkCover NSW Workplace info - resources in news and policy information to Australian Workplaces
Local Chambers of Commerce & networking	Eastwood Chamber of Commerce Epping Chamber of Commerce Gladesville Chamber of Commerce North Ryde/Macquarie Park Chamber of Commerce Ryde Chamber of Commerce Sydney Women's Network West Ryde Chamber of Commerce
Newspapers	News Limited newspapers (The Australian, Daily Telegraph etc) The Australian Financial Review The Northern District Times The Sydney Morning Herald The Weekly Times
Shopping Centres	Macquarie Shopping Centre Shopping centres in Ryde Top Ryde City
Things to See and Do In Ryde	Eden Gardens and Garden Centre Lane Cove National Park Macquarie Ice Rink Macquarie Megaplex Cinema Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre Ryde Parks, Walks and Lookouts State Transport Infoline- Buses, Ferries and Rail

If you discover a broken link, please tell us about it. Click here to email Ryde Business Forum.

Please also check our Members' Directory, which has an extensive list of members' products and services.

NSW Business Chamber

Ryde Business Forum holds Affliliate Membership of NSW Business Chamber (formerly State Chamber of Commerce/Australian Business Limited). Through this association RBF can offer more benefits to its members through, among other things, joint lobbying of government on significant business issues, access to Australian Business Foundation and the research and studies carried out by them and co-branded informative seminars and functions.

As part of this affiliation, all RBF members automatically become Associate members of NSWBC, and are thus entitled to call NSWBC's Workplace Advice Line direct for advice on industrial relations matters. (Members should also be aware that Ryde Business Forum has a specialist IR Law practice in its membership, BlandsLaw, and the partners at this firm are also delighted to work with other members). The Workplace Advice Line assists businesss to manage important industrial and employee relations issues before they arise, during and after any situation. Dedicated workplace relations advisers provide advice on awards and other workplace legislation to help you make accurate and informed decisions in a timely manner. The number to call is 132959, Mon-Fri 8.30am -5.30 pm.

NSW Business Chamber has a new Awards Modernisation website launched in 2008. Access to information on this site is by password only - RBF members interested in finding out more should contact Sabrina Ferguson who will give them the RBF password.

RBF members recieve via RBF invitations to NSWBC events and seminars at Associate Member rates. These invitations will be issued via RBF's e-news. Please note that if you wish to attend any of these events, you should contact NSWBC directly and state that you wish to attend at Associate Rates as you are a member of Ryde Business Forum. You do not need an individual membership number.

Members of RBF are also able to buy products from NSWBC at discounted rates.

Ryde Business Forum is currently in the Opt In stage of the Chamber Alliance package, which will offer its members up to $1200 worth of extra benefits to help them grow their business. Members are encouraged to opt in to the program. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Benefits include:

NSW BC Chamber Alliance benefits

Small Business Help

Starting up and running your own business can be a bewildering experience for the first-timer. Where do you go to find government information? How can you learn, for example, how to interview new employees? And where can you find this information easily, because you can’t spend too much time away from your business?

If you become a member of the Forum, you’ll find subject matter experts on industrial relations law, human resources, IT, marketing and other functions throughout our member base; you’ll make valuable contacts as a member.

We have developed several pages and documents in this section which will help guide you down the business track - see our Starting a Small Business guide. These documents have been designed to offer direction and basic assistance to those people who are short on time and resources, and wish to be informed of the essentials of running a successful small business. We also suggest you look at our links page, particularly the government links, as they are a good guide to most of the government departments you may need to get information from.

Ryde Business Forum provides this information as a guide only. The Forum accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information. You should seek independent legal and professional advice at all times on any, and all of the segments highlighted here.

The information was contributed by, collected and collated from various government and industry bodies. All care but no responsibility has been taken in its preparation. Regular references to the sources of information are noted throughout the document.

Ryde Business Forum strongly recommends that you contact the appropriate authorities, or check with your accountant, solicitor and business advisors with regard to any issues.

We do recommend however, in time, that you also have some fun and take time to rest and look objectively at how you do business!

We hope you gain some benefit from the links below:

businesswoman Starting up and running your own business can be a bewildering experience for the first-timer. Where do you go to find government information? How can you learn, for example, how to interview new employees? And where can you find this information easily, because you can’t spend too much time away from your business?

If you become a member of the Forum, you’ll find subject matter experts on industrial relations law, human resources, IT, marketing and other functions throughout our member base; you’ll make valuable contacts as a member.

We have developed several pages and documents in this section which will help guide you down the business track - see our Starting a Small Business guide. These documents have been designed to offer direction and basic assistance to those people who are short on time and resources, and wish to be informed of the essentials of running a successful small business. We also suggest you look at our links page, particularly the government links, as they are a good guide to most of the government departments you may need to get information from.

Ryde Business Forum provides this information as a guide only. The Forum accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information. You should seek independent legal and professional advice at all times on any, and all of the segments linked below.

The information was contributed by, collected and collated from various government and industry bodies. All care but no responsibility has been taken in its preparation. Regular references to the sources of information are noted throughout the document.

Ryde Business Forum strongly recommends that you contact the appropriate authorities, or check with your accountant, solicitor and business advisors with regard to any issues.

We do recommend however, in time, that you also have some fun and take time to rest and look objectively at how you do business!
We hope you gain some benefit from the links below:

Starting a small business - explains the basics of starting and running your own business.
Business Structures, Business Names, Registering Your Business, Record Keeping
Business Insurance
Finance
Legal Matters and Leasing
Taxation
Superannuation, Workers' Compensation
Intellectual Property, Occupational Health & Safety
Industrial Relations
Staffing, Apprenticeships and Trainees
Home Based Businesses

Marketing

Useful Government websites and phone numbers

Handy Phone Reference Guide

Special Interest Groups

With so much happening throughout Ryde in terms of business and infrastructure growth, the Forum has a number of Special Interest Groups who facilitate information flow in a number of areas:

CEO Forum

A quarterly luncheon club for CEOs from the City of Ryde and surrounding business districts

Employment, Education and Training

A group that concerns itself with the generation and promotion of employment opportunities in the Ryde region, eg promoting New Apprenticeships and other employment initiatives throughout the City. At the moment Macquarie University is looking for companies interested in participating in the Work Experience Placement (WEP)Program. Click here to find out more.

Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality

This group helps develop the potential of tourism and leisure in Ryde as a major employment sector and wealth generator.

Traffic, Transport and Infrastructure

This group liaises with Council, government departments and infrastructure providers and developers to disseminate information about developments to RBF members and provide feedback on behalf of the business community to government and infrastructure stakeholders.

Council Liaison

This group liaises with the City of Ryde to discuss issues which affect the growth and development of business in the City, has input into the Council's Economic Strategy and works with Council to promote business events throughout the City (ie Expo, Small Business September).

Other Special Interest Groups and Committees are drawn together to address a particular need or issue as it arises.

With so much happening throughout Ryde in terms of business and infrastructure growth, the Forum has a number of Special Interest Groups who facilitate information flow in a number of areas:

CEO Forum. A quarterly luncheon club for CEOs from the City of Ryde and surrounding business districts
Employment, Education and Training. A group that concerns itself with the generation and promotion of employment opportunities in the Ryde region, eg promoting New Apprenticeships and other employment initiatives throughout the City.
Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality. This group helps develop the potential of tourism and leisure in Ryde as a major employment sector and wealth generator.
Traffic, Transport and Infrastructure. This group liaises with Council, government departments and infrastructure providers and developers to disseminate information about developments to RBF members and provide feedback on behalf of the business community to government and infrastructure stakeholders.
Council Liaison. This group liaises with the City of Ryde to discuss issues which affect the growth and development of business in the City, has input into the Council's Economic Strategy and works with Council to promote business events throughout the City (ie Expo, Small Business Month, Microbiz Week, Manufacturing Week).

Other Special Interest Groups and Committees are drawn together to address a particular need or issue as it arises.