Future comes to you at expo

The Inner West Small Business Expo, to be held at Sydney Olympic Park on September 15, will this year focus on iBusiness and learning how to expand your business via online and social media marketing.

The expo is regarded as the premier business-to-business event in the inner-west, with a wide range of guest speakers, information booths and training sessions. Topics this year include Cloud computing, business applications for smartphones and the economic impact of social media.

Event co-ordinator John Whelan says the expo is divided into two sections: the speakers’ program and a wide range of exhibitor stands, covering everything from TAFE, software companies, media groups, Optus and the Commonwealth Bank.

“The expo is a totally free event,” he says. “Entry to the expo floor and most of the business briefings is free. We’re only charging for the breakfast and lunch sessions – and that’s purely to recover costs.”

Whelan says the expo – organised by a consortium of five inner-west councils including Strathfield – is a great opportunity for local businesses to learn about iBusiness from leading experts and commentators.

“We realise that a lot of people running their own companies don’t have time to attend seminars and training sessions about things like smartphones and social media.

“The expo allows them to dip in and out of sessions that might be of interest to them. There’s even a session called Social Media to Go, which means they walk away with their newly created Facebook page, Twitter account or LinkedIn profile.”

Akash Malik, an internet marketing expert and chief executive of Maverick Mav, will lead one of
the sessions.

He says all businesses should adopt media marketing, a powerful tool through which they can experience “massive” growth.

“Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks provide businesses with the opportunity to engage in a two-way conversation, as opposed to traditional methods of marketing and advertising, which are one-way broadcasts. Consumers have developed a blindness to such broadcast messages.”

For full list, check out our events page to find the full listings of the Inner West Small Business Expo 2011.

Source: http://ourstrathfield.com.au