Cyrius News

One of our clients from way back in the early 2000s is So Art Cakes.  After many years of having their original site, they decided it was high time to bring things up to date.  The Internet has changed so much these days with Content Management Systems (CMSs) becoming essential for any business to maintain and update their Websites.  Even for a small business like So Art Cakes, they need to be able to update their gallery regularly to feature their latest creations and add more and more glowing testimonials as happy brides and grooms write back to thank them for a job well done.

Being a small business and on a tight budget, we advised to go with WordPress as an open source CMS, and start with a good design template as a base that we could modify and customise to give them the look and feel required.  It was the best way to create a custom design with a CMS, without having to start from scratch.

We worked with Sue and Paul to help them save time by naming and giving descriptions to all their cake photographs in their gallery, to help with Search Engine Optimisation and save time.  We kept the whole site clean and simple, focusing on the cakes themselves – Sue's delicious creations.  The result is an elegant showcase, with plenty of supporting information to help the next bride and groom to find and choose So Art Cakes to design their special cake for their very special day.

Visit So Art Cakes Website here.

One of our most established, long-term relationship clients, Wavelink, celebrates the first anniversary of the launch of their new Website today.  Cyrius has been involved in two previous revamps of the Wavelink site, since coming on board back around 2004.  Naturally, the Internet has evolved significantly in that time, as have both Cyrius and Wavelink.  Being a communications technology company, their products and services have expanded from more traditional phone systems to total organisation communication solutions, including VOiP, mobile wi-fi network security and access, hotel network guest access management systems, unified communications and more.  Wavelink's marketing has evolved significantly as well.  They have moved heavily into digital media and social media as well as expanding such activities like training seminars and events.  All the while, the Website has been the central hub to their communications and marketing strategy.

Cyrius congratulates Jonathan Ordman and his whole team on all their successes and thanks them for the opportunity to have been a part of their journey.

Happy Anniversary, Wavelink, and here's to a great future together as you continue to grow and evolve your business with your Website www.wavelink.com.au

Cyrius Creative Director, Stefan Sojka hosted a one-hour presentation for the City of Ryde's Small Business September program at Ryde Library.  Ryde Council's Economic Development Manager, Nathan Pratt had arranged the event and clearly had done a great job promoting it, as it was well attended.

The crowd had braved the early morning traffic for the talk 'Marketing Yourself Online'.  Stefan had a challenge to distill a topic into one hour, that one could talk about for weeks, given the broad scope of online marketing.  So he chose to present a couple of very different case studies, to highlight the sheer diversity of online opportunities.

He then spoke about the nature of networks and online networking and how powerful the phenomenon of networking is.  Stefan introduced the audience to a number of his own unique concepts and perspectives on Website and online marketing, including "Simplify – Amplify" and the challenges of Information Overload.

With only about 45 minutes to talk, before a Q & A session, Stefan briefly covered the process of creating a Website from scratch, starting with a brainstorming session, then determining content and functionality, designing and building the Website, through to marketing it and building a strong online reputation.

He finished his talk with a couple more examples of Cyrius own clients' Website projects, before opening up to the floor for questions

A keen and motivated audience asked a number of questions, ranging from email marketing platforms to Content Management System selection, issues with domain names and legalities surrounding competitors trying to use similar domain names to their trademark.  After the talk, a number of people came up to talk to Stefan about specific issues and to take up his offer of a free consultation on their business.

All in all the event was a success and Cyrius would like to thank Nathan Pratt and the City of Ryde for their commitment to helping local small business and for giving Stefan the opportunity to share his knowledge and experience.

Our Creative Director, Stefan Sojka is presenting a talk as part of the City of Ryde's Small Business September program.

Marketing Your Business Online – Morning Workshop

Small Business September Workshop – Marketing Your Business Online

The workshop is concerned with providing advice to small businesses on how to get the most out of their business Website.

When:  12 September 2012 @ 7:30am

Where:  Top Ryde Library in the Wallumatta Room, 1 Pope St, Ryde (Parking at Top Ryde City Shopping Centre)

More Info:

Marketing Yourself Online

With some fascinating real-life case studies and the insights gained from 15 years of helping businesses establish and promote themselves online, Cyrius Media Group Director, Stefan Sojka will help you gain some valuable knowledge, tools and strategies to make your own mark on the Web.  Every business is unique and can benefit from a huge range of new opportunities.  From Websites to Search Engines, Social Media and Online Public Relations, the digital world is your oyster.  Come along for a fun and inspiring presentation, followed by plenty of time to join the conversation and discuss your own business, with an interactive Q&A.

This event is FREE to attend but registration is essential.

Contact: rbfevents@rydebusiness.com.au or call: 9962 8498 (limited to 30 people).

Cyrius is very proud to have learned that our Website for the Rotary Club of Ryde has won the best Rotary Club Website in the district for the second year running.  At the District 9680 Changeover dinner, held at Hornsby RSL, the District awards were announced.  Attendees from Ryde Club were very happy to have cleaned up a swag of awards, including best print newsletter as well.

Congratulations to the Club, as it is not just the Website itself that the awards are judged on, but the way the Club keeps the site maintained and updated.  That involves a team of Club members, who maintain the events calendar, keep the newsletter up-to-date and supply the site with information about the latest community service projects.

Cyrius proudly announces the launch of the brand new Bricknell Legal Website.  Danny Bricknell is a popular local solicitor in Gladesville.  His assistant Tina Luff contacted Cyrius as a locally-based Web Design firm to give his old site a revamp.

Tina worked closely with us to write a lot of new content and prepare the plan for the new site.  It was decided to make a nice, clean and straight-forward, professional-looking and easy to navigate Website that would act as a good referral point for new customers, highlighting the specialty focuses of the practice.

The site has been designed to expand in content, as new information is added over time, using a multi-level dynamic menu system within the Adobe Business Catalyst Content Management System (CMS) platform.

The Cyrius team would like to congratulate Danny and his team on their new Web presence and wish you every success with it.  Thank you for having us be a part of your business journey.

Yesterday, NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Citizenship & Communities launched his new Volunteering Strategy at an event at Governor Macquarie tower in Sydney.

Cyrius Creative Director, Stefan Sojka was invited as a constituent of Victor's electorate and as one of the contributors to the strategy, in the form of a formal submission.  Stefan submitted a suggestion that ‘Timebanking’ become a part of the Volunteering Strategy.

Timebanking, which is very popular in the US and the UK, among other countries, is a mechanism where volunteering hours are valued through an online Timebank, administered by a broker and able to be traded or exchanged for other volunteer services, using a concept called co-production.

Stefan's interest in Timebanking came about through hearing a talk on the concept via www.thersa.org and following up with further research.  It is also interesting from the fact that it is a Web-based idea that takes advantage of the networking capacities of the Web and the information management tools available.

On the day of the Volunteering Strategy launch, it was also announced that two Timebanking pilot programs are being set up.  The Strategy mentions Timebanking as an emerging trend in volunteering and it is very pleasing to see the State Government supporting two trials of the concept.

We look forward to seeing how those trials turn out and whether or not the concept can gain wider acceptance.  For more information about Timebanking in the US, go here, or for the UK go here.

Australians are well aware of the crazy times experienced by the insulation industry a couple of years ago, when the government’s insulation scheme fell apart in a disastrous fashion.

Overnight, the industry was shaken up as funding dried up and many people, both customers and those in the industry, were left high and dry.  One firm that weathered the storm was Sydney’s Insulvac.

Insulvac had been around long before the insulation scheme was even thought of.  When the dust settled, literally, the professional, service-driven firms like Insulvac remained.

Insulvac, with director Gavin Clarke, from the Australian Dust Removal Association, had been leaders in raising awareness in the industry of hazards like lead and asbestos and had invested in specialized high-powered vacuum equipment to extract dust and clean roof cavities, as well as replacing insulation and providing other related products and services.

Insulvac has now launched a new Web presence, showcasing their professionalism, past work and testimonials, as well as a whole range of world class products, from glasswool insulation, acoustic insulation, downlight covers and roof ventilators.

Cyrius is very happy to have been a part of the company’s transformation with the new Website and wish Insulvac all the very best as they begin using their powerful new online tool to market their business.

Check out their new website on www.insulvac.com.au

Cyrius is happy to announce the launch of Wavelink's brand new Website.  After a recent re-branding and logo change, the time had come to re-design and re-think the online presence for the company.

The new Website has a clean design, simplified menu structure, reorganised content and layout and a fresh new approach to promote the vastly expanded product range and supporting information since the previous site was launched.

Cyrius took Wavelink through a Web design and development process that began with a review of the entire content, navigation and structure of the Website, then worked on devising a new set of wireframes to present the information.  Once the wireframes were refined and approved, a design process began, using our favourite graphic designer and Website designer, Stephanie.  Wavelink brought their own freelancing print designer, Heather Noakes on board to create various elements of the new site, such as sliders and banner graphics.

Once the design was approved, Shawn, our Web developer, commenced an extensive process of firstly pulling all the existing content in from the current site, then recoding it into the new Website design framework.  He cleaned up many aspects, adding features and reorganising the programming to facilitate easier management of the rapidly expanding range of content and media provided by Wavelink and their suppliers.

Wavelink is using social media, including YouTube, Twitter, blogging and LinkedIn to reach a growing and highly business- and tech-savvy customer base, so the Website is central to the marketing strategy, driving people to and from all the other online assets.

Cyrius is proud to have been a part of this strategic process since 2004, expanding the scope of the project as both the Web and Wavelink itself have expanded.

Congratulations to Jonathan and the Wavelink team on your brand new Website, from all of us here at Cyrius.  Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your business evolution.

You can visit the site here: www.wavelink.com.au

Today marks one year to the day that the Rotary Club of Ryde launched their new Website.  Cyrius congratulates the Club on all the site has achieved in its first 12 months.

The Website recently won the Rotary District Award for best Website for 2010–11, the Norm Roach Memorial Shield.

It has also attracted a large number of visitors from all over the world.  6,000 people have looked at the Website, which is not bad for a humble little Rotary Club, and they have looked at over 25,000 pages of content.  The numbers are going up all the time, as the site grows in size and stature and continues to be found in Search Engines for more and more keywords.

The Club has benefited in many ways, including attracting guest speakers, volunteers, applicants for various programs and scholarships, and a few enquiries for membership.

Cyrius is proud to have been a part of the Ryde Rotary Website journey and will continue to support the Club to grow and increase its online presence, through the Website and through many social media channels.