Key Suffolk businesses join forces with council to help businesses out of the digital marketing mire

Ipswich Borough Council is joining forces with Green Shoots Learning and Business Mapper to offer people in business subsidised places to attend a new six part digital training and networking breakfast programme at IP-City.

The ‘Connecting Online Marketing’ or ‘.COM’ initiative is both a business networking breakfast as well as a six month programme of monthly bite-sized digital marketing training sessions.

Anyone running or marketing a business can attend if the business is not related to the digital marketing industry and they personally are not professional digital marketers.

Each month COM events can host to up to 40 delegates in IP-City from 08:00 to 09:30am.

The programme will include a light breakfast and refreshments; an opportunity to network and ‘how to’ training on a specific digital topic. There’s also a further opportunity for up to six people to join in a small group session to get 1-2-1 attention for their business.

Local sponsors Kingsfleet Wealth, Larking Gowen, Blocks Solicitors and WMA Video have stepped in to help subsidise the cost as well as Ipswich Borough Council’s Economic Development Team.

They all see the need to support local businesses right now as superfast broadband is rolled out and businesses are under pressure to have a clear web presence which makes money. Their subsidies mean the breakfast training is being offered at only £20+ VAT a session (or six sessions for the price of five at £100+ VAT) and the 1-2-1 sessions are only £45 + VAT.

The topics being covered in the first six sessions include Effective LinkedIn Networking (Surgery: Business Networking Online); Selling through Facebook (Surgery: Facebook); Understanding SEO and keywords (Surgery: SEO & Keyword); Building your brand through Twitter (Surgery: Building your brand online). These can be booked on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connecting-online-marketing-7-steps-to-sell through-your-website-tickets-18531746954 on a first come first served basis.

Trainers Lorna Rose and Lindsey Trainer created .com because they could see the problems many business people face today if they are not digitally trained. In fact, it’s a problem been highlighted to them as they developed and delivered the Suffolk and Norfolk Women and Broadband initiative, in association with Suffolk County Council, Suffolk chamber and Norfolk Chamber. During that time they trained and received feedback from more than 100 local business leaders who all highlighted this problem.

Lindsey, a digital marketer and owner of Business Mapper, said: “Each session we’ll take people step by step through a series of recognised digital marketing fundamentals to help people grow their business online and coordinate their websites, social media and email marketing to win customers. People are welcome to bring their tablets/laptops to have a go as they are taught. They will also get the notes following the session by email and a chance to join the .com closed Facebook group, to help them implement what they learn and to discuss their business needs with others.”