Google Digital Garage Hits Newark
If you missed it, here are some key takeaways from our joint hosted event with Google, Invest Newark and Sherwood and Newark and Sherwood District Council last week.
As a full-service marketing and PR agency, we recently joined forces with Google Digital Garage to introduce businesses based in Newark, Nottinghamshire to the basics of marketing with Google.
Ann-Marie Ivanova, from Up Skill Digital on behalf of the global internet giant, delivered three sessions covering social media strategy, an introduction to digital marketing and guidance on getting a business visible on Google, to more than 80 people at the Everyday Champions Centre in Newark.
Guests from a variety of businesses were invited to attend the event and it was very interesting to gauge responses in the room, many had absolutely no experience and others were intermediate. There were plenty of notes being made throughout.
Through our day-to-day work with clients and often at networking events across the region and beyond, we find that a common misconception is that digital marketing is only about social media, which is why we were thrilled Google covered a wide range of topics at our event: from the basics of getting a business online to promoting your products and services through online advertising.
The event covered the ground rules around digital marketing, social media and most importantly Google My Business.
Google My Business is a key element of digital marketing that we always advise our clients to do, no matter their size. There are many businesses that don’t have a Google account set up meaning they have no control over the listings that Google auto-generates. This can result in inaccurate locations and post codes, incorrect categorisation and worst of all, ugly photos of what are often bland industrial buildings. Not a great first impression for someone searching for products or services.
By setting up and owning a My Business listing a company can have full control over how of how it appears to those searching for it or for other relevant information. Categorisation can be set up correctly and a concise description can be written, explaining what the business is and what it does.
More importantly, great photos and accurate opening times can be provided to searchers. It’s a simple thing that sets up local businesses for more efficient SEO, giving them better visibility and making that click or enquiry a bit more likely.
Another way of creating a good first impression of your business online is through reviews. Reviews on Google provide valuable information about your business to both you and your customers. Business reviews appear next to your listing in Maps and Search and can help your business stand out on Google.
Ann-Marie talked the event delegates through a whole host of top tips, statistics and useful snippets of ‘insider know-how’ and the range covered should have given our delegates lots of food for thought.
Overall the event was a great success and we were able to gauge how much digital marketing experience and knowledge local businesses have. This is useful as it will help us develop our proposition as a business.
We had some great feedback throughout the day and it was an absolute pleasure to share our knowledge and raise awareness of our Newark office and our full range of services.
We hope those that attended the event found it useful. However, if you’re still trying to get to grips with the basics or you’re looking for something a bit more in-depth, then get in touch and we’d be happy to support you!
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