Camberley Town Centre gets set to go digital
**Business owners from within the Town Centres Business Improvement District (BID) will have the opportunity to brush up on their digital skills with a range of workshops being offered by Surrey Heath Borough Council and Collectively Camberley.**
Due to funding received from Local Enterprise Partnership, Enterprise M3, these workshops are available free of charge to attendees. Digital Business Skills is a brand new, tailor-made suite of training programmes specifically designed to help small businesses develop their knowledge of the internet, social media and benefits of getting their business online.
From developing a website to using email marketing and social media, the Digital Business Skills Programme run by the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM), will equip small business with the confidence, skills and tools they need to benefit from the rapid growth of e-tailing and ultimately increase their bottom line.
Split into three modules, the sessions will be run at Camberley Theatre, 8am 12pm, 24 February, 11 March and 26 March and can be [booked directly with the BID team.](mailto:lucy@collectivelycamberley.co.uk)
The first session, entitled Understand Your Customer and Digital Marketing, covers the important basics of marketing online. The second, Developing Your Business Online, gives an introduction to online, e-commerce and multi-channel marketing, and the final session, Grow Your Business Through Social Media, gives an introduction to blogs and the effective use of social media for business.
**Managing Director for Collectively Camberley, Zoe Griffiths,** said
With the increasing use of social media for business, these workshops are a great tool for helping our businesses engage to a wider audience and promote themselves online effectively. Having a strong online presence and trading online isn’t about taking footfall away from the High Street, in fact, it can result in the exact opposite and be the catalyst in attracting new shoppers into store.
These workshops are one of a number of initiatives that Camberley Town Centre has introduced to support its independent retailers and small business owners.
**Kevin Cantlon, Economic Development Officer for Surrey Heath Borough Council,** said
Social media provides a fantastic opportunity for independent businesses to promote their unique products. And its free! These courses are specifically designed to help smaller retailers who don’t have access to big marketing and PR budgets to get their information out there and bring customers to their stores. Camberley is on the up and retailers should use every opportunity they can to get shoppers through their doors. Social media is currently the best way to do that.
**Limited Spaces Available**
If you are part of the BID area and would like to enrol on Digital Business Skills please [contact the BID team directly.](mailto:lucy@collectivelycamberley.co.uk)