While the large mega-corporations keep getting bigger, there’s still a lot of room for small to medium businesses in our market. Through a new digital training platform called Digital Garage, Google is wanting to empower small business owners in the digital age by offering free online training on a range of topics.
Deloitte recently conducted a study on SMBs which found that digital knowledge can improve a businesses reach and revenue. Their research found that a digitally savvy SMB can be more likely to export goods, create job and be more innovative overall. The need to be more digitally aware and switched on is where the need for the Google Digital Garage, a name that seems to be a nod to Google’s own beginnings as an SMB in a garage in Menlo Park in 1998, comes from.
There’s 90 training modules in Google’s Digital Garage, covering topics as diverse as search engine optimisation, how to sell more online and even how to be more engaged with your customers on social media or use video and mobile marketing. The modules are all aimed at helping SMBs to build the digital skills they need to achieve their business goals.
The Digital Garage training allows business owners to set their own goals, then work through modules that include videos featuring knowledge from everyday experts. SMBs can track their progress through the courses and if all modules are completed you can get your certification, which is supported by Google and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB),the peak trade association for online advertising in Australia.
Once you sign up to Digital Garage training you can choose from a range of modules. Modules consist of tutorials which include a short video and a brief quiz which Google says you can complete in around 10 minutes. Complete all the tutorials, complete the assessment and you get a badge showing you’ve completed the module. Complete all the modules and you get your certification.
If you, or someone you know could benefit from some digital training it’s probably time to point them to Digital Garage at digitalgarage-au.withgoogle.com
