Michelle Björkholm: ”Small enterprises need a Digiboost”

Kolumnen har publicerats i Vaasa Insider 21.4.2022. 

Michelle Björkholm, Project Assistant at Novia UAS, writes about how Novia University of Applied Sciences and Jakobstad Region Development Company Concordia are boosting small enterprises in digital marketing.

What does digital marketing conclude? How can I as a small business owner manage my digital marketing easily and efficiently? What is SEO and how does Google Analytics work? Digital marketing is developing fast, and the pandemic has given it more speed and companies are now in need to keep up the know-how.

Digiboost, Boosting Digimarketing in Jakobstad Region, is a project targeting small and micro-enterprises in the Jakobstad region. The project goal is to develop the participants’ own digital marketing.

Digiboost wants to contribute with reducing the knowledge gap, so that companies can manage their digital marketing strategically. The need for this type of project has emerged in previous projects and in business counseling.

Novia UAS and Concordia collaborates in this project. Novia brings the expertise and Concordia manages the communication to the companies.

Digiboost started in spring 2021 with interviews with the participant companies, to find out which needs and challenges they have with digital marketing. This information helped shape and form workshops held within the project.

Another goal of the project is to boost the collaboration between companies and strengthen the network. Students studying Business Administration with a marketing profile at Novia, are also involved in the project. They get to collaborate with the participant businesses and work hands-on with their marketing challenges. Hopefully these collaborations will set the base for further collaborations with students and small businesses.

A big variety of businesses has come together in this project and are willing to support each other when tackling digital marketing challenges. Among the project subjects is how to create a persona – a fictive person that represent the company’s target group and the Loop-method – a way of work to develop the business by keeping the costumer value in center.

The project also gives the opportunity for businesses to learn and work with marketing tools while collaborating with students.

Digiboost is now in its final stretch a what remains is to create a toolbox for digital marketing. The toolbox will contain subjects and tools that the project has approached. You will find the toolbox on Concordia’s webpage this summer. The toolbox is free and open for everyone and is a great chance to increase your know-how in digital marketing.

Hopefully this project can encourage small business owners to star dealing with their digital marketing challenges. Everyone makes mistakes, the most important is that you get started and then you’ll learn on the way.