Growing a business is not a walk in the park. From coming up with creative ideas, to discovering a profitable niche, these activities require a level of expertise to be executed. At the MTN ICT Business Skills Training, participants were taught how to leverage available digital tools to build a thriving online presence for their business.

Here are key takeaways from the workshop:

    How to create a ‘Google my Business’ Account: Creating a  ‘Google my Business’ is as simple as going to business.google.com, adding the business name, choosing an appropriate category, location, contact details, listing and choosing a mode of verifying the listing.

    Setting up and optimizing a ‘Google my Business’ page: Google my Business is a free tool that allows users to manage how their business appears on Google Search and maps. It is also a platform to engage with customers on Google for free. With a Google my Business page, entrepreneurs can set up a profile in order to attract customers, reach more people and see how customers connect with their business.

    How to leverage Google to stay competitive: There’s a popular saying that an unprofitable business is only a hobby. Participants were taught that in order to stay competitive, entrepreneurs must make informed marketing decisions through research, learn from the success and mistakes of others, identify how to stand out from the crowd while discovering industry trends and customer preferences.

    How to create a digital strategy: The advantages of a digital strategy plan for a business outweighs a traditional marketing strategy. Participants were taught that an interactive and engaging digital strategy, has high return on investment, low cost, is easy to measure, and spreads wide.

    How to reach the right people at the right time with Google Ads: With Google ads, we must be strategic and consider our business goals. Only pay for results, like clicks on your website or calls to your business

    How to create your first ad in a few clicks: Participants learnt that Google Ads make it easy to show the world what is unique about each business. Entrepreneurs only need to input information on business goals, where to advertise, the message, available budget, and then publish.

This is the first of the four week instructor-led sessions of the MTN’S ICT and Business Skills workshop in partnership with Google, Oracle, Cisco, IBM, and KPMG.