With the digital age upon us, it’s never been more important for businesses to keep up with the online world – and that’s why onlincolnshire is hosting a free event in West Lindsey to help firms make the most of internet services.

An awareness session on 29^th April at Market Rasen Golf Club will inform businesses about the support being offered by the Lincolnshire County Council-run project and will include taster sessions on a range of topics including how businesses can deal with change, developing a digital strategy, and social media.

Businesses can then sign up for free masterclasses which will look at e-commerce, internet marketing and social media, offering the skills to help improve business practice and performance. One-to-one advice and support is also available through the project.

Cllr Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “This awareness session will help businesses make the most of new technology and understand how it can help them prosper. We don’t use any techy jargon, so you don’t need to be an expert in IT to attend.

“It’s a way for businesses to pick up some tips on making the most of online services and sign up to more free, in-depth masterclasses delivered by experts in their field. We’d like to see as many businesses as possible take up this opportunity.”

Networking starts from 8.30am and includes a free breakfast. The event then runs until 11.15am. It is open to all businesses in West Lindsey and is part of a wider project of support across Lincolnshire and Rutland being run by onlincolnshire. It is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

To book your place on this free awareness session please call 0300 80 80 120 or email onlincolnshire@lincs-chamber.co.uk. Follow @onlincolnshire on Twitter and www.facebook.com/onlincolnshire to stay up-to-date with developments.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

About onlincolnshire

• onlincolnshire is a Lincolnshire County Council-run project which is part-funded by the East Midlands European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013.
• In March 2013, the council signed a £48 million contract with BT to provide superfast broadband to at least 88% of county properties by 2016, with the remaining properties having access to at least of 2Mbps broadband. A further investment of £2.8 million was announced this month (February 2014) which has increased the number of properties to 89%.
• The contract with BT concentrates on an intervention area of over 150,000 premises where existing or planned commercial roll outs would not deliver superfast speeds.
• The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf
• Some internet users in rural Lincolnshire experience speeds of less than 1 Mbps. The UK’s average broadband speed is 12 Mbps, according to Ofcom.

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Cerri Delaney
Shooting Star PR
cerri@weareshootingstar.co.uk
01522 528540
07985 143990
@CerriDelaney
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