Keeping up with the digital age is something all businesses need to do – and that’s why onlincolnshire is hosting a free event in East Lindsey to help firms make the most of online services.

An awareness session on 1^st April at Bainland Country Parks in Woodhall Spa will inform businesses about the support on offer and explain how they can make better use of broadband services.

There will be four taster sessions on selling over the internet, integrating social media into your marketing plan, how to respond more quickly to enquiries and making better use of staff both in and out of the office.

Businesses can then sign up for free masterclasses, which will go into more detail on all of those topics and offer the skills to help improve business practice and performance. One-to-one advice and support is also being offered.

Cllr Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “These 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.

“The masterclasses will be delivered by experts in their field and will give delegates real skills which can then be used to boost their business. We’d like to see as many businesses as possible take up this opportunity.”

Networking starts from 9.30am and includes a free lunch. The event then runs until 12 noon. It is open to all businesses in East 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 superfast@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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