Google Digital Garage Review
What is the Google Digital Garage? On 28th June 2024, we went to their Stratford workshop to find out more for ourselves. If you're wondering whether or not to attend, read on for our verdict.
As most small business owners can relate, I was scrolling through different small business networking and workshop events. It's on Enterprise Nation that I came across Google Digital Garage, a free digital skills workshop run by Google, with the aim to empower small business owners with digital knowledge, and to make tech and digital less intimidating.
Right up our street! That is exactly what we're about at Mpowering Solutions, so we thought we'd go check a workshop out, to see if it delivers on that promise.
Our session was on 28th June 2024 at Stratford. Upon arrival, we knew we had a full day ahead of us. The agenda of the day was:
Session 1: Get your business visible with Google
Session 2: Problem solve like a consultant
Session 3: Boost your productivity with AI
Session 4: Marketing Strategy with AI
The morning sessions (1 & 2) were nice and light, with great tips and advice for business owners, while the afternoon sessions (3 & 4) were a bit more information-heavy, but still incredibly easy to understand despite them being on the potentially-complex topic of AI (artificial intelligence).
Session 1: Get your business visible with Google
It is no surprise to anyone that Google is the top search engine, so if you want your business to thrive, you need to be visible on Google. One of the key pieces of advice was to ensure your business is listed on Google My Business, especially if you have a physical bricks and mortar store. They also introduced other key Google tools such as Google Trends to help monitor search terms and trends and Google Analytics 4 to track your website's performance. Concepts such as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) were also touched upon, though they weren't explored in depth, as this was more of an introductory session.
Session 2: Problem solve like a consultant
This session was not digitally focused, but it was still a very interesting session to sit through, as the trainer gave some invaluable advice on how to problem solve and encouraged you to dig deep to find that entrepreneurial spirit within. When you're running your own business, or even if you're part of a bigger company, problem solving may seem daunting and intimidating. Often I have found myself in a situation where I'm thinking, "What, little old me has to come up with a solution?! Do I even have the expertise for this?!". This session hammered home the message that there is no one way to problem-solve, that different people take different approaches and that's OK. Problem-solving methods such as the 6 Hats, the 5 Whys (a personal favourite) and SWOT (oldie but a goodie) were mentioned, to highlight the variety of approaches to resolving a problem.
Session 3: Boost productivity with AI
AI has always been around, but it really exploded last year, when it was dominating headlines. Again, if you're unfamiliar or even uncomfortable with tech, a concept like AI (artificial intelligence) can be intimidating. It's all about robots and machines, right? This session helped to ground AI, to make people see that we have been living with AI for years and years before it hit the headlines, using examples such as Netflix personalised recommendations and banking alerts. By using these examples, it helps to immediately demystify AI, and to show how AI isn't here to replace jobs but to help support people by boosting productivity. AI can be used to summarise long texts, AI can help translate, AI can help automate... The main takeaway was that, in order to utilise AI effectively, you need to use clear, instructional prompts to guide AI on how best to handle the query. Oh, and also don't trust AI answers fully; always double-check just in case! Sometimes the data AI learns off may not be entirely accurate, so it's always worth casting an eye over AI's answers just to ensure there are no "hallucinations" in there.
Session 4: Marketing Strategy with AI
Echoing the previous session, the trainer emphasised that AI should be used as a support tool, and is not designed to be the pilot of a business's marketing strategy. He spoke about how many vendors and service providers have integrated AI into their interface, such as Shopify's AI to help write product copy, or Mailchimp using AI to generate email templates as well as enhance personalisation. He also touched upon an ideal website landing page (not sure we'd agree with the chosen visual example but we agree with the premise of ensuring your customer has all the information they need to make an informed decision), and reiterated the importance of keeping your Google Business Profile up-to-date.
Verdict: Worth it!
It is worth pointing out that, since this is a Google workshop, obviously it is very Google-centric. Most of the tools and solutions mentioned were part of the Google ecosystem, which is not a bad thing at all, given Google's prominence. But during the AI session, at times, it felt like a sales pitch for Gemini, Google's version of ChatGPT. What was really great, however, was that the trainers were not afraid to mention and pitch non-Google AI tools, because their main goal was to recommend tools suitable for specific tasks, rather than blindly push Google solutions.
For small business owners who are looking to upskill themselves digitally and learn more about digital marketing, it's definitely worth attending one of these workshops! The trainers do an amazing job of simplifying digital concepts using relatable examples, and avoid using technical jargon and acronyms where they can.
For those who are more digitally savvy, it could still be worth attending for the business tips and advice sprinkled throughout the workshop. There are no big industry secrets revealed at these sessions, so if you're looking for insider tricks and shortcuts on topics like SEO rankings, you'll leave disappointed. But if you want to learn about business techniques, whether it's problem solving tips or what business goals to set, you can pick up some helpful advice in these sessions. This is especially true for business owners who have not been in a corporate setting, where terms like SWOT, KPIs and SMART goals are practically indoctrinated in associates.
As for us at Mpowering Solutions? It was very reassuring that many of the tips provided, we already practise or advise, such as the importance of setting business goals and the importance of SEO. But we are always keen to learn, and truly believe that we can always learn something from any situation, so we're glad we gave it a go!
If you've been to a Google Digital Garage, or attended an online session, and still want digital help with your business, whether it's digital support such as Website Assessments or SEO Audits, or eCommerce retail-related help such as Market Research or Content Creation, we are here to help. Get in touch and see how we can help you confidently own your digital space!
