Isles of Scilly businesses get social media savvy | The Rural Focus ...

Jon Anderson delivers social media event for islanders on Scilly

Farmers, flower growers and fruit and vegetable producers on the Isles of Scilly have been finding out how social media can help their businesses, at a marketing workshop delivered by Rural Focus.

The event was organised by the Isles of Scilly Farmers? and Growers? Initiative in response to feedback from attendees of an internet marketing workshop, also delivered by Rural Focus, in November 2012, who felt that a follow up session concentrating specifically on social media would be of use.

On Wednesday 23 January, Rural Focus Business Advisers Caroline Weston and Jon Anderson delivered the social media workshop which focused on the basic principals for small businesses to make better use of social media to reach their target market, find new markets and grow their businesses.

Topics covered during the session included:

• What is social media
• How can social media be used to benefit your business
• Introducing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogging
• The importance of review sites, some useful tools and best practice

Rural Business Adviser Caroline Weston said: ?The Isles of Scilly Farmers? and Growers? Initiative is working hard to access training and support for all the growers and farmers on the islands, and one of the key issues which came up in a recent skills audit was the lack of marketing skills within the various businesses ? with social media being one of the main areas where it was felt they could benefit from our advice.

?Both the workshops held in January and last November were developed specifically for the challenges of small island marketing, where every interaction matters and every customer is precious. Using the internet and social media is a fantastic way for these businesses to increase customer engagement and loyalty with a widely dispersed customer base.?

Feedback following the social media workshop was positive, and several of the businesses attending have booked one-on-one full business reviews with Rural Focus, which will take place in February.

Jess Vian, manager of the Isles of Scilly Farmers? and Growers? Initiative added: ?We have had very positive feedback from farmers about both workshops, and we hope to continue working with Rural Focus to deliver business support for the islands? agricultural sector.?

For more information about Rural Focus services visit our Rural Focus website or call 08456 047047.

Author: Naomi Jago

Job Title: Marketing Manager - Rural

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2. Focus on Social Media
3. FOCUS on Social Media : St. Austell
4. Focus on Social Media
5. Focus on Finance ? help for small businesses to understand accounts

Tags: Caroline Weston, Isles of Scilly, Isles of Scilly Farmers and Growers Initiative, Jon Anderson, Rural Focus, Social Media

This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2013 at 1:20 pm and is filed under Case study, Events and workshops. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://community.businessanswers.info/community/ruralfocus/2013/02/04/isles-of-scilly-businesses-get-social-media-savvy/

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