Women In Digital Skills – Week 1 Report

The 13th Cohort for the Women In Digital Skills Training kick-started on the 31st March and 1st 2021 respectively at the premises of Soronko Academy. 

The WIDS program is designed to train and equip women in Ghana with basic computer skills, website development, social media marketing as well as soft skills, and entrepreneurship training. The orientation class was attended by 36 selected applicants who were most excited about the learning journey ahead. The trainers Cyril Agbewali and Moses Ubah welcomed the participants and delivered a presentation on how their six weeks training would be structured going forward. He highlighted that all participants are expected to be punctual and interactive in all scheduled training sessions to make this cohort a success. As part of the training protocols, all participants were each given a letter of commitment for signing and a laptop to facilitate practical learning. The training session began with a fun ice breaker to allow students to network with each other.

A total number of forty-seven beneficiaries were present for the second training session at the Soronko Academy. The class led by Cyril and Moses delivered training on Digital Marketing and the major factors to consider when going digital. According to him, digital marketing is the use of the internet, online-based digital technologies, and media to promote products and services. Digital marketing is cost-effective and allows users to reach a larger audience than traditional media. The students were later introduced to various career prospects such as SEO Specialist, UX Designer, Digital Projects Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer in Digital Marketing. The students were very excited about the opportunities and careers mentioned.

The trainers also explained the different types of Digital Marketing to the students. This included SEO (Search Engine Optimization), PPC (Pay-Per-Click), Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Email, Mobile, and Affiliate Marketing. The trainer demonstrated to the class how Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Displayed Advertisement can increase customer tractions and online reach. To improve your SEO ranking, one must use a simple and readable URL structure, provide a short business description with relevant keywords, and regularly update business content. The better visibility your pages have in search results, the more likely you are to garner attention and attract prospective and existing customers to your business.

Participants later received lessons on Content marketing. This was explained as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to attract and retain profitable customers. At the end of the lessons, students were grouped into teams. Each group was tasked to create a Social Media Page that would be assessed at the end of their 6 weeks training to determine the business with the highest traction or interaction. In closing, the lead trainer encouraged the trainees to set a marketing plan to assist them in measuring progress made and as well track their business analytics. The student later played a Kahoot game.