There’s pretty much a podcast out there for everyone. So, naturally businesses have joined the podcast world, looking for opportunities to boost their reach and promote their services. 

While there’s certainly a place for businesses in podcasting, the way you approach it is crucial. Stepping into podcasting with the sole goal of promoting yourself never ends well. You need a strategy before you start off and that’s what this post will help you with.

Why podcasts are great for businesses 

The great thing about podcasts is that most people can easily access them and they are a convenient way to digest information. Your audience doesn’t need to sit down and read a long blog post, they can just switch on a podcast while doing something else such as driving, exercising or cooking. 

From a business perspective, you can increase your reach, build trust with your audience and position yourself as an expert in your industry. 

Determine your value

Your value as a business may be a simple case of providing much-needed services but podcasting is another world entirely. You need to be able to provide additional value aside from your usual services. 

That information also needs to be useful or interesting, something that people will want to come back to. Overly promotional podcasts about your business generally don’t do well unless you’re already a massive, well-known brand. 

Wanting to promote yourself isn’t a bad thing, it just can’t be the only reason you’re doing this. What are you going to bring to the table to enrich your listeners’ lives? 

For example, if your business is a gym or related to health and fitness, you could create a podcast about healthy living, diet tips or exercise tips. 

Determine your audience

Before you start chatting away on your podcast, you also need to determine who it’s actually for. This means doing some market research and also looking at your customers. Who is this podcast designed to help? What does your audience want to hear?

It’s all too easy to create a podcast that’s interesting but doesn’t really appeal to your target business market. 

Choose your topics/niche

It may be tempting to cover lots of different topics but what your audience needs is consistency. Instead of trying to cover everything, choose a niche or a select few topics to cover during your podcasts. Explore these topics in detail and try not to sway too much from the subjects that people have subscribed for. 

Plan podcasts and schedule

The best podcasts are not just mindless rambling. It’s a good idea to have a podcast schedule and plan put in place so you can cover subjects in detail. Try to determine how often you will publish a podcast and how long they’ll typically be. 

Also spend some time determining your format. Is it going to be a CEO giving tips or will you feature interviews, have co-hosts or switch things up?

We hope these beginner podcast tips have helped. These are just some of the things to consider before investing your time in creating a podcast. Once you’re happy you have a solid plan, it’s time to decide on what equipment you’ll be using and where your podcast will be hosted (e.g. Spotify). 

Have you ever created a podcast or been interviewed on one? What other tips would you suggest for others? Let us know in the comments below. 

The post Getting Started with a Business Podcast appeared first on My Digital Wirral.

Post-COVID lockdown anxiety is becoming ‘a thing’ and we’re all still stuck in that limbo between venturing outdoors more and contemplating the return to work, but still not wanting to overstep the guidelines or take things too fast. It’s a stressful time with uncertainty at the helm so it really is crucial to check in with your mental health on a regular basis and do everything you can do support its vitality. 

For some people, self-care comes in the form of a takeaway in front of the TV and for others it will be a 10k run followed by an hour-long yoga session. Another popular way to escape real life for a while and do something good for the old brainbox is to get lost in a good podcast series. If that sounds like just your cup of tea then you’re in good company here and if you’re in the market for some recommendations then we’ve got you covered. 

Here are five inspirational, empowering and uplifting podcasts that you should be listening to right now to help keep your professional motivation pumping and your soul in good spirits:

How I Built This – Entrepreneurs building empires 

This popular podcast chronicles some of the world’s most prolific household names and how they came to be – from the brains behind the operation to the very first brick that was ever laid in their foundations. 

Episodes share the biographic stories of big brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Spanx, Bumble, Air BnB and Buzzfeed and if you’ve lost your mojo or your entrepreneurial drive then this is a surefire way to find it again. The series gives invaluable and honest insight into things like branding, marketing, dealing with the media and how to accelerate success once you’ve hit the nail on the head. 

Listen to How I Built This

Happier – Habits, happiness and human nature  

If you’re already a regular in the realms of podcasting then you’ll most probably already have stumbled across Happier with Gretchen Rubin at some point. Rubin is an American award-winning author and speaker who specialises in the art of achieving true happiness through healthy habits and the changes you can make to your life. 

Decorated as one of iTunes Best Podcasts, Happier is a treasure trove of tips, including advice around money, working from home, the food we eat, how we parent, how to manage our employees – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

For freelancers or self-employed business owners, it’s also a great way to keep in touch with the conversation topics that office-based workers chat about all day long and take for granted. 

Listen to Happier 

Stuff You Should Know – Learn something new every day

Otherwise known as SYSK, this podcast and video series is about as eclectic as it gets. The tagline reads: “If you’ve ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further”, which should give you a good idea about the real scope of its topics. 

So, whether it’s an icebreaker conversation-starter at your next networking event or just keeping your brain active with extra knowledge, every day’s a school day when you’re tuned into Stuff You Should Know. 

Listen to Stuff You Should Know 

ONEOFTHE8 – New kid on the block 

Only launched within the last couple of months, ONEOFTHE8 is a fresh face on the podcasting scene but is already making quite the impact nonetheless. Dedicated to celebrating and giving a platform to ‘real life stories from real world people’, each episode showcases a different guest, all from a whole plethora of walks of life. 

From a Delhi-born philanthropist who moved from Manhattan to Manchester; to a mother who left her high-flying job in fashion editorial to create designer plant pots; and a renowned tennis coach and motivational speaker who lived through South Africa’s most brutal civil war. 

If you want to feel inspired and have your faith restored in humanity, this is a must-listen and one to watch. 

Listen to ONEOFTHE8

Have you listened to any spirit-lifting podcasts lately that you think our blog readers and clients should know about? Share them with us on social media using the links below.

The post Uplifting Podcasts You Should Be Listening to Right Now appeared first on My Digital Wirral.

The best method is to come up with multiple options and use a domain name search to find those that are available, from there you can test your favourites using the tips we’ve provided below. It’s essential to avoid these common mistakes, or else you might have a few expensive regrets later down the line:

It’s too specific

While a domain name should ideally be specific to you, your brand or industry, you can also be too specific. An example of this is for an eCommerce store to put the name of a product in the domain name or for a travel blog to list a particular country in the domain.

If the time comes when your business expands and you want to focus on different things, your domain could feel outdated, irrelevant and confusing.

It’s way too long

Short and snappy domains are often better. Think of the big brands out there, almost all of them have one or two words at the most (e.g. Google, Facebook, Netflix, Spotify.)

If your domain name is too long, it’ll be difficult to remember and easy to misspell. The last thing you want is to tell people about your website and for them to struggle to find it. Or worse, find a similar website that ends up being a competitor.

It spells out another word when joined up

A domain name with two or more words can cause an easy-to-miss mistake. When the words are joined up in the URL, they could inadvertently spell out another word between them.

The best-case scenario is that it spells out a word that causes confusion. The worst case is that it spells out something inappropriate or offensive. Always check what your domain looks like with the words joined up.

It isn’t relevant to your business

This can often become an issue if you change your business’ direction after purchasing a domain. Imagine buying a website domain called ‘Only-Pens’, but later deciding you’re really missing out on the pencil market…

When you’re choosing a domain, make sure that it’s relevant to your brand or industry. Ideally, if you can get a keyword in there that’s related to what you’re offering, this is even better.

This will help your website appear more relevant in the search engines when people are searching for your keyword.

The extension isn’t the best choice for you

A common problem people find is that they can’t find the .com domain that they want, but the .biz or .net is available so they choose that instead. This can lead to a couple of problems.

First of all, if you’re picking a similar name to an established brand that has the .com, they may try to force you to shut your website down one day. Or they may try to buy your extension of the domain which puts you back at square one.

The other problem is that other extensions can be difficult to remember if you’re telling people. People generally expect a .com or .co.uk extension and are less likely to remember .biz. They may automatically look for the .com version when searching for your website and end up on another website.

Make it as easy as possible to find your website

Some of these issues can be rectified. However, if your domain choice makes it difficult for users to find your website, this could be one too many hurdles for a customer to jump over. People generally won’t spend too much time searching for a website. If it’s difficult for them, they’ll go elsewhere. Remember, convenience is king!

Once you’ve found your perfect domain name, it’ll be time to start looking for the ideal platform to host your website, so don’t forget to check out our guide!

Have you seen any domain mistakes from other businesses? What other tips would you give? Share your thoughts below.

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Choosing between them all depends on a lot of factors; how many products you have, whether you want to offer digital downloads and whether you have the budget for a bespoke system or just need a simple payment gateway. To help you navigate this minefield, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to taking your business online below.

Remember, many of the services below will offer a free trial, but to save yourself the effort of formatting and uploading all your products each time, sit down and make a list of all the features you’ll need for your store.

Shopify

Shopify is probably one of the most recommended ecommerce platforms for small businesses, but it’s also extremely scalable as your business grows. The best thing about Shopify is that it features tonnes of apps that you can just plug in to your store to give it extra functionality. It’s extremely easy to use, even for a beginner. Most of the design elements are drag and drop, and there’s plenty of attractive themes you can use to make your store look great.

Shopify is just $29 a month for the basic plan, it charges a small fee per transaction, but that’s quite affordable for most online sellers.

Considering how professional a Shopify store can look compared to the price of production, it’s well worth a try.

WordPress + Woocommerce

If you have a little design and development knowledge, this is one of the cheapest solutions available. WordPress can be set up for free if you can work around cPanel, and some hosting providers offer dedicated WordPress packages which make set up without this knowledge simple.

Once you have WordPress ready to go you can add on the Woocommerce plugin, which allows you to set up a shop. This can be complicated for first timers, but there’s no associated costs bar the Paypal transaction fee if you’re just using the basic plan.

WP-Beginner has a great video tutorial if you need help!

Etsy

Etsy was always the go-to for small indie businesses, but it has come under fire lately for increasing its fees and setting rules for sellers such as offering free delivery at certain thresholds. Do you research to see if your business can operate effectively under these rules.

Aside from that, setting up with Etsy is extremely easy, uploading your products here instantly puts you on the Etsy website as a listing, meaning your products have the potential to come up in search without any marketing efforts to promote your store.

Wix

Wix probably features the easiest user interface of all these options, but that can come at a cost. The standard plan is £16 a month, which is cheaper than Shopify, depending on the exchange rate, but Wix features less customisation elements and plugins that Shopify and WordPress.

That said, it’s fantastically easy to use. You don’t need any developer knowledge or coding knowledge at all, you simply drag and drop the elements you want to your page. Wix also gives you a free SSL certificate, which is essential for ecommerce – don’t forget, Google intends to start displaying security warnings for all sites that don’t have an SSL, so it’s really a must-have.

As your business grows it’s also worthwhile looking to hire an ecommerce accountant to help you successfully build your business.

The post Which Platform Should I Use To Set Up My First Online Shop? appeared first on My Digital Wirral.

The benefits of an online store in the midst of a lockdown are obvious. It’s a great way to connect with loyal customers and with new customers alike.

Of course many businesses have had to adapt their products and their services to make an online business work for them, but we talk more about that on this blog, over here!

So You’re Thinking Of Going Digital With Your Business…

It’s all too easy to rush into things when you know you need to adapt quickly to make the most of the situation. However, this is where the old adage “measure once cut twice” comes into play.

Rushing into building an online store without effective planning and strategy can lead to some real problems for both you and your customers, that’s why we recommend you take on-board these 5 essential tips before launching your online store.

Plan Your Shipping Process

Planning a shipping process can be complicated, and that’s before you even think about the effect of COVID closures!

At minimum, you’ll need to consider what shipping options are viable for you to offer. There’s no point advertising next day delivery if you’re not able to get to the post office that often. Investigate all the different options available to you, if you’re shipping a consistent larger volume, you may be able to arrange for a delivery service to pick up your parcels from your business regularly.

You’ll need to ensure you or your staff are able to process orders regularly and quickly too – set up a cut off point for next day delivery so customers know if they order after say, 1pm, they’ve missed the opportunity to dispatch from your business that day.

It’s better to be honest so your customers are informed, than to have angry customers who aren’t receiving their expected deliveries!

Plan Your Admin + Paperwork

It’s not as simple as just putting your item in a mailing bag and sending it on its merry way, unfortunately.

At a minimum you should aim to include a print out of the order invoice. Use this to tick off items in the order, and double check sizing requirements and options, as well as quantities. It’s good practice to get staff to initial the order invoice before they include it too, which can help if you receive any complaints or queries relating to orders.

You may also want to include returns information, such as a pre-printed label customers can use to cover the price of postage. Many customers now expect free returns as standard, you can also arrange courier pick-up to ensure larger items don’t incur unnecessary charges if being returned.

Set Solid Terms and Conditions, and Policies

Even if you have the best product in the world, you’re going to have to deal with returns, and occasionally with difficult customers.

Safeguarding your business with legal terms and conditions, and policies such as shipping and returns standards, will ensure customers can interact with your business on a clear standing.

If you operate in the UK, you’ll also need a GDPR policy regarding data protection.

Luckily there are plenty of free templates you can grab online, just give them a tweak and you should be good to go.

Test Your Site Extensively

Launch day is always going to be fraught with ‘things going wrong’, no matter how much we try to plan ahead – that said, you can minimise risk by doing some really extensive testing prior to launch.

Get your friends and family to place test orders for products listed for 1p, and test some full price product purchase and refunds yourself.

Ask a group of people to actively ‘try to break’ your website, you’ll be surprised what people can achieve! Common errors include:

• Incorrect shipping assigned to an item.
• Forms allowing customers to checkout without adequate information.
• Payment processing page crashes.
• ‘Infinite Loop’ linking, where a link leads users around the same path repeatedly, so they can’t complete the intended action.
• Stock keeping errors, where customers are allowed to exploit shipping fees and discount codes by ordering certain products together, or in bulk volumes.
• Your site not being able to cope with large volumes of traffic, or multiple users checking out at once.
• Broken discount codes.

It can be disheartening to find an error, but it will save you a lot of money fixing it before your site goes live!

Capture Emails and Prepare To Build Loyalty

Your launch day, if marketed properly, can be one of the most successful days of your website in the early days. You don’t want to miss out on making the most of all that hype!

Ensure at a minimum, you’re asking buyers if they’d like to opt-in to your mailing list. In terms of marketing, it costs up to 80% less to retain a customer than it does to find a new one, so keep them sweet!

Why not have some ‘Thank You’ vouchers printed ready to include with posted orders, or set up a referral scheme to let people who enjoy your product see the benefits of recommending it to friends.

Baffled by the idea of going digital? Don’t be afraid to get to grips with building your online brand! Keep an eye out for more informative articles, coming your way.

The post 5 Things You Should Know Before You Launch An Online Store appeared first on My Digital Wirral.

Small businesses lack vital digital skills

The FSB’s 2017 Learning The Ropes: Skills and Training in Small Businesses report revealed that 41% of small businesses lacked basic digital skills. It also found that around a quarter of small business owners lack confidence in this area.

Sole traders and self-employed people were the most likely to say they were not confident, with many too busy to keep up with latest tech developments.

The government says that digital transformation can make every business more productive, with small businesses who have a strong web presence estimated to grow more than twice as quickly on average.

The FSB believe that if this digital skills deficit isn’t resolved, it could further stall productivity growth in the UK. Now it’s collaborating with Facebook to create and deliver a series of in-person training sessions for small businesses across the UK.

FSB Chairman, Policy and Advocacy, Martin McTague said:

“Digital innovation provides enormous potential both for individual businesses and for improving UK productivity.

“That’s why support to improve digital skills among small business owners is so important and why FSB is now collaborating with Facebook to deliver that support.”

Running from May until the end of the year, ‘Boost Your Business with Facebook and FSB’ will provide in-person training to help entrepreneurs and smaller businesses get started in the digital world. This will help them get the most from the internet, and develop their Facebook and Instagram strategies.

Facebook vice president Ciaràn Quilty said:

“Through the Boost Your Business initiative, in collaboration with FSB, we’ll work side by side with small businesses and start-ups to help them grow.

“We’ve created additional programmes to help people with the skills and resources they need to grow their businesses or put their own ideas into action.”

Learn, network, ask questions

Why not book a Boost Your Business session? You will be learning from Facebook’s expert digital trainers and can ask any questions you have, as well as getting the chance to meet and network with other small business owners in your area.

Find your nearest event and book up now:

England

June 6: Norwich Research Park, Centrum, Norwich, NR4 7UG (10:00am – 12:00pm) Book Here

June 10: BG Futures, Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln LN1 3DY (2:00- 4:00pm) Book Here

June 10: Adams Park, Hillbottom Road, High Wycombe, HP12 4HJ (10:00am – 12:00pm) Book Here

June 12: Bath Racecourse, Lansdown, Bath BA1 9BU (10:00am – 12:00pm) Book Here

June 14: Longbridge Technology Park, 1 Devon Way, Birmingham B31 2TS (10:00am – 12:00pm) Book Here

June 20: Holiday Inn Brighton Seafront, Kings Rd, Brighton BN1 2JF (10:00am – 12:00pm) Book Here

June 24: Cloth Hall Court, Quebec Street, Leeds, LS1 2HA (2:00 – 4:00pm) – Book Here

July 4: Newcastle University Business School, 5 Barrack Road, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE1 4SE (10:00am – 12:00pm) Book Here

*TBC – Details for London events coming soon

Northern Ireland

June 13: Lagan Valley Island, 1 The Island, Lisburn, Ulster, BT27 4RL (06:00 – 8:30pm) Book Here

Scotland

June 11: Inverness College UHI, Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA Book Here

June 19: CodeBase, 38 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH3 9DZ (12.00pm -2.00pm) Book Here

June 26: Milton Birnam Hotel, Perth Rd, Dunkeld, PH8 0BQP (12.00pm – 2.00pm) Book Here

June 27: The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow, G1 3NU (10:00am – 12:00pm) Book Here

Wales

June 4: Theatr Clwyd, Raikes Ln, Mold CH7 1YA (8:30am – 11:00am) Book Here

June 5: Blanco’s Hotel, Green Park St, Port Talbot, SA12 6NT (9:30am – 11:30am) Book Here

The post Book Yourself on a Boost Your Business Workshop appeared first on My Digital Wirral.

Here’s our verdict.

On 9^th August 2018 at 4pm (UK time), the presentation began.

Our first presenter of the night is the one and only DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communication Business at Samsung. He starts by expressing a need for open systems and open partnerships, sharing the frustration of experiences disrupted across “too many brands and too many devices.”

It is true that the marketplace looks very different from when the Note was first launched seven years ago. The battle is no longer between Samsung and Apple but rather now a death match including Huawei, Sony, LG, HTC and even a reinvented and very competitive Nokia.

Mr Koh goes on to mention a “Galaxy of experiences”, “connected living” and “intelligence beyond platforms.” All vague catchphrases that are strangely not expanded on for the rest of the presentation.

Galaxy Note 9

Without further ado, the Galaxy Note 9 is introduced by way of a rather artistic and dimly lit video presentation.

After the film, we’re no wiser on the smartphone’s features than we were before. We only know how it looks, which is of no surprise after Samsung accidently published images of the phone to its own website days before. It’s at this point Drew Blackard, Director of Product Marketing, takes to the stage to run us through the Note 9.

Drew informs us that the smartphone sports a 6.4-inch end-to-end display, is recognised as a “YouTube Signature Device” and comes in four colours: blue, purple, copper and black.

The first bit of tech to be announced is the new 4000 mAh battery, termed the “all day battery.” For comparison, the Note 8 packed a modest 3300 mAh battery. It seems Samsung has its confidence back after the Note 7 exploding battery incident. Drew proudly boasts the battery will last all day between charges. While that is a rather large capacity, it goes against other manufacturers who are relying on smaller capacity batteries and employing new software to manage usage.

Storage is another of Drew’s big announcements. The Note 9 is to come with a choice of 128GB or 512GB on board memory. Drew surprises the room by also announcing that with the aid of a new 512GB microSD card this gives the Note 9 the potential of 1TB of storage overall. However, with phone builders such as Nokia now offering unlimited cloud services such as Google Photos built in, physical storage does seem a little old school.

Stereo Speakers

Announced next is the partnership with AKG speakers. Having worked with Samsung on their earbuds, it makes sense to have them take a look at the on board speakers. The Notes 9 comes with AKG stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. A piece of tech directly pulled from the Galaxy S9/S9+ which was released a few months previously. Dual stereo speakers do appear to be a more sought after feature on flagship smartphones especially. Even Apple and Google have included them on their latest phones, and with both manufacturers due to bring out new phones in the coming months, time will tell how they stack up.

Camera

Finally, we get to some hardware. The duel intelligent camera features super slow motion, scene recognition and the ability to take photos remotely with the Bluetooth enabled S Pen. How many megapixels? Not important according to this presentation. Fun fact, this is actually the exact same camera module that you’ll find in the Galaxy S9/S9+, another direct lift from a previously released handset.

S Pen

Jonathan Wong, another Director of Product Marketing at Samsung, guides us through the S Pen’s new Bluetooth enabled features such as pausing videos, taking photos and flicking through presentations. The S Pen, being Bluetooth enabled now charges when inside the phone, taking one minute to fully charge for half an hour of use.

Bixby

Returning to the phone, there’s a talk on the improvements to Bixby, Samsung’s own assistant. Even as a Siri user, I found this a little lacking. Bixby can certainly customise interactions depending on preferences, however, it is still years behind Google Assistant, which according to Samsung still comes included on the Note 9. You do have to ask the question though, why have two assistants?

Anti-climax

As we approach the end of the presentation, it’s revealed that the Note 9 will be released on 24th August 2018, with pre-orders available now.

During this whole presentation, the phone, though officially revealed, was never shown operating, and the specs we love to compare against other phones were not given, and I think I know why.

Looking at the recent Geekbench tests the 6GB RAM version of the Note 9 actually scored pretty poorly against its competitors, crucially it scored lower than the 2017 iPhone X which is about to be superseded by the 2018 iPhone X. Not a good start for a phone usually marketed towards designers and business types who expect the highest quality in tech and ability.

It really feels like Samsung missed the mark on this one. Though the Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ are selling fairly well, as most Galaxy S models do, it feels like the Note 9 is merely a replacement to the Note 8 rather than a true upgrade.

If you’re looking for those missing specs, here they are:

Display: Super AMOLED 6.4 inches

OS: Android 8.1 (Oreo)

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (US) or Exynos chip (UK)

Camera: Main Camera x2 12MP, Front Facing Camera 8MP

RAM: 6GB or 8GB

Storage: 128GB or 512GB on board, capacity to hold 1TB with SD card

Battery: 4000 mAh

The post Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Specs, release date and the oddest Samsung presentation yet appeared first on My Digital Wirral.

Without further ado here are seven of the most innovative tech businesses the North West has to offer.

Swapbots

Possibly one of the coolest tech businesses on this list is Liverpool-based Swapbots.

Swapbots are toy-makers of a digital kind who bring their creations to life through the use of augmented reality.

Their collectible toys are made up of building blocks, which when scanned through their app, take on a new lease of life as an interactive video game. Both multi-player and single-player options are available, so kids are even able to play with friends and their creations.

Unicorns, hawks and octopuses are all available, and in battle mode kids (or you!) can save their bots from enemy attack looking to steal ‘Bolts’.

Have a peek at the toys they produce here: http://www.swapbots.co

Reason Digital

Reason Digital are the business focused on combatting social issues with tech, taking a “human-centred” approach to design.

The Manchester-based company work with businesses of all sizes to help bring about social change, whether that’s by building a website for a charity or helping engage an audience for an individual who wants to improve the world.

Reason Digital say: “We use digital to help build a better world – we’ve created apps that keep sex workers safe, built award-winning websites for some of the best known charities in the UK, and started a digital revolution in charity shop donations.”

You can check out all the good work they do over on their website: https://reasondigital.com

Evoke Creative

Evoke Creative design and manufacture technology on a huge scale, crafting the innovative tech solutions we see every day.

Their portfolio includes manufacturing part of the McDonalds self-service kiosk range, creating Google’s visitor check-in kiosks and Creation Gift’s automatic mug and gift personaliser, where customers are able to upload their picture or message and have their design printed in minutes.

Have a look at the other work the Wirral-based business do on their website: http://evoke-creative.com

Trak Global Group

Trak Global Group, based in Crewe, is a telematics solutions provider currently operating in six countries.

The company use telematics and big data to make roads safer with the creation of black boxes for cars. These are used by insurance companies to monitor driving, for fleet management, stolen vehicle recover and to detect impact to a car. As well as the hardward, Trak Global Group have created an app that works in a similar way.

They say: “Our capability spans product design through to data analytics, and our market-leading app technologies mean we’re ideally placed to capitalise on the convergence of OEMs, insurers and consumers around both connected car and new usage-based mobility models.”

Check out the work they do over on their website: http://www.trakglobalgroup.com

The Webinar Vet

Liverpool-based The Webinar Vet are changing the way vets learn about their profession and interact with industry leaders.

They cut out the need to travel to gain a Veterinary CPD (Continuing Professional Development), meaning fewer expenses and less time required off work.

They do this by delivering courses straight to your computer in the form of online webinars. A host of experienced webinar tutors guide vets through the processes, while also offering the opportunity for uses to ask any questions.

Learn more about what the folks at The Webinar Vet do here: https://www.thewebinarvet.com

Pandle

For freelancers and small businesses looking to sort their finances and manage taxes easily, Pandle is here to help.

The cloud accounting software solution, based in Wirral, offer intuitive, sophisticated and easy to use software. They focused on delivering a service that won’t intimidate smaller businesses with unnecessary functions, instead providing the only the features they will need.

Pandle also offers a white labelling service for accountants, so they can offer the software to their own clients alongside their branding.

Find out more about them on their website: https://www.pandle.co.uk

LADBible

And last but not least is Manchester’s very own content platform LADBible.

Having grown from our favourite meme-sharing Facebook page to a fully-fledged journalism outlet, LADBible is a company using tech to promote their own platform and conquer the world of social media.

With one of the highest reaches of any journalism outlet on Facebook, LADBible delivers up to date news on their platform thanks to their team of staff journalists and with a devoted section to technology, it’s clear to see that they’re paving the way for future content creators, edging away from the traditional print publications we know all too well.

If you haven’t already seen it, you can keep updated on the latest news over on their website: http://www.ladbible.com

What are the innovative tech businesses you’re excited about? Drop us a comment in the box below or come and tell us over on Twitter.

The post 7 of the Most Innovative Tech Businesses in the North West appeared first on My Digital Wirral.

The Nationwide Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

The Nationwide Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) represents a £67 million investment in faster internet connections.

Small or medium sized businesses will be able to get vouchers worth up to £3000 to help with the costs of connecting to full fibre broadband.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said: “We’re backing Britain’s small businesses by investing £67 million to bring full-fibre broadband to more businesses up and down the country.

“This means faster, more reliable broadband access as we build the digital infrastructure we need to make our economy fit for the future.”

The scheme forms part of the Government’s commitment to make full fibre broadband available to at least 10 million homes and businesses by 2022.

It will be available initially in just four areas – Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Bristol, Coventry and Warwickshire, and West Yorkshire and York. However, the Government plan to roll out the scheme nationwide by the end of March 2018.

Going Full Fibre

The Government says that full fibre connections are faster, more reliable and cheaper to operate than traditional copper lines, and are capable of supporting not only gigabit, but terabit and even petabit speeds, which will serve the UK far into the future. Currently only around 3% of UK premises have access to a full fibre connection.

You must use a registered supplier to install your full fibre broadband. Suppliers can offer vouchers to both new and existing customers. The scheme will be open until March 2021 or until all available funding has been allocated.

DCMS secretary of state, Matt Hancock said: “Small businesses are the backbone of the British economy and now they can turbo-charge their connectivity with gigabit speeds.

“By building a full fibre future for Britain we are laying the foundations for a digital infrastructure capable of delivering today what the next generation will need tomorrow.”

Interested? Visit the scheme’s website to find out more. You can also check your business’ eligibility and search for a registered supplier.

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