Free Support Programme for Rural Busi­nesses Launched

Rural busi­nesses can create tenfold increases in their audi­ence size, with digital market­ing tech­nolo­gies like virtual reality and 360° video. That’s accord­ing to Digi2Market, an EU programme who today launched a new campaign offer­ing free market­ing and network­ing support to rural and small-scale businesses.

The campaign is also staging a #rural­busi­ness day on social media on Wednes­day 19^th January. It was launched online on Monday 10^th January 2022 by Mícheál Ó hÉanaigh, chief exec­u­tive of Údarás na Gaeltachta.

“The #rural­busi­ness day/lá #gnótu­aithe – aims to high­light the role small busi­nesses play in regional economies.  They provide employ­ment and support sport­ing and commu­nity bodies. So, #rural­busi­ness day/ lá #gnótu­aithe­gives every­one a chance to show their appre­ci­a­tion for these rural entrepreneurs.”

“Rural busi­nesses can feel isolated and find it hard to reach bigger markets. Digi2Market helps them use immer­sive tech­nolo­gies like VR and Augmented Reality to boost their market­ing efforts and reach bigger audi­ences. It also offers them a way to connect and network online with busi­nesses across Europe.”

Digi2Market programme co-ordi­na­tor, Seán Ó Cois­dealbha of Údarás Na Gaeltachta, says any EU busi­ness is eligi­ble to sign up to the programme. “However, our focus is on rural and small-scale busi­nesses. We help them iden­tify the latest tech­nolo­gies to market their busi­ness and put them into prac­tice effec­tively. Lough Lannagh Holiday Village in Co Mayo, for example, witnessed an explo­sion of their Face­book traffic, simply by using 360° video.”

Media research expert, Dr Helen Jackson of the Univer­sity of Ulster, a partner in the Digi2Market project, says the results have been impres­sive. “Mobile phone apps and immer­sive tech­nolo­gies can trans­form the way people engage with tourist attrac­tions like Mussenden Temple and Down­hill Demesne.”

“By linking phys­i­cal and virtual spaces, visi­tors can explore the majes­tic clifftop loca­tion and discover the music, art, legends and stories of the people who lived there hundreds of years ago. And they do this with their phone in one hand and their feet firmly on the ground.

Digi2Market helped Finnish well­ness service company Rantakylän Fysikaa­li­nen Hoito­laitos (RFH) reach new audi­ences with a 360° Tour of their facil­i­ties. They also assisted them with the creation of an online store, which made it easier for customers to book and buy their services.

In Iceland, the Digi2Market partner is devel­op­ment agency SSNV. They collab­o­rated with food process­ing company, Vörus­miðja Biopol, in a 360 virtual tour. “It gave poten­tial customers a real­is­tic visual idea on what to expect when they book food process­ing services,” says Svein­björg Rut Péturs­dót­tir of SSNV.

Dr Helen Jackson says Digi2Market is also about helping these small busi­nesses to connect with other busi­nesses across Europe. “We have created an online space for you to meet busi­nesses in your sector and other sectors through­out the EU.”

Another key func­tion of the Digi2Market campaign is to encour­age small busi­nesses to use more sustain­able busi­ness prac­tices. Euro­pean expert, Dr Lasse Okkonen, Prin­ci­pal Lecturer at Karelia Univer­sity in Finland – another Digi2Market partner – says using a Green Busi­ness Model is not just about helping the environment.

“Compa­nies who apply envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment systems and Envi­ron­men­tal Product Decla­ra­tions (EPDs) succeed better in public procure­ments of prod­ucts and services. This is because they can better meet tight­en­ing envi­ron­men­tal and respon­si­bil­ity crite­ria. In addi­tion, enter­prises apply­ing green busi­ness models can better meet the expec­ta­tions of stake­hold­ers like indus­trial part­ners. They offer trans­parency on the envi­ron­men­tal impact of every­thing they do to create a product or service.”

Small and rural busi­nesses who want to sign up for free to the Digi2Market programme can do so directly from their website here.

Media enquiries to t[email protected]

Digi2Market is an EU funded project under the Inter­reg North­ern Periph­ery and Artic Programme. The part­ners in the project are Údarás na Gaeltachta & WestBIC from Ireland, ICBAN and Ulster Univer­sity from North­ern Ireland, Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences from Finland and SSNV (Busi­ness Devel­op­ment Agency) from Iceland.