ALICE WOODHOUSEalice.woodhouse@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Friday, 18 September, 2015, 12:08am
UPDATED : Friday, 18 September, 2015, 12:08am
Google Hong Kong chief Dominic Allon. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Google has launched a digital marketing training programme for local graduates to help them build careers in the field.
The Google Ignite programme will give graduates who pass its AdWords certification - which offers training in search advertising and mobile advertising - access to more than 80 jobs in 40 companies across the city.
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"Ignite is about helping businesses win online," said Dominic Allon, managing director of Google Hong Kong. "As the mobile phenomenon throws up new demands on businesses, one key challenge is to find the right kind of people, to find digital talent."
The programme is designed to fill the current skills gap in Hong Kong in digital marketing, after just 9 per cent of companies surveyed said their staff were well trained in online marketing.
Successful candidates will be helped to find jobs with partners including Hang Seng Bank, Asia Miles, Mannings and German Pool. On-the-job training will be available for six months.
Internet users in the city are more likely to go online via their smartphones than computers, and 68 per cent of consumers research products online before making a purchase in stores, Google studies show.
"Because mobile has fundamentally transformed consumer behaviour, what we see is 'research online, purchase offline'," said Nancy Ting, head of small and medium business marketing for Google Hong Kong. "So if you do not have digital marketing, you don't win that audience."
Google provides data analytics and tools to help firms drive business through their websites and mobile offerings. It advises small business owners to develop smartphone-friendly websites.
Google is stressing the importance of mobile
Taiwanese beauty brand Naruko Skincare saw its sales double through a mobile-friendly site, said Kevin O'Kane, Google Asia Pacific's managing director of small and medium business.
Hong Kong gift hamper company Gift Something uses the tech company's AdWords to drive traffic to its website and has branched into producing YouTube tutorial videos showing people how to tie the perfect bow.
"They might not buy from watching the bow, but it positions us as being an expert of the industry, so every now and then we'll have a customer that will request the special bow and we can fulfil that," said Justin Chung, founder of Gift Something.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1859230/google-helps-hong-kong-graduates-find-jobs-digital-world
