S&PAProfessional / Autumn 2021
IN DEPTH CIMSPA UPDATE
ADDRESSING THE DIGITAL SKILLS GAP
The new Digital Marketing Hub is designed to improve the digital skills of both individuals and organisations to help the sector recover and rebuild from the pandemic eptember saw the launch of a fantastic free facility to plug the sector’s digital skills gap. The new Digital Marketing Hub has been created to help people and organisations improve how they apply digital marketing tools and techniques, to encourage more people to play sport and be active. Jake Humphrey, TV presenter and host of The High Performance Podcast, along with a panel of marketing experts kickstarted the launch of the Hub with a session explaining the importance of digital marketing and the aims of the Hub. This was followed by a webinar with the irrepressible Joe Wicks. The bestselling author and fitness coach has taken over the world of fitness and nutrition. He has hosted his own Channel 4 series, broken a Guinness World Record for the most viewers for a fitness workout live stream on YouTube in 2020, earned another Guinness World Record for the largest high intensity interval training class in 2017
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and was awarded an MBE in October 2020 for his work during the pandemic. In the webinar, Joe shared how social media has played a huge role in developing his business and shaping his entire career, including over the last 18 months.
APPETITE FOR DIGITAL TRAINING The Hub was launched in response to research conducted by the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) on behalf of Sport England of more than 1,000 people involved in sport and physical activity marketing and communications. The research showed a clear appetite for digital training and resources. According to the findings, 81% of respondents said that attracting new participants was very or extremely important, but 63% said they don’t have a clear plan to deliver that through digital channels. This research also found that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the digital skills gap and made engagement more important than ever before.
The launch of the Hub addresses two of the issues outlined in Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy – the need for the sector to recover and reinvent following the pandemic, as well as the need for innovation and digital skills to tackle inequalities and ensure everyone has the opportunity to be active.
GOOGLE TRAINERS AND MENTORS The Hub is tailored to small businesses, self-employed professionals and volunteers at frontline organisations and clubs, as well as marketing and communication professionals at larger organisations.
10 www.cimspa.co.uk
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