Driving Business Online studied digital literacy and SMEs in Australia in September 2013, and released a report last month. Conducted by Lonergan, they surveyed of 507 Australian SMEs

From the report, it can be seen that Australian SMEs are lagging behind in digital literacy. Below is an unofficial infographic I made with some other highlights in the findings:

- Only 34% of SMEs list their contact details online

- Only 22% say they advertise online

- 8% admit to using cloud software solutions for their business operations

Australian consumers are increasingly turning to the digital world to fulfill their daily wants and needs. Companies competing for consumer attention and advertising space have gotten tougher. Not only do business owners need creativity, but also technical knowledge such as SEO is a must have.

Here are some places where you can find help on improving your digital literacy for free.

1. Webinars.

Webinars (portmanteau of web and seminar) are online tutorial workshops that involve live streaming at a designated time. All you need to do is free up the scheduled time, be somewhere with a reliable Internet connection and a computer. You can curl up in bed, have a coffee or eat some cake. Easy peasy. Business.gov.au have some great ones, as does Savvy.     

2. MOOCS

MOOCS (Massive Open Online Course) have been growing in popularity at an exponential rate recently. Thanks to sites like Openlearning, Coursera and Udemy, one can access hundreds of selected courses from universities all over the world. Initially, MOOCS were designed as a form of casual distance learning for people who were physically constrained. The average user now uses it extend on their current skills or to learn something just for fun.  Although there are some courses and sites that charge a low fee, most are free. By the way, the iTunes University counts as a MOOC.

3. Youtube

If you’re stuck with a particular program, or don’t know how to do it, chances are someone has uploaded a YouTube tutorial for it. The downside is, there is no guarantee in quality, since anyone can upload. Also, tutorials exist only for widely used programs such as Photoshop, Word, etc. Finding a video for your specific accounting software or specialized program might be a little difficult too.

Do you have digital literacy problems? If so, how do you resolve them?

Here is a link to the report:

https://www.paypal-media.com/assets/pdf/fact_sheet/PayPalResearch_DigitalLiteracyAmongSMBsinAustralia.pdf