DIGITAL MAIN STREET

Digital Main Street is a program focused on assisting small businesses with their move to online marketing, sales, and back-office operations. Through a partnership with the Government of Ontario, grant opportunities (Digital Transformation Grant) are available to support this digital transformation process.

The program is built around an online learning platform, a structured video training series, and a Digital Service Squad, a team of trained individuals who help main street businesses with their adoption of digital tools and technology.

contact The digital service squad

Funding Opportunities & Support

FREE consultations & resources

Hamilton Digital Main Street Digital Service Sqaud Stats To-Date:

$1,000,000+
To-date in Digital Transformation Grant funding awarded to local Hamilton and surrounding area small businesses

800+
Businesses assisted in Hamilton and the surrounding area in their pursuit of digital transformation

Digital Transformation Grant (DTG) Program 4.0:

The application portal for the Digital Main Street Digital Transformation Grant Program 4.0 is now closed!

Thank you for your interest in the Digital Main Street Digital Transformation Grant program. The Digital Transformation Grant application portal is now closed and will reopen in early January 2023 based on grant availability. Eligible brick-and-mortar small businesses can still start the application process now by creating an account and completing the digital assessment and online training. Once the portal re-opens, it will remain open until October 31, 2023, or until the grant funds are exhausted.

start your application now

Digital Service Squad (DSS):

The Digital Main Street (DMS) Squad is a team of trained professionals with strong technology, digital marketing skills, and experience that businesses can access for free.

Through the Digital Service Squad, businesses can receive:

Help to complete the Digital Main Street registration and free online assessment
Completing an audit of your digital presence and various digital properties (website, social media, etc.)
Assistance reviewing the assessment recommendations and starting a Digital Transformation Plan needed to apply for a $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant
Reviewing your Google My Business profile and taking 360-degree photos
Skills development and training, and free digital resources

Complimentary Hamilton DSS Services:

360 degree images for Hamilton Small Businesses

360 Photo Sessions

360 images and tours drive results! 360 images can not only improve your user experience, and make it easier for customers to find you but also let customers peek inside before they arrive while boosting your business’s visibility online. Schedule your business’s complimentary 360 photo session today!

book your complimentary 360-photo session

25-Point Google Business Profile Audit

Your business’s Google Business Profile can transform how you acquire customers online. Here’s what some of the data says: 93% of local searches now feature Google Business Profiles, 68% of people contact a business directly from search results, 88% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. There are a lot of people using Google every day for local purposes. And now we know that virtually all of those searches feature Google Business Profiles. Get your business’s complimentary audit today to be sure your profile is optimized and being used to its fullest potential.

request your complimentary audit

Social Media Content Strategy

What do I even talk about when I’m trying to promote my business on social? If this sounds like you and you’re looking to: bring clarity to your social content strategy, hone in your voice and message, create social content pillars that you can create content around for years to come, and build authority in the niche you serve, we can help with our FREE, in-depth social media content strategy planning session. Get started today by booking a FREE consultation or email us at digitalmainstreet@hamilton.ca.

BOOK YOUR FREE SESSIONS NOW

16-Point Social Media Audit

Are your social media profiles set up properly? Are you utilizing all the options available? Are you posting regularly? What about the branding of your profiles? Are they consistent with your website and other online properties? Find the answers to these questions and more with our FREE 16-point audit for your Facebook and Instagram profiles.

To get started simply email us your social handles and we’ll do the rest. Please allow 3-5 business days to complete.

I want a free social media audit

Media:

How to Apply 2022

Keeping Small Businesses Connected

Success Stories:

The Haberdashery

For the first four years in business, Hamilton’s The Haberdashery lived online but that changed in the winter of 2019-2020 when the Haberdashery opened it’s first physical location on Concession Street. It was a whole new reality transitioning into the brick and mortar world and amalgamating all the different businesses under one roof. With the help of DIgital Main Street founder Holly Johnston was able to stitch together its physical and online businesses.

READ THE CASE STUDY

Life Hearing Solutions

Jinxing Wang is the owner of Life Hearing Solutions, a hearing clinic with three locations in Hamilton, Oakville, and Etobicoke Ontario. Given the nature of the business, a lot of interactions happened in-person but the pandemic forced business owners to reevaluate how they reach customers and drive traffic to their physical locations. With the Help of Digital Main Street Jinxing was able to drastically improve his clinic’s online presence so customers could clearly find and view information about the clinic’s hours as well as the existing COVID-19 protocols for people looking to book appointments.

Read the case study

Dundurn Hair Design

“Right now, the business has been closed. I’ve been losing so much money, I just want to be able to survive,” says Susana Bosengic, owner of Dundurn Hair Design. Susana knew she wouldn’t be able to provide her hairstyling services during the second Ontario lockdown. After hearing great reviews about Digital Main Street from her daughter’s experiences with the program, she began gaining confidence in the possibility of enhancing her brand presence online. The DMS team worked with Susana to develop a strategy on how her new website should look, which products to sell on the new online platform, and create new content ideas for her business’ social media accounts.

read the case study

Olive’s Oddments

For 35 years, Olive’s Oddments in Hamilton has seen a steady flow of customers through the door to peruse the I Love Lucy ephemera and Nightmare Before Christmas sundries. With the assistance of the DMS program, Dana Thompson of Olive’s Oddments has been able to improve her digital literacy and launch a new mobile-ready website taking her unique finds and making them available online.

READ THE CASE STUDY

Charitees Apparel

Founded in early 2015 by two McMaster University students, Charitees offers affordable, quality apparel while giving you the opportunity to give back to the local community with 10% of the proceeds that come from your order going directly to a registered non-profit/charity. With the help of Digital Main Street, Charitees was able to optimize their website for mobile, implement SEO, and run Google Adwords campaigns for awareness.

VISIT THE CHARITEES WEBSITE

Alcatraz Escape Rooms

Alcatraz Escape Rooms offers Hamilton’s most exciting escape rooms at 576 & 604 Concession Street. They offer six, uniquely-themed and staged escape rooms where participants must solve a series of puzzles to “escape” before time runs out. With the help of Digital Main Street, Alcatraz was able to improve its digital marketing and literacy skills while learning to run Google Adwords and Facebook PPC ads.

VISIT THE ALCATRAZ WEBSITE

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