“I help artisans, including multiservice artisans, electricians, plumbers, hairdressers, beauty parlors, take advantage of digital opportunities. At the CMA, we show them how digital technology can save them valuable time and grow their business.”

Maxime COGNARD, Digital Advisor of the CMA of Reunion Island

When can a craftsman turn to the CMA Digital Advisor?

“A craftsman can come to us any time he wants:

• have an internet presence to make themselves known : Many artisans don’t have a Google landing card. This is a first step to be easily identified by potential customers during their searches and on Maps. Then, we can support them in the creation of their website;
• improve an existing website : we make concrete recommendations such as adding a “buy now” action button or audits on SEO (i.e. ranking the site among search engine results). This work sustainably improves the visibility of the site;
• learning how to use social media to bring a community together : social networks have become indispensable for making themselves known as professionals. I help them create a professional Instagram account: stories - short videos - bring the craftsman and his community of clients to life. For example, a hairdresser had her new logo chosen from 3 proposals for her community;
• learning how to use artificial intelligence (AI) for content creation — Managing a website often requires content creation, but artisans don’t have much time to devote to it. So I am demonstrating how to use AI and write “a prompt,” the instructions for generative artificial intelligence. We see together how:
  
  • describe the activity of its company and its know-how;
  • ask the tool to write a summary, ideas for topics or social media posts as needed;
  • review and customize this “first draft” to look like us, for example, if you prefer to tutor your customers or insert Creole expressions!”

What are your main accompaniments?

“The topics covered vary according to the needs of the craftsman. By appointment or by phone, we bring advice for website creation, better visibility, social media management, digital tools discovery and graphic designs (business cards, flyers, videos, etc.).

Here are 3 types of actions we carry out:

• training courses to create your website in one page (beginners), easily design visuals with Canva (free version), understand the basics of the internet and social networks;
• of events like the “digital crafts” : a conference a succession of experts followed by one-on-one interviews with craftsmen to provide advice to each according to their particular problem;
• awareness-raising on cybersecurity : for safety, we must now think "pass phrase" rather than password, with different phrases according to usage; implement double identification; be vigilant on false SMS. The damage from hacking can be significant. For example, as a craftsman, I had my professional Instagram account and 2,000 followers hacked, more than two years of work because of a bad password.”

Do you have an example of someone being accompanied?

“Yes, I recently accompanied a photographer who wanted to create his showcase site. He first used the public service Company Counselors to express his need. When I received the notification, I called him and we agreed together on a one-hour appointment.

During this interview, we worked on the scope of the claimant's mission with whom he intended to work in order to:

• Prioritize steps
• define textual content that he had to prepare for himself and provide to the claimant;
• ensure that the quality of photos highlight and consent of the persons listed;
• verify that site maintenance was included in the contract, for example to have a tutorial or help with updating the site;
• evaluate the price in relation to the service.

I also told him that he could ask one regional aid as part of his project. The ‘Kap Numérik’ scheme enables Reunion companies to finance digital investments such as the creation of a website, the development of an application or a security service. The aid may be up to €3 200 for small companies with less than 10 employees and up to €2 000 for companies with less than 20 employees. He wrote to me thanking me for the regional support he was able to receive for his project.”

To interact with an advisor

Company-Advisers.Service-Public.fr

The public service accompanying companies