Canterbury Bid

Training Sessions for 2026

Canterbury BID provides free training webinars for Canterbury BID members.

From January to June, join us as we bring you the latest updates in safety & security, business rates, AI, digital marketing and much more!

Recordings of previous BID Webinars

Previous sessions have included Social Media Scheduling, Business Rates Support, Cash Flow Forecasting, Employment Law, Linked In Training and Commercial Property Law. They are all available to watch on the Canterbury BID Youtube Channel. Sessions last between 40-60 minutes.

Visit Canterbury BID on YouTube

Is your business ready for AI bots?

Tuesday 3 February, 1-2pm | Online via Microsoft Teams

Presented by: Ben Fitter-Harding, Co-founder of creative agency Dodgems & Floss. Hosted by Rachel Pilard with updates from Jo Taborn on MyCanterbury and Sinead Hannah on Visit Canterbury., the two key marketing platforms run by Canterbury BID.

Overview: Ben Fitter-Harding, Co-founder of Dodgems & Floss, explored the emerging field of Neural Web Optimisation (NWO). Ben explained its impact on digital visibility and shared practical tips for businesses to stay discoverable as AI search evolves.

The BID team also highlighted the latest social media trends, marketing hacks, and updates on local campaigns and events. Attendees gained actionable insights to navigate the changing digital landscape.

Business Rates, Relief and Changes in 2026 (26/1/26)

Monday 26 January, 9-10am | Online via Microsoft Teams

Presented by: Sara Spark from Partnership One.


Overview: The online webinar included:

  • Brief overview of Business rates- how the charge is set and any reliefs awarded.
  • History of the retail discount 
  • Changes for 2026 including the revaluation, new multipliers and reliefs.
  • The recovery process

Tips and Tricks for Making the Most of AI (26/3/24)

Tuesday 26 March, 9-10am | Online via Zoom

Presented by: Siobhan and James from Just a Uniform, Sinead Hannah, Lauren Williams and Bryony Bishop.
Overview: Join us for a 1 hour deep dive in to the opportunities provided to us by AI, joined by popular influencers ‘Just a Uniform’ to find out how AI is benefitting content creation in 2024. We will also have three local marketing experts on hand to share their experiences with AI and the latest hacks that could benefit your business in 2024.

Employment Law and HR – Hot Topics in 2024 (6/3/24)

Presented by: Catherine Daw, Partner and Employment Law Specialist at Brachers LLP
Overview: Employment law and HR practices are constantly changing, meaning it can be difficult for businesses to keep up. This webinar highlights some of the key trends for 2024, including important issues employers need to know about:

  • New arrangements for holiday pay
  • Harassment of employees by customers and clients and what employers need to do
  • Upcoming employment law changes in April 2024, including changes to national minimum wage levels, sick pay etc.
  • Changes to arrangements for dealing with employees’ flexible work requests
  • How new tip allocation arrangements work
  • New rights to allow individuals to ask for a predictable working pattern

Grow your Network with LinkedIn (20.2.24)

Presented by: Zoe Cairns (ZC Social Media)
Overview: This one-hour digital workshop was designed specifically for businesses looking to enhance their presence on LinkedIn. It features practical strategies to make your business more visible on LinkedIn. You’ll get valuable tips on how to make your profile more appealing. We’ll also look at what kind of content is currently popular on LinkedIn and how you can use this to your advantage. The workshop will include advice on growing your network and provide insights into LinkedIn’s unique features and how they can benefit your business.

Digital Marketing – Improving your reach across social media (21.3.23)

Presented by: Abby Sales, Pillory Barn
Overview: Social media engagement is an important metric to consider when building an online presence. While most want to increase the size of their audience, they often fail to increase their social media engagement as well. Join us whilst we explore how to grow your social media reach and how to increase social media engagement.

Sustainable Events: How to save money, make money and protect our planet (7.3.23)

Presented by: Danielle Ward (reWARD Events)
Overview: This 1-hour virtual session takes you on a whistle-stop tour of sustainability – what does it mean? Why should you care? How can it benefit your business? Save money, make money and protect our planet, as we delve into a best practice sustainable events guide and leave you with actionable takeaways to put into practice for your own events.

Business Rates Update 2023 (22.223)

Presented by: Sadie Furner, CIVICA
Overview: This session was designed to help you to get a tight grip on the subject of Business Rates in Canterbury and highlight the government’s current support packages for businesses. The session was delivered by Sadie Furner of Civica, the company that operates shared management of business services with Canterbury City Council and oversees the collection and administration of all Canterbury City Council’s Business Rates.

Love Canterbury – Visit Canterbury Workshop (14.2.23)

Presenter: Canterbury BID
Overview: Taking place on Valentine’s Day, Canterbury District businesses were encouraged to join us to find out how to get involved with the new Visit Canterbury platforms. Run by Canterbury BID in partnership with Visit Kent and Canterbury City Council, this was an overview of content and seasonal campaign plans for the year ahead.

Other session titles include: