Essential Steps to Take Before Planning Your Digital Marketing Strategy with Gemma Lloyd

Throughout the week there are so many incredible speakers lined up who will share tips and advice on using social media platforms, email marketing, SEO, Google Ads, Podcasting, and more.

But before you put your time and effort into any of these, there are some essentials you need to have in place for your small business.

In this session, the founder of Social Mums, Gemma Lloyd is going to share the essential steps you need to take before planning any digital marketing activity and it’s one not to be missed if you really want to get the best from the week.

Personal Branding: Being Unique In a Digital Age with Claire Marshall

In today’s digital landscape, if you don’t want to be part of the noise, you need to find your own frequency. In this session, you’ll discover how to transform your digital presence into a memorable brand that captivates and retains the right audience by being unmistakably you.

Marketing expert Claire Marshall will cover;

• Unleashing Authenticity: Crafting content that reflects your true self – without having to share your life with the world!
• Storytelling with Impact: Leveraging relevant personal stories to connect and resonate.
• Strategic Vulnerability: Using your strengths and vulnerabilities to attract your ideal audience.

You will leave the session with some actionable and practical frameworks you can use for your small business.

Claire Marshall is a strategic marketing consultant and the visionary behind Claire+Co agency, specialising in empowering entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable growth. With a passion for innovation and simplicity, she partners with businesses to transform their visions into tangible outcomes, ensuring they thrive in their missions while maintaining personal freedom and impact.

Making Instagram Work For Your Business with Amana Ahmad

In this session, Social Media Consultant Amana Ahmad will cover how to leverage Instagram for your business without feeling overwhelmed. She will include:

• Setting your goals
• Understanding your audience 
• Optimising your bio
• Creating engaging content 
• Creating an engagement strategy

Amana worked in corporate for 12 years before starting her business The Social Factor in 2018. She works with businesses that know they need to be using social media to generate more enquiries but don’t have the time and know how to do it themselves. She’s also a mum of 3, so knows how important it is to utilise the time you spend on your business effectively.

Leveraging Canva & AI to Effortlessly Create Content with Naomi Wickham

In this session, digital strategist Naomi Wickham will cover the basics of AI and understanding prompts. She will also show you how to use Canva Magic Write to help generate everything from blogs, email campaigns and content for social media.

Naomi is a visionary digital strategist empowering entrepreneurs with the tools of the future. Hailing from Australia and now based in the United Kingdom, Naomi specializes in guiding entrepreneurs to harness the power of AI and Canva in their businesses. She’s renowned for her creative flair and innovative approach. Naomi’s talk promises to inspire and equip women entrepreneurs with actionable insights on leveraging AI and Canva to elevate their brands and drive success in today’s digital landscape.

Let’s Get Visible – Crawling, Indexing and Ranking on Google with Natalie Alsop

A website is visible as soon as it is live. But how visible is it in terms of Google? Visibility in the search engines is when your website has been crawled, indexed, and has started to rank. But sometimes pages are crawled and not indexed and this can be down to several factors which a website audit will identify.

In this session, digital marketing expert Natalie Alsop will show you how to make your website visible to search engines, so you can publish new content knowing it will be indexed, ranked, and then visited.

Natalie Alsop is the founder of Engaging Content and has been in digital marketing since 2001 (when the internet was still quite new). Previously a website designer, running an agency-style business for many years, she changed direction in 2020 and now helps Service Professionals master SEO and content creation to turn their website into a lean, mean lead-generating machine.

Natalie’s approach is holistic using current website responsive standards, content marketing tactics, and messaging frameworks to create compelling engaging content that works for both your prospective clients and the search engines.

9 Reasons We Never Get Started with Email Marketing with Tamara Holland

Join marketing expert, Tamara Holland from Dot & Stripe as she hosts an interactive workshop with a difference. This engaging workshop will tackle the common obstacles to email marketing head-on. She will jump into demystifying email platforms to crafting irresistible content and empower you to start sending (not spamming)!

Tamara is the award-winning expert behind Dot & Stripe, a marketing consultancy for children’s activities providers and family-focused businesses. Tamara really gets it. You want to share your amazing business with your perfect customers- but finding the right direction, time and resources can be tricky. Tamara has truly got the expertise, the support, and the accountability to make sure your marketing is not just done but done in a way that’s absolutely perfect for you.

How to Get More Traffic from Pinterest in 2024 with Faye Strange

Ready to make Pinterest your secret weapon for more traffic in 2024? In this session, Pinterest expert Faye Strange will explore the latest Pinterest shifts and how you can use them to your advantage. You will learn the ins and outs of 2024 best practices, from catching up with the newest algorithm changes to crafting clickable pins. She will share her top tips for boosting your visibility, clicks, and overall Pinterest success.

Faye is a Pinterest specialist dedicated to helping online business owners increase their website traffic from Pinterest. Faye can help you maximise your visibility on Pinterest, attract more of your perfect people to your website and create consistent evergreen content that ranks on Pinterest.

Taking Your Own Brand Photos That Stand Out with Susan Heaton

As a small business owner having good brand visuals can up-level your digital marketing materials. We need photos for our websites, social media, and email marketing. In this practical session from professional photographer Susan Heaton, you will learn how to improve the photos you take with your phone with 5 easy to do steps.

Susan Heaton is a personal brand photographer with over 20 years of experience. Susan set up in 2005 before social media became the huge phenomenon that it is now. She watched the trends change dramatically in the marketing world and has developed and evolved over the years to ensure that she stands out from the crowd.

Social Media for Small Businesses – Strategy & Content Planning Made Easy with Kirsty Wheatley

In this session Marketing Mentor Kirsty Wheatley will show you how to come up with a simple but successful social media strategy – and the important bit – how to actually move past the blank page and plan easily each month to meet your business goals.

You’ll learn how to use home-based content, repurpose the content you already have as well as the importance of key messages with alternate positioning.

Kirsty has been many things – a Primary Teacher, a Nursery Teacher, a Quality Improvement Officer, a CPD trainer, an Operations Director, a Fundraising Manager and a Charity Founder. She now brings all of this knowledge into helping small businesses to grow through their marketing activity in an easy and scalable way. Her favourite thing is a good old strategy session – evaluating, planning and breaking down goals is her jam.

How to get leads from LinkedIn without sending cold DMs in 30 mins a day or less with Helen Tudor (was Pritchard)

Helen Tudor (was Pritchard) is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur with a specialism in LinkedIn. She is going to be delivering an insightful, useful and actionable session for you to understand how to get inbound leads on LinkedIn without sending endless DM’s and in less than 30 mins a day.

Creating Content for Leads and Sales with Charelle Griffith

Creating content online is the go-to for small business owners, but it’s easy to spend hours creating content and get little in return. In this training, award-winning Chartered Marketer Charelle Griffith will show how you can be strategic with your content, whether it be long-form, email or social content, to ensure you are generating leads and sales – rather than likes that don’t pay the bills.

Charelle Griffith is a Business and Marketing Strategist that supports coaches, consultants and online service providers to improve their marketing, accelerate their business growth and build a business they love. There is no cookie-cutter strategy work with Charelle. She provides one-to-one services so that business owners can get personalised strategies that allow them to succeed on their terms.

Charelle offers Strategy Days to get your business or marketing strategy set in one day and business mentoring for those needing ongoing strategy, support and accountability.

Be Discovered & Grow – Pimp your Instagram Profile with Jo Treadwell

In this session, Instagram expert Jo Treadwell will guide you step-by-step to optimise your Instagram profile, so not only are you found by your ideal customer but you will ensure your profile converts those visits into follows. She will include how to;

• be discovered through searches
• what profile picture sparks DMs
• write your Bio – ensuring maximum impact from your 150 characters
• convert profile views into follows
• effectively use the 5 ‘Links in Bio’
• strategically use Highlights
• and increase engagement through Pinned posts

Social Jo is an Instagram expert specialising in training local business owners to amplify their business through Instagram and reach more potential clients – in a way that feels achievable and authentic to you without it becoming a full time job!

3 Secrets SEO Experts Don’t Want You to Know with Nadin Thomson

In this session, certified digital marketing expert Nadin Thomson will share 3 secrets SEO experts don’t want you to know. She’ll explain the often misunderstood aspects of SEO which are guaranteed to give a huge A-HA effect for anyone wanting to improve their online rankings.

Nadin has been developing websites for over 20 years. She has built hundreds of websites and helped lots of businesses rank in Google. She wants to make SEO accessible so that you can build your small business and get a constant flow of enquires organically from people who find you through a search engine. Nadin also runs the SEO Club which is an online community for mostly female business owners who want to improve their website so they get more website visitors from Google.

Mastering Keywords: Supercharge Your Google Ads Success with Fatema Haji

Join paid ads strategist, Fatema Haji, for a session all about Google Ads. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the important role keywords play in optimising your Google Ads. She will also take you through exactly where to find them for your small business.

Fatema Haji is a paid ads strategist who works with small to medium-sized businesses supporting them with their Google Ads as well as Meta Ads. She can help you understand what is the best paid strategy to use and help you grow your sales.

Launching Your Podcast – The Lazy Girl Way with Verity Sangan

Do you want to start a podcast, but worry that it’s too expensive or tech-intensive? In this session podcasting expert Verity Sangan, will cover:

• Why having a podcast could be a smart strategy for your business
• The tech and tools you need to get started
• Plus how to run your podcast in as stress-free way as possible.

Verity Sangan is the host of The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Podcasting – a podcast about podcasting and podcast tips! When she started her journey into podcasting, Verity found that there was a lack of easy-to-access and actionable advice to help her. After a year in podcasting, her friend asked for some help setting up their podcast and a gap in the podcasting market was found. Now, Verity focuses on helping individuals (mainly women!) get their podcasts from ideas to fully-fledged shows, and beyond.

Connecting the Dots Across Digital Marketing with Kate Chidzik

We live in a truly connected world, a world of BIG data, sometimes too much data that it is overwhelming. In this session Digital Marketing Strategist Kate Chidzik will cover:

• How you can connect the dots between your digital marketing efforts and your analytics/sales
• How you can use your data to reach customers in a more cost effective way
• Using multiple channels to support each other and maximise conversion rates
• Gathering data in a compliant way
• And finally the “So What” 5 minute dashboard

Kate Chidzik is a digital marketer with 25 years of experience, she set up her own business, Kachi Marketing 3 years ago when her son was diagnosed as autistic, and her jet-setting corporate lifestyle just didn’t cut the mustard. Before launching her business, she worked with the likes of The Ticket Factory as Marketing Director as well as Vision Express, Volvo Trucks, and Codemasters.

Since setting up Kachi Marketing, she has worked with a mix of clients including an international automotive brand (NDR); National Express; a private school in Reading; AFS Finance; Bear Cleaning; Moo Design; Raiven A.I. and BHSF to name a few of her clients. She offers done-for-you services including SEO, Paid Advertising (search display and social); Email Marketing, and Analytics. She also runs a membership, Digital Marketing Connected where she teaches small businesses how to do Digital Marketing.

Create a standout brand as a small business with Vardeep Edwards

Branding isn’t just a nice to have. It’s an essential tool in the entrepreneurial journey. To be brand first, means you’re building a connection with your ideal audience from day one. It gives your business credibility and aligns your marketing and PR efforts. A brand also serves as a differentiator, setting you apart from the competition and helping to build trust with potential customers. It also helps you create a unique identity and culture that stands out in the market.

In this session, Vardeep Edwards, founder of The Branding Fox, will cover:

• What branding means for your small business
• Why you need it
• 5 key areas to work on to create a standout brand

With 20+ years of experience and having worked with ODEON, Marie Curie, Pentagram & EMAP, Vardeep Edwards is the founder of The Branding Fox, a brand development agency that helps female founders build effective brands and distinctive brand identities. So they can stand out in a sea of noise and connect with their ideal audience.

Intro to TikTok for your business with Penny Walker

Taking on yet another social platform such as TikTok can feel tough. Sure, the business opportunities are there buuuut… it can be confusing and time consuming and you might even have sing and dance (you don’t)!

TikTok is where it’s at right now and it’s time to embrace this exciting new opportunity.  As the fastest growing social platform on the planet, TikTok is no longer ’just for the kids’ so the sooner you jump in the better. 

And, far from being a saturated market – unlike its social bedfellows Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – TikTok is just getting started.

We’ll be covering:

• What actually is TikTok 
• What’s in it for your business
• Who is doing a good job
• What kind of content can you make
• Do’s and Don’ts

Penny @BarBrusa_Social specialises in teaching fun-loving, lifestyle brands to create great content for TikTok to make more money. Her goal is to give you the skills, confidence and mindset to produce effective short-form video fast, without eating into your busy day. 

With more than six years of experience working in content, design and social media, she can help you to raise brand awareness, connect with new audiences and boost your monthly revenue. And – best of all – you’ll have a blast doing it.

Collaborate & Conquer: Influencer Marketing Magic for Small Businesses with Chelsea Talbot

In this session, we will dive into the world of influencer partnerships and learn how your small businesses can effectively collaborate with influencers to boost brand awareness, engagement, and sales. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The impact influencers can have on your business and why collaborations are valuable.
• Strategies for identifying influencers whose audience aligns with your brand values and target market.
• Learn the key steps involved in initiating and negotiating influencer partnerships.
• Explore creative ways to collaborate with influencers to create authentic, engaging content that resonates with your audience.
• Understand how to track and evaluate the performance of influencer campaigns to ensure maximum ROI.
• Plus discover strategies for nurturing ongoing relationships with influencers to foster loyalty and advocacy.

Through interactive discussions, real-life case studies, and practical tips, you will leave empowered to forge successful partnerships with influencers and take your small businesses to new heights.

Chelsea is Managing Director of PIA Yorkshire. With a background in Sales & Events in the Hospitality sector, Chelsea has worked closely with Yorkshire Influencers over the years to help her promote the venues she has been responsible for. As her experience grew she began to see a gap in the market. An opportunity for a business that focuses on facilitating influencer marketing for other businesses, offering hands on support and guidance in the process. Not only does she understand the value of influencer marketing but her career experiences help her to see both sides of the coin, increasing value for businesses who want to grow through influencer marketing.

Making the Most of Every Blog Post with Kate Llewellyn

In this session, Content Consultant Kate Llewellyn will explain how a blog can serve as the cornerstone of your content marketing strategy. She will demonstrate methods for reusing and repurposing blog content, as well as utilising your blog as a comprehensive resource. She will show you how these strategies aid in website optimization, video production, email marketing, social media engagement, lead follow-up, and more. 

Kate Llewellyn is a content consultant and copywriter who feels strongly about creating powerful long-form content, such as websites, blogs, and emails, which work hard for a business.

She launched her business, The Content Consultancy in 2017 and runs The Content Club, an online membership, that supports overwhelmed small business owners to learn more about enjoyable content creation, effective use of the major digital marketing platforms, and how to create, plan and distribute content, regularly and consistently to increase visibility, engagement and sales.

How to Build an Engaged Community on Instagram with Sarah McCann

In this session, social media coach Sarah McCann will teach you how to build and sustain an Instagram community to gain brand loyalty, boost engagement, and make lasting connections. She will cover; 

• How to attract your ideal clients and customers through content
• The importance of a social media strategy and how to create one
• Plus how to build connections on Instagram

Sarah is an experienced Communications and Marketing professional with a demonstrated history of working in the sports and charity industry. Her previous experience includes working as a social media manager for the International Olympic Committee. She is the founder of the Socially Savvy Academy and her skills include Marketing Management, Event Management, Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media strategy, and Communications.

Tools to Help Small Businesses Grow Online Sales with Polly Horton

In this session, social media and digital marketing expert Polly Horton will take you through a must-have checklist of the range of platforms and tools (many of which are free) that are available to help you as a small business owner grow your online sales.  

Since 2020 Polly has worked with over 140 small businesses, helping them gain confidence to grow sales and visibility for their online businesses. A specialist in product based businesses, Polly also has clients from other sectors including charities, garden design and travel operators. Passionate about small businesses, Polly has a relaxed manner and explains things in a no-nonsense and approachable way.

How to ignore the algorithm & still boss it on LinkedIn with Yolanda Sissing

Picture this … You’re a small business owner and you feel like you’re failing at LinkedIn. Not quite sure why your content isn’t getting results and you’re blindly trying to build your network. And in the corner of your mind there’s the din of noise blaming the LinkedIn algorithms.

This session will cover three approaches every small business owner can follow to confidently ignore the ever changing LinkedIn algorithms and make the most out of LinkedIn. Lightbulb moments so you can take ownership and create success.  

Yolanda is the creative force behind PinkLeaf Social, a social media company on a mission to revolutionise marketing through powerful storytelling so businesses make a social impact and have a social conscience. She’s also driving change through unconventional networking as the co-founder of the growing Antisocial Socialites community, for people who hate traditional networking and the 60 second pitch.

Her career started as a print journalist and she now empowers purpose-driven entrepreneurs & founders through personalised training & coaching on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Transforming social media strategies as a consultant to make a long lasting impact that resonates. She deeply cares about growing social media organically, without pumping profits into ads. 

How to use Facebook Ads to Grow your Small Business with Gopika Shah

In this session, Facebook ads expert Gopika Shah will take you through exactly what you need to set your Facebook ads up successfully. She will share practical tips to run them successfully and help your business be seen. 

Gopika runs Berry Social and has been a Facebook ads strategist for over 6 years and she has worked with small and large businesses helping them grow sales and leads through advertising.

Leveraging UGC on Instagram. Turn your followers into brand ambassadors! with Anna Skipwith

Have you heard of User Generated Content? If you think it’s just pictures from clients using your products you’re in for a surprise! In this session, social media expert Anna Skipwith will show you; 

• what it is
• why it’s so powerful for small businesses
• a range of UGC ideas to boost your marketing
• Instagram features to amplify your UGC
• and she’ll inspire you with some great examples from big and small brands.

You’ll walk away with actionable strategies to turn your followers into brand ambassadors and boost your Instagram marketing!

Anna, founder of @hellosocial.media, supports small businesses and freelancers looking to use social media more effectively. She helps them build a community to promote their message. Anna offers 1:1 and group training as well as platform audits, and content and strategy sessions. Her training style breaks topics down into step-by-step learning and she’s determined her clients understand what to do and, crucially, why.

Anna is also a Digital Marketing Trainer with We Are Group who work with the Department for Education to offer free, fully funded Skills Bootcamps. These allow people to upskill or change careers. Anna’s previous career was in PR so business communication is very much her thing. She lives in South London with her husband, 3 teenage boys, and her spaniel!

The ABCs to Creating Consistent Content with Canva with Marie-Louise O’Neill

It’s all too tempting to hop from one shiny Canva template to the next. The downside of this is you could end up with a scattergun look that confuses your audience and may look unprofessional. Branding specialist Marie-Louise will show you how to use Canva to apply a consistent brand to your content, with branding and design fundamentals to keep in mind with every choice you make. By the end of her session, you will be brimming with ideas and action steps on creating your own consistent content, saving oodles of time in Canva and with better results.  

Marie-Louise specialises in branding and Canva design, offering a range of logo and design services, and training, and is an official Canva Creator. Bringing together 20 years in the design industry, a branding degree and sprinkle in Canva for a winning combination. She loves to work with entrepreneurs, coaches, marketing experts, and virtual assistants to create consistent content that’s on-brand but with the flexibility to evolve. Power up your designs with her help using her free app ‘Build a Brand with Canva’.

Creating impact with online courses with Karen Davis

In tough times, a small business owner needs to innovate and think outside the box. The truth is that anyone who can facilitate a transition (however small), can create a digital course. 

This session expertly walks you through the process of creating a digital course for your business. From selecting the perfect topic to navigating tech choices and delivering content to your audience, it will show you that with dedication and passion, creating a thriving online course is achievable.

Karen Davis is a Branding Strategist, Graphic/Website Designer, and Digital Product Coach. She launched her business Pink Lemon in 2017, shifting to the online space during the pandemic. With over 20 years of experience in marketing and design she now supports clients with their entire digital journey, from creating their branding to developing a compelling website to creating brilliant offers that create impact, generate additional income, and scale their businesses.

Whilst online courses have been around for a while now, it’s still a relatively new direction for many small business owners to take and so Karen’s goal is to inform them about other ways to scale their business, generate income, and support more people by selling their brilliance online!

Grow Sales With Google Ads with Claire Antill

In this session paid ads strategist Claire Antil from Little Olive Social will show you how to get started with Google ads, exploring various campaign types, and providing tips for successfully promoting your e-commerce store.

Claire Antill is a marketing consultant and agency owner, specialising in Meta and Google ads. She supports toy and baby brands get sales and grow.

Get your Marketing Strategy Right First Time with Carolyn Bowick

In the final session of the week, experienced marketer Carolyn Bowick is going to show you how to build the most solid foundation for your digital marketing. She will take you through a step-by-step guide on how to set objectives, identify your target audience, differentiate against your competitors, and spend your budget wisely. You will leave with a framework you can quickly and easily implement for your own business, having walked through a practical example in the session. 

Carolyn has 20 years’ experience of building brands and growing businesses. With experience working across a wide range of sectors in the UK and internationally, she now balances a senior marketing role in a global organisation with running her own consultancy. A lover of words and a self-confessed data nerd, Carolyn loves putting strategy into practice, and creating marketing and communications campaigns that deliver.