Digital marketing that works: Practical advice for small businesses

In this business.connected workshop in partnership with Vodafone Business, we'll walk you through the essential digital marketing strategies every small business needs to grow online, connect with customers and stay secure.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to sharpen your current approach, this session is packed with practical guidance and affordable tools to help you market your business more effectively.

Led by Alison Battisby, an expert in small business marketing, this session covers everything from building your presence on social media to improving your visibility in search engines, creating content that captures attention and sending emails that convert – all while following key security best practices to protect your business and your customers.

Alison is a highly experienced social media consultant, trainer and speaker with over 15 years in the industry. As the founder of Avocado Social, she has helped businesses of all sizes – from start-ups to global brands like John Lewis and Canon and the UK government – develop effective social media strategies that drive real engagement.

A Facebook Certified Digital Marketing Associate, Alison regularly delivers expert training and insights for organisations including Meta, Google, BBC and ITV. Her practical, down-to-earth approach makes her a trusted voice in paid social, content strategy and digital marketing best practice.

With business.connected, get support on the technologies and digital business areas that can help you and your business work smarter. Grow online with expert guidance, peer insights, digital skills training and smart connectivity solutions.

Key takeaways from this session

• Social media marketing strategies: Learn how to choose the right platforms and develop content that resonates with your audience.
• Creating engaging content: Discover tips and formats to help you produce content that drives engagement and builds community.
• SEO basics for small businesses: Understand how search engines work and how to improve your website's visibility on a budget.
• Email marketing best practices: Explore how to run effective email campaigns while keeping customer data secure and GDPR-compliant.
• Free and low-cost digital marketing tools: Get recommendations for powerful tools that help you do more with less.
• Security best practice: Learn simple but effective measures – like strong passwords and multi-factor authentication – to protect your business online.

Important details about the workshop

• During the webinar, you'll also have the chance to ask Alison any questions.
• The session lasts two hours. By signing up, you'll also receive extra resources to support your learning.
• Each workshop is designed to deliver practical, hands-on advice for SMEs. You'll leave the session knowing how to implement specific strategies.

This webinar is part of a series for business.connected. Check out the other events, including more online workshops and business bootcamps held in-person across different regions of the UK.

About business.connected

The business.connected hub is a free online training programme of workshops, webinars and e-learning modules designed to help businesses go digital and adopt new technology.

The programme is supported by Vodafone Business. For more information, visit the business.connected support hub.