Lorna Bladen & Polly Dhaliwal: The Power of Community and Growing a Brand

2025

Apr 25

At SocialDay’s Social Media Marketing Festival 2025, we’re spotlighting the brands and minds that know how to build with purpose. In a lightning session titled "The Power of Community and Growing a Brand", Lorna Bladen, CMO of Enterprise Nation, and Polly Dhaliwal, COO, will be diving into how they've scaled and nurtured one of the UK’s most trusted small business communities — and how that community has been at the heart of their brand evolution.

About Lorna Bladen & Polly Dhaliwal

Lorna Bladen is a digital marketer and community builder with over a decade of experience spanning content, partnerships, events, and brand campaigns. At Enterprise Nation, she’s been instrumental in growing the company’s reach, scaling its event programme, and crafting meaningful campaigns that connect directly with entrepreneurs and small business owners across the UK. Her approach is all about marketing with meaning — creating content and experiences that add value and build trust.

Polly Dhaliwal started her journey in partnerships and quickly found her way into the world of product and platform strategy. Now, as COO at Enterprise Nation, she leads operations and growth across their tech ecosystem. A passionate advocate for inclusive innovation, Polly brings a strategic lens to community-building — using data, user insight, and a deep understanding of impact-led product development to shape Enterprise Nation’s future. She’s also the founder of Girls in Movement, a nonprofit that empowers young girls through storytelling and education.

What to Expect from The Power of Community and Growing a Brand

This lightning session will explore how Lorna and Polly have scaled Enterprise Nation’s user base to reach millions — all while staying grounded in purpose and connection. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how their community has become not just a marketing channel, but a core driver of brand trust, loyalty, and long-term impact.

From evolving their digital platform to adapting their tone and storytelling, the duo will share the real steps they took to mature the brand in alignment with what their users needed most.

Key Areas of Focus

How to scale a community with purpose
Practical tactics used to grow Enterprise Nation while staying true to its mission
Nurturing trust and engagement
Going beyond content to build real connection and loyalty
Using community insight to shape brand direction
Listening to users and evolving based on what they need
Balancing growth with meaningful impact
Making business decisions that drive results and support people
Replicable strategies for marketers and founders
Actionable ideas attendees can take away and apply to their own community-building efforts

Key Takeaways

Learn how to grow a brand through your community, not just alongside it
Understand the importance of engagement, trust, and consistency in building lasting relationships
See how to evolve your brand using real-time feedback and user insight
Get inspired by practical, scalable models that can work across industries and audiences

Their Perspective on Social Media Trends

With AI content booming and platforms more crowded than ever, Lorna and Polly are keeping their focus on what matters most: authenticity. For them, the challenge ahead is cutting through the noise while building deeper, more human connections with their audience — and staying true to values like accessibility, transparency, and trust.

A Hope for the Future of Social

They’d love to see social platforms evolve into spaces where genuine community-building is prioritised over vanity metrics and performance pressure. Think better tools for real conversation, stronger support for underrepresented voices, and a focus on ethical and accessible digital innovation.

Connect with Lorna & Polly

Want to learn more about the work they’re doing at Enterprise Nation? Follow them here:

Join Lorna and Polly at SocialDay's Social Media Marketing Festival 2025, where top minds in social media marketing will share their insights and expertise.