Rise By Digital at the Love Business Expo 2026

Updated October 2026: this post was first published ahead of the event and has been updated now that the 2026 expo has taken place.

In February 2026, Rise By Digital went along to the Love Business Expo in Loughborough, one of the East Midlands' busiest business networking events. The expo brings together business owners, decision-makers and service providers from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, which makes it a great place to connect, collaborate and talk about growth.

As a digital marketing agency based in East Leake, near Loughborough, we were keen to meet local businesses and hear about the challenges they are facing online.

The 2026 expo took place on Thursday 12 February at Holywell Park Conference Centre, on the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park. It was hosted by EMA Training, with the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce as headline sponsor, and the theme for the day was collaboration.

According to the organisers, every stand sold out a month before the event, and the Chamber reported that more than 700 delegates registered. Alongside the exhibition halls, the day included:

• a speaker theatre with talks from TV presenter Anne Davies DL on presenting with confidence, and Stephen Reeve of the Entrepreneurial Business School
• a King's Awards panel, chaired by the Chamber's Richard Blackmore, with local award winners sharing what the recognition has meant for their businesses
• a new manufacturing and tech zone and a business lounge
• informal networking throughout the day

You can read more about the day on the Love Business Expo website and in the East Midlands Chamber's write-up.

At Rise By Digital, we believe the best digital strategies start with understanding people: their goals, their challenges and their ambitions. Events like the Love Business Expo let us step away from screens and dashboards and have real conversations with real businesses.

We went along to:

• connect with growing businesses across Leicestershire and the wider Midlands
• understand the digital challenges local companies are facing right now
• share practical insights on SEO, paid advertising, social media and website performance
• build relationships rather than make sales pitches

For us, networking is not about hard selling. It is about listening, learning and offering help where it is genuinely useful.

Whether we are at an expo or on a call, the same themes come up again and again:

• "Why can't customers find us on Google?" Often the answer lies in the basics: a well-structured website, a complete Google Business Profile and a steady flow of genuine reviews.
• "Is our advertising actually working?" Clear conversion tracking makes it much easier to see which campaigns bring in enquiries and which are wasting budget.
• "Which social platforms should we be on?" Usually fewer than you think. It is better to post consistently on the platforms your customers use than to spread yourself thin.
• "Where should we start?" For many businesses, a quick review of their website and search visibility is the most useful first step.

Many companies do not need flashy campaigns. They need a sensible strategy, consistency and a clear understanding of what drives results. Events like the Love Business Expo are a reminder of how much the East Midlands business community has to offer, and how much businesses gain from sharing ideas with each other.

If you did not get the chance to speak to us on the day, or you would like to pick up a conversation we started, we would be happy to talk. A good place to begin is a review of how your website is performing in search.

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