2019 Winners & Finalists
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN RETAIL (Under 10k following)
Bumble and Bee
Stable Lane Boutique
Serenity Ten Clothing
Be Unique by Emma
Halo Healthy Kitchen WINNER
Sponsored by Schweppes
The winner utilises user generated content regularly on their platforms and uses video content to show behind the scenes of their business on all platforms. A worthy winner.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN RETAIL (Over 10k following)
Suitor Bros WINNER
Jack Murphy Jewellers
Tayto (Elevator)
Mace (MXB)
AML Boutique
Sponsored by Mid Ulster Auctions
The winner uses video content on an almost daily basis to showcase the person behind the business as well as embracing influencer marketing and celebrity endorsement to drive their business forward. They showcase the very best of what they do and you get a real sense of comradery between the business, their customers and their community. A great example of a local retailer embracing all that is social in social media. Great work.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN FITNESS
Sam Conley Fitness WINNER
CORE NI
Move your mind
LMA Fitness
Waites Gym
Sponsored by Bodyfit Mums
The winner is using Social Media consistently across all active platforms and is utilising Facebook Groups to grow their community and generate extra income. They have built a community they care about which is evident from their social media accounts. A true winner with a big heart shining through on his social media. Keep up the great work.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN HEALTHCARE (Under 10k following)
Ann’s Nursing Care
The Spectacle Maker
Zen Orthodontics WINNER
Galgorm Dental
Balmoral Healthcare
Sponsored by Absolute Protection
Great shortlist and hard to decide. The overall winner uses humour, real life and results to engage their audience and tell their story on Social Media. It is not always about selling your product or service and they get the balance beautifully.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN HEALTHCARE (Over 10k following)
Kingsbridge Healthcare
The Hormone Health Coach
The Academy Masterplan WINNER
Sponsored by Flower Walls NI
A hard one to choose from. All the shortlisted businesses are doing brilliant work.
The winner encourages, inspires and motivates potential clients through their social content. Authenticity is clearly at the backbone of their business.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN HAIR / BEAUTY (Under 10k following)
Surgery Hair WINNER
The Dry Bar
Mindful Beauty
Bridgeen Hair Loss Clinic
Pure Perfection
Sponsored by C&C Boutique
The winner posts video content across all the platforms that their demographic responds well to and reacts to in a positive way. All videos, pictures, captions etc match the tone of their brand and are in line with their target age group. Great to see hair dressers inspiring their audience with video content. Keep it up.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN HAIR / BEAUTY (Over 10k following)
Hidden Hair
Olivia Muldoon Hair & Makeup WINNER
Scissor Sisters Camlough
Nadine McLaughlin
Lily B By Debbie
Sponsored by The Skin Health Clinic
It was a very tough category to choose from as so many are utilising social media platforms (mostly Facebook) to benefit their business and to help them grow. The winner has used how-to videos and inspirational images on Facebook and plenty of video content which is informative for her audience. Her videos range from snippets of tutorials but also Instagram stories show her out and about doing her thing.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SERVICE / B2B (Under 10k following)
Roof Window Specialist
Fathom WINNER
KES Group
Niamh McAuley (Purple Dot) RUNNER UP
Visit Gay Belfast
Sponsored by Bradley Henderson Photography
Runner Up: Clearly having an impact on her clients and delivering quality content for the end user. Niamh is delivering exceptional work and it will be great to see how she expands over the next year.
Winner: Clear, considered and grown-up approach to thought-leadership that doesn’t just build ego but actually serves an audience need, resulting in an uplift in business. Win-win.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SERVICE /B2B (Over 10k following)
Transfer Tutor
News 360 – Leona O’Neill WINNER
St Pat College Dungannon
Divine Photography
David Henderson Design
Sponsored by Insta Belfast
Publishers exist in symbiosis with social media platforms. One would struggle without the other. However – the winner is an exception to the rule. Social media feels like home to the winner, not a channel that must be mastered. She is a natural at what she does and how she does it and it gives us great pleasure to announce that.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN HOSPITALITY (Under 10k following)
Yellow Bird
White Horse Saintfield RUNNER UP
AJS Promotions – The Blind Cobbler WINNER
Lamppost cafe
Friel’s Bar
Sponsored by Changing Events
RUNNER UP: The runner-up openness is clear to see where less-than-perfect photos of the food precedence over staged shots from company HQ. There is a real sense of authenticity and loyal customer base.
WINNER: The winner understands their audience and gives the users what they want and what they will interact with. Great submission that was well thought out.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN HOSPITALITY (Over 10k following)
Hastings Group WINNER
Visit Causeway Coast and Glens
Galgorm Hotel RUNNER UP
Bishopsgate Hotel
Tipsy Bird
Sponsored by Ion Distillery
RUNNER UP: This business understands the role of social media and its commitment to the channel is notable. Delivering excellent results time and time again.
WINNER: The winner knows how to capitalise on the consumer longing for a break away. Its feed has an authentic quality that hotel chains cannot match.There are no bells and whistles, no quirky tone of voice or jokes, they just focus on their offering.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN CHARITY
Michaela Foundation
Christian Fellowship Church WINNER
Adsum Foundation
Centred Soul-Health & Wellbeing for all the Family RUNNER UP
Irish Cuchulainn
Sponsored by DIGG Childrenswear
RUNNER UP: Fantastic result to be able to save their space and use social media to reach their audience.
WINNER: In recent years the winner has demonstrated it truly understands how to pull off good quality content on social media for the good of the charity.
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN IN PUBLIC SECTOR
PSNI – #NoGreyZone WINNER
Lisburn & Castlereagh CIty Council
CCEA
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
SERC
Department Of Finance RUNNER UP
Sponsored by Beautiful Balloons Cookstown
RUNNER UP: A considered campaign that successfully located, targeted and engaged all sectors of the community who saw, or could see, the park as their space.
WINNER: A powerful campaign which took real guts for a public body to put out. They considered the audience without sparing the boardroom blushes of those signing it off, who were not the target audience.Exceptional work and very impactful campaign.
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN IN RETAIL
Suitor Bros
Moy Park (MXB)
Boost Drinks (Elevator)
Kings Baby Shop
Jack Murphy Jewellers WINNER
KES Group RUNNER UP
Sponsored by Cloughbane Farm
RUNNER UP: VERY close second, I must say! Their results are amazing. For a minimal spend to achieve exceptional sales and over 1,000 leads would nearly be a record! It’s really impressive. What they did very well was understand their target audience and split test quickly and effectively. The ads and messaging were super simple but so effective. It will be interesting to see where their business is a year from now. One to watch for sure and I look forward to watching their journey.
WINNER: This was an incredibly detailed application; far more effort and detail have been invested. When most businesses on the high street are losing sales and scaling back they have pushed back by creating a successful event and engaging with influencer marketing. This has led to an impressive 25% increase in their sales in store. They have clearly demonstrated the power of social media and digital marketing and the effect it can have on a retail environment. They have a small team and are family run yet they appear from the outside to be highly competitive online with much bigger firms. Very good application and well deserved.
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN IN HOSPITALITY /EVENTS
Walsh’s Hotel (SM Marketing)
David Meade (Run DMG) RUNNER UP
Hastings Hotel WINNER
Galgorm Hotel and Spa
Tipsy Bird
Ten Square Hotel with Nava Talk
Sponsored by Moira Cosmetic Dental
RUNNER UP: Events are a big part of most businesses, but getting people to attend even a small event, can be tricky. This campaign demonstrated that promoting your event to a targeted specific audience on Facebook can help drive the right kind of attendees. A great example of a well thought out and tested campaign delivering excellent results.
WINNER: This was an absolute digital marketing master class. They put on a clinic of how you do digital advertising in 2019. I’m very impressed to be honest. This was a thought out and structured application. Much of the campaign was very innovative for the events space. For a relatively small budget in a highly competitive space, they were able to generate over £1million in sales. the results are impressive but even more so was the depth of digital marketing knowledge and structuring of the campaign.
USE OF A SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL
BEST USE OF TWITTER
Belfast Giants WINNER
Cool FM
QUB Accommodation
Sponsored by Stephen Baxter-Crawford
This business uses strategies to engage with their audience and keep them coming back for more which is critical to long-term twitter success. With millions of impressions monthly and a highly engaged audience they demonstrated a great use of the tools that twitter have.
BEST USE OF FACEBOOK
Property Pal RUNNER UP
Fred Funk
Christies Direct
News 360 – Leona O’Neill
Cool FM WINNER
Cosy Roof
Sponsored by Gary Hughes
This was so hard to judge. Every single shortlist deserved an award. Exceptional work being delivered by all these businesses in NI.
RUNNER UP: Creativity shouldn’t have any boundaries and the runner up demonstrates this. Curating content serves not only this businesses aesthetic, but it’s also there to drive incredible engagement. The runner up is original and has exceptional results on Facebook engagement.
WINNER: Balancing the strategic part of marketing with the creative side of content creation is hard but the winner has delivered one of the most impressive submissions with killer stats I have ever seen. Delivering exceptional impression shares, followers and engagement and proving that Facebook is still very much alive and kicking.
BEST USE OF INSTAGRAM
Founded Coffee
Larchfield Estate
Bearded Candlemakers WINNER
Style Edit RUNNER UP
David Henderson Design
Sponsored by Emma Gribben
RUNNER UP: The runner up is an account that I am familiar with and didn’t actually realise it was a NI run one. They use a great mix of curated content, understand their audience and how to use the platform.
WINNER: Telling a story using only images is not something any joe on the street can do. It takes a keen aesthetic eye, a sense of branding, as well as a masterful understanding of composition, patterns, colour, and lighting.
INFLUENCER/BLOGGER
BEST INFLUENCER/BLOGGER CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR
Kings Baby Shop
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council RUNNER UP
Cloughbane Farm
Jack Murphy Jewellers WINNER
The Academy Masterplan
Sponsored by Valerie Roe PR
RUNNER UP: This organisation used influencer marketing in a clever way – and not typical of what you would expect. They worked with micro-influencers on social media to create engaging content around a topic for the better good – recycling.
WINNER: The winning campaign delivered every tangible benefit of influencer marketing – follower engagement, driving traffic, creating more authentic content not to mention a huge jump in brand awareness
HAIR / BEAUTY INFLUENCER/BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Grainne McCoy
Jamie Dunne
LMD WINNER
Make-up By Julie
Olivia McVeigh
Sponsored by International Beauty Ireland
WINNER: This hair / beauty influencer is arguably one of our most influential experts in this field, with a wide-ranging social media outreach. Her key to success has been showing off successful makeup applications, establishing makeup trends, sharing reviews, and creating how-to’s. She now has her own product line, and her page is filled with videos showcasing how to apply makeup, product plugs, occasional fashion advice, and more.
FITNESS INFLUENCER/BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Meave Madden WINNER
Warrior Goddess Kettle Bell Training
Sam Conley Fitness
Sponsored by Cuba Clothing
WINNER:
The winner embraces social media and posts workout videos, inspirational messages, and diet tips on her page. She is utilising all that the platforms have to offer in a truly engaging and innovative way. Well done.
FASHION INFLUENCER/BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Kate Grant
Ivona Moore
Cameron Glasgow
The Dress House
Oh So Femme WINNER
Katie Andrews The Blog
Sponsored by Room 7
WINNER: This influencer is an ambassador for how to work with brands and create quality assets for them. Aside from obvious fashion plugs, she also posts many personal photos and videos to interact with her fan base.
LIFESTYLE INFLUENCER/BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Elle Pearls
Daily Prophetic
Blossoming Birds WINNER
Joanie O’Hanlon
Belfast Food Blogger
EM Imagery
Sponsored by Jack Murphy Jewellers
WINNER: A hugely competitive category with so many great accounts. That being said the winners posts have personal touches to them, which helps users connect with her. A beautifully presented account and no wonder she has brands looking to work with her. She delivers massive influence to the brands – and for that reason is totally deserving of the award.
PARENTING INFLUENCER/BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Enjoy Everything Emma
Cliodhna Fullen
Our Life At The White House
Sara Holland Co WINNER
Wandering Wilsons
Mrs Sarah Thomp
Sponsored by Bumble And Bee
WINNER:
One of the most pristine and beautifully curated Instagram feeds I have seen in a long time. Her Instagram has a bit of everything! It is full of gorgeous family snaps, parenting motivation and life updates.
HOME INFLUENCER/BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Sara Holland Co
Home At Rose Cottage
Clean With Curtis
Our Self Build NI
Inside Number 16 WINNER
Sponsored by Creative Stone & Tile
WINNER: If you don’t like feeling envious, maybe give this account a miss but we simply can’t resist drooling over the amazing home shots on this account! This influencer has nailed mixing quality content for her audience along with subtle brand collaborations.
SOCIAL MEDIA PERSON/TEAM
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETER OF THE YEAR
Lana Richardson – Property Pal WINNER
Hannah Johnson – KES Group
Paul Malone – QUB
James Scullion – Rapid Marketing
Sinead McKeever – SM Marketing RUNNER UP
Sponsored by Bellamianta
RUNNER UP: It takes unique qualities to be a savvy social media marketer. It’s imperative for a social media marketer to understand the company brand or their clients business at a granular level, possess strong grammar and spelling skills, and exhibit professionalism in all situations. The runner up certainly does this for her clients.
WINNER: In social media your message won’t be effective unless its specifically designed for who you are trying to target. This social media content marketer delivers content that is outstanding and nurtured constantly.
SOCIAL MEDIA FREELANCER OF THE YEAR
Run DMG – WINNER
Copper Square Comms
Aoife Burns Marketing
Gillian Daly Communication
Paul Malone RUNNER UP
Sponsored by Ramona Nicholas, CARA Pharmacy
RUNNER UP: There’s almost always a strategic thinker behind successful social media marketing and the runner up is someone who has demonstrated strategic thinking in the work that they do.
WINNER: Running social media paid campaigns demands someone that can lay out the strategy in a step-by-step approach, look at what the data is telling them and test until they find the sweet spot. The winner has demonstrated an ability to deliver exceptional results for their client.
SOCIAL MEDIA IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEAR
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Women In Business
Galgorm Hotel & Spa RUNNER UP
Danske Bank
PSNI WINNER
Sponsored by Dollybird Interiors
RUNNER UP: Though many businesses may find it hard to prove the return on investment of some of their social media activity, it is hard to overstate the value of social media to this business. A team who work very hard and deliver exceptional results time and time again.
WINNER: This organisation gets everyone involved and the impactful social message stands out as marketing that’s more than just marketing thanks to the contribution of more than just the marketing team. They are now notable for an honest and open tone on social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Elevator
MXB WINNER
Nava Talk
Shady Dolphin
Rapid Marketing
Sponsored by Mark Wright
WINNER: A social media agency who has established credibility in this specific industry, delivering excellent results for their clients over and over again.
OVERALL SOCIAL MEDIA EXCELLENCE
SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Stuart Robinson – Cool FM
Harlso The Balancing Hound WINNER
Love Belfast
Pride And Pinion
AMPT Body Transformation
Sponsored by Tayto
WINNER: Everything the winner posts is designed to get you to laugh or smile, making life’s stresses easier to contend with. Social media used for social good.
MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Estate Agents Leads
Holiday Ninja
Cross and Freckle
Hover Hubs WINNER
Go Teachie
Sponsored by BNL Productions
WINNER: When you think of innovation in social media space you think digital technology. The winner has embraced digital technology with social media and delivered a hub that is pretty revolutionary in many ways.
BEST OVERALL USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Irish FA WINNER
Cool FM
Queens University Belfast Accommodation
PSNI RUNNER UP
Suitor Bros
Sponsored by Boost
RUNNER UP: This social media team go beyond the 4 walls of this organisation. Their campaign work mastered genuine authenticity with high impact on their audience.
WINNER: This is a powerful organisation who have delivered social media excellence in all that they do. Delivering high impact multi-channel campaigns bringing social media back to the heart of what achievement means. Delivering impressive killer stats in their submission and demonstrating that their power is manifest in the army of fans they have across the world.
Media Partner
We invite media outlets with a large number of followers who are interested in partnering with the inaugural Social Media Awards 2022, to discuss media partnerships with us that will help promote our event, its nominees and winners.
