Local social media creators have recently been recognised for their talents at the 2022 Northern Ireland Social Media Awards with Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism and Clogher Valley RFC winning top awards.
The winners were announced on Saturday, October 1 in the Europa Hotel, Belfast. During the ceremony, it was announced that Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism had won the award for 'Best Use of Social Media in Hospitality/Tourism over 10k (10,000 followers)' and Clogher Valley RFC were presented with the award for 'Best Use of Social Media in Charity'.
The social media skills of sisters-in-law Julie Kenwell and Elaine Godfrey of Osborne & Co. were also recognised at the awards ceremony, with the Enniskillen business being placed as runner up in the 'Best Use of Instagram' category on the night.
Speaking on behalf of Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism, Tanya Cathcart said: “It is a brilliant achievement for Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism to win this award. Our social media activity has increased immensely in the last number of years and we have recognised the importance of innovative, regular and visitor appealing content.
Pictured L-R, Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism Team: Louise Curry, Tanya Cathcart, Elaine Hetherington, Gemma McCaffrey and Julie McKiernan.
"It is a vital medium through which to promote the region and engage with the industry and visitors. The continued growth and engagement on our social media platforms is testament to the hard work that is put in on a daily basis by the team, and it is credit to them for all the efforts that have helped to achieve this accolade.
"The staff are continually improving their skills and knowledge in this medium and are continually thinking of new ways to engage with customers. TikTok is the latest trend which Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism is embracing and complements the wide spectrum of activity undertaken.
"From organic posts, competitions, blogs, shared posts, paid campaigns and influencer visits, social media has a huge impact on our daily lives and therefore is a platform in which we must engage in order to sell the benefits of this wonderful county and its assets."
Rachel Fannin, social media manager for Clogher Valley RFC was delighted to take home the winning prize for 'Best Use of Social Media in Charity'. This award was sponsored by Aware NI, the leading charity for depression in Northern Ireland.
Four representatives of the club attended the dinner, which were Rodney Bennett (Club Chairman) and his wife Rebekah Bennett (past Club Physio), my fiancé Paul Armstrong (Club Captain) and Rachel Fannin (Public Relations Officer).
"I have been managing the social media for Clogher Valley RFC for almost three years now and to get an award at this level was such a honour and a great achievement for the Club," said Rachel, adding: "We have over 2,000 followers on our Instagram, over 4,000 on our Facebook and over 1,000 on our TikTok. In the month of September 2022, we reached a combined audience of 110,000 people and our most popular TikTok video has been viewed over 140,000 times, so it was wonderful to great recognition for this work."
Julie Kenwell and Elaine Godfrey from Osborne and Co picked up the runner-up award for Best Use of Instagram from Kerrie Mackle from FLEETWISE.
Only in its second year the Northern Ireland Social Media Awards were a huge success and attended by freelancers, individuals, teams, agencies and businesses from across Northern Ireland. Created by leading award-winning digital marketers and industry mentors, Niamh Taylor, Managing Director of Digital 24 and Caroline O’Neill Business Coach and Social Media Consultant of Digg For Success and Digg Mamma, the Awards recognise those delivering social media marketing and demonstrating excellence in their work.
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