[JUDGING] Kiwi Girl Mullaghmore
Section: Best Local Business on Social Media
Organisation Name: Kiwi Girl Mullaghmore
Local Business Questions
Organisation Name
Kiwi Girl Mullaghmore
Personpeople Who Leads This Account
Declan Kilgannon
Links To Social Media Accounts Eg Facebook Instagram Threads Tiktok Etc
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kiwigirlmullaghmore/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/kiwigirlmullaghmore
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@kiwi.girl.mullagh
Outline Your Strategy As An Educational Org
Our strategy is to use social media to bring people into the everyday story of Kiwi Girl, Mullaghmore and Donegal Bay.
We share what is actually happening on the water – wildlife encounters, unusual sightings, conservation stories and our customers' experiences. A big part of the strategy is letting our customers tell the story for us. We collaborate with and share their posts, Reels and Stories, so people see genuine experiences rather than us simply telling them how good a trip is.
What is particularly important to us as a local business is that these stories don't stay online. They get talked about locally – in hotels, pubs, cafés, shops and accommodation providers. Visitors hear that whales are in the Bay, that something unusual has been seen, or about an experience somebody had with Kiwi Girl. Social media starts the conversation, but the local community carries it.
We also collaborate with photographers, conservation and tourism organisations and other local businesses. Our Fish Supper–Sunset Cruise is a good example of businesses working together to create a new local experience.
We use no paid social advertising or boosted posts. We've grown organically by making Kiwi Girl part of the wider story of Mullaghmore and Donegal Bay.
Ultimately, we want people to see those stories and think: “I'd love to experience that for myself.”
What Uniquecreative Do You Do With Your Social Media
What makes our social media different is that we don't really manufacture content – the experience creates the content for us.
Our customers are probably our best advertisers. We encourage them to share their own photos, videos, Reels and Stories and we collaborate with them wherever possible. It means the story of Kiwi Girl is often being told by the people who actually experienced it rather than by the business itself.
We also treat social media almost like a live window into Donegal Bay. If whales arrive, something unusual happens or there is a story worth telling, we share it. It doesn't have to be polished. One of our most successful Reels was simply me driving the boat home telling followers that two orcas had arrived that morning. No wildlife footage, no production – people had to listen to get the story. It reached over 213,000 views and generated 218 new followers.
We collaborate with customers, photographers, conservation groups, tourism organisations and local businesses, allowing stories to travel far beyond our own followers.
The creative part for us is actually keeping it simple: real people, real wildlife, real experiences and real stories from Donegal Bay.
How Are Your Measuring Success Reach Links Traffic Etc
We measure views, reach, comments, shares and follower growth, but for a small local business the real measurement is what happens afterwards.
One of my favourite examples is “The Dawn Patrol”. At about 10.30pm on a Friday night, after returning from one of our Fish Supper trips, I made a simple video. The weather, slack high tide and dawn looked right for something I'd wanted to try for a long time, so I put a 5am Sunday trip online and asked if anyone wanted to come.
Within ten minutes a friend rang saying there must be something wrong with the website because he couldn't book. I pulled in to check. Nothing was wrong – the first boat was already full.
The messages kept coming, so I opened our second boat. Both boats were sold out before I even got home that night.
At 5am Sunday, 24 excited customers were standing on Mullaghmore Pier ready to head out in darkness for dawn and high tide.
The post reached 47,700 views, but the metric that matters most to us is simpler: one spontaneous post filled two boats before I got home.
No paid advertising or boosting.
Give Three Examples Of Recent Updates Or Initiatives That Have Worked Well Link To Them And Give Some Metrics On Them
1. DAWN PATROL
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNq8mSB0NzM/?stkn=MXc5d2owY21iaDh4Mw==
A spontaneous Friday-night idea for a 5am Sunday trip. The first boat sold out within minutes, so I opened the second. Both boats – 24 places – were sold out before I got home. The Reel reached 47.7K views.
2. FISH SUPPER–SUNSET CRUISE
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJCdDvjIRzf/?stkn=azhlcHI3cWUzeXpv
A simple video launching a completely new local experience. It generated 103,666 combined organic views, 1.5K likes, 150 comments and 211 profile actions. Every Fish Supper trip sold out and demand exceeded capacity.
3. ORCAS IN DONEGAL BAY
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbS9Qwto3IH/?stkn=MTMyczJvZDAxZGNqdA==
No wildlife footage and nothing being sold – just me driving Kiwi Girl home telling followers that John Coe and Aquarius had appeared together in Donegal Bay. It generated 213,330 organic views from 33,603 viewers and 218 new followers.
All three achieved with €0 paid advertising or boosting.
