It all started before a sandwich
A heartfelt thank you to NIE Networks for choosing Noodlehorse Media to electrify your social media presence. Working together has not only enhanced your team’s skills but also brought community stories to life in an engaging and realistic fashion.
So how did it all begin? Back in December 2023, NIE Networks contacted me seeking group training for their marketing team on social media. They wanted a lively, interactive session that would contribute to team-building activities leading up to Christmas. I gladly delivered on their request and crafted a session that took place prior to a big lunch delivery of Stran-wiches sandwiches and an afternoon of festivities. The team were very good at staying focused in spite of this!
New Year, New Training
In February 2024, I returned to NIE Networks HQ to provide training on Canva and its features to the marketing team. While Canva doesn’t replace skilled graphic designers, it’s a valuable tool for swiftly creating presentations, internal communications, and social media content.
The feedback from the team was overwhelmingly positive.
May greeted me with a new challenge from NIE: assisting the team at the Belfast City Marathon. I can’t stress enough how much I LOVE live events! The energy, uncertainty, and working under tight deadlines are right up my street. The marketing team knew they wanted to capture more behind the scenes than they could manage and opted to hire a professional to take on the job.
That professional was me, and I couldn’t have been happier to say yes!
FRIDAY:
Titanic Exhibition Centre, PACK PICK UP DAY
Here’s a breakdown of how I covered NIE NETWORKS’ marathon participation:
Starting the day with interactive stories is always my go to. It sets the tone. I began with a poll about participation (running, relay or walking), followed by a tour of the expo village. The event was excellently organised, with short queues and engaging stands, so there was plenty to post about.
The NIE team arrived to pick up their relay packs and were ready to create content. We used a Schitt’s Creek audio, which aligned perfectly with the brief. Sarah aced the lip-syncing in a single take, showcasing her confidence in creating Reels. It’s actually tricky enough when you’re in a bustling conference hall, but her timing was impeccable.
Next up, I interviewed Sam, NIE Networks’ ambassador, who explained that he was running his first marathon. Instead of posting the interview footage on Saturday, I decided to overlay it with footage of him from the marathon, creating a fantastic roundup video.
Side note, I particularly appreciate the Instagram Reels feature allowing a user to tag multiple collaborators, this is ideal for increasing reach from your event.
SUNDAY:
BELFAST, MARATHON DAY
This was the main event, my time to shine. My aim was to capture the essence of the day, write captions, and track the NIE team’s movements, a sizeable enough feat given that it’s spread across the city of Belfast!
Using the WhatsApp location tracker was essential in following the team. Watching the runners descend the hill at Stormont was incredibly emotional, there’s no other feeling like it. A MASSIVE WIN as a content creator at live events is actually seeing the people you’ve been tasked to capture! Seeing Sam and other NIE Networks runners in action right at the start was my fist-pump-in-the-air moment. After the start, I swiftly edited and uploaded my first Reel before cycling to the first relay changeover point on Montgomery Road.
Cycling helped me cover more ground and produce a variety of content throughout the day. I estimated cycling around 40km that day, resulting in over 16.5k views of the marathon content, a 311% increase in accounts engaged month on month and over 35k accounts reached from marathon content alone. The final cherry on top was a substantial image collection for NIE Networks’ internal communications throughout the year.
Feedback from the team couldn’t have been more positive. Hiring a specialist to capture content at your event is a no brainer. You can focus on running things your way (literally on this occasion) and leave the community building and engagement to someone like me.
Got your own event coming up soon?
I’m ready to capture ALL the best bits for your social media channels.
