Now in its fourth year, it is the only event on the island dedicated to celebrating content creators and influencers across Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The awards are organised by VAVA Influence, which was Northern Ireland’s first influencer marketing agency when it launched in 2020.
The 2025 awards will feature a series of new categories aimed at celebrating a wider range of online creators, particularly those with smaller or more niche followings.
Louise Conville
Nominations for the VAVA Awards opened on Thursday night, following a star-studded launch party.
The new categories were met with enthusiasm from attendees.
“Eight or 10 years ago it was all about influencers getting things gifted to them but it’s really not like that anymore – there is such a range of different content that influencers are now offering and the awards show that,” said Zara McMullan, of Bossy Business Management. Zara runs a TikTok account where she shares insights into marketing, business and public relations with her audience.
She is hoping to enter one of VAVA’s new categories, Education.
“More and more people in Northern Ireland are turning to local creators to learn new things, whether it’s business tips, parenting advice, wellness, money management, or just everyday life skills,” Zara said.
Emily Hanna and Chloe Henning at the VAVA Awards launch party
She praised the VAVA Awards for recognising content creators who use their platforms to educate others.
“Education doesn’t have to be all serious or textbook-style — it can be fun, down-to-earth and still make a big impact. There’s so much local talent with knowledge to share, and it’s amazing to see more of that popping up on our feeds,” Zara said.
She hopes it can encourage others to start producing educational content online. “I have a friend who is a teacher and I was saying to her the other day it would be so great if she could put content online to educate people, even just parents,” Zara said.
“I think in Northern Ireland we are a wee bit behind, because there is space for this kind of content in NI.
“I’m not sure if we have any doctors from here on social media but I know we have some across the water so it would be great to see doctors or teachers or any experts coming on and sharing their knowledge with people.”
Another new category introduced for this year’s awards is Influence for Good.
Jordon Arnold and Olivia McVeigh at the VAVA Awards launch
Louise Conville, who uses her platform to raise awareness of autism and neurodiversity while organising in-person events for women, is hoping to enter the category. “What I like about it is that it’s such a diverse category, it’s not for one specific thing,” she said.
“Influence for good could mean anything from charity work to raising awareness around mental health and disabilities.” She believes the new category will inspire established influencers to reflect on how they can positively impact their communities.
Niamh Page at the VAVA Awards launch
“You need to be so careful of what you are saying on social media, especially with younger people coming online because their brains are just little sponges,” she said.
Louise believes that by introducing the new categories, VAVA is supporting a diverse range of influencers.
“I’ve been following them for the last four years, and I really feel like, this year in particular, they are really trying to celebrate a range of people — not just sticking to the one niche,” Louise said.
Social media users can nominate their favourite influencers online.
The VAVA Awards take place in the Titanic Hotel on September 27