A Rathfriland entrepreneur who has helped grow Social Media Fest into one of Ireland’s most talked-about events for creators, entrepreneurs and small business owners will take to the stage when the conference comes to Belfast for the first time.
Esther Ocampo, owner of IPA Group and conference director of Social Media Fest, will deliver “Create Loyalty Through Email: The Small Business Advantage” at the Clayton Hotel in Belfast on Wednesday, April 29.
Social Media Fest, which has previously taken place in Wexford and Dublin, is coming to Belfast for the first time with a full-day conference built around the theme “Connect, Create, Conquer: Mastering the Social Media Landscape”.
Running from 9am to 5pm, the event is aimed at business owners, managers, entrepreneurs, marketers, freelancers and creators who want practical guidance on growing their presence online.
Esther, who is from Rathfriland, took over the Social Media Fest brand in 2025 and is bringing the event to Northern Ireland as part of its sixth edition.
Her company, IPA Group, is dedicated to the development of digital solutions that help clients find the best strategy to reach their public in an attractive, viral and effective way.
Through IPA Group, Esther and her team help clients build their digital presence through branding, website development, SEO, social media strategy, email marketing and more.
Esther’s talk, “Create Loyalty Through Email”, will focus on one of the highest ROI marketing channels available to small business owners.
The session will explore how email gives businesses direct access to their audience in a way that does not depend on constantly changing social media algorithms.
Attendees will learn practical strategies for building an engaged email list, writing subject lines that get opened, creating emails that feel genuine rather than salesy, and turning emails into loyal customers.
Speaking about the Belfast event, Esther said: “I’ve been involved with Social Media Fest since it began in 2023.
“After seeing the success attendees had from Social Media Fest in Wexford and Dublin, I knew the Belfast one would be great as well.
“Getting a bunch of small business owners together in a room to learn from each other is the best way to move your business forward, and the fact there are round table discussions happening at this one will make the learning that bit deeper.”
Speaking previously about the decision to bring the event to Belfast, Esther explained: “We’ve spent four events building something in Dublin and Wexford that people genuinely value, and the appetite from Northern Ireland has been impossible to ignore.
“Belfast is a city full of ambitious business owners who deserve access to the same quality of conversation and the same practical tools that our southern attendees have been benefiting from. Bringing Social Media Fest to Belfast felt like the natural next step.”
What organisers say sets this conference apart from others in the sector is its deliberate focus on speakers who understand the specific realities of hyperlocal markets, delivering advice that attendees can act on immediately to make a difference in their business.
Esther added: “There’s a tendency at conferences to bring in people from major cities in England or the US who tell you what is working for brands with enormous budgets, and you sit there thinking, that is never going to apply to my business. That is not what Social Media Fest is about.
“Every speaker at this event understands the local market. They know what it takes to build a business here, to reach customers here, and to grow from here. The advice you will hear on the day is advice you can take out of the room and use immediately, whether that means connecting with the person beside you, posting something that afternoon, or finally tackling the platform you have been putting off for months.”
Tickets for Social Media Fest Belfast 2026 are on sale now.
Social Media Fest 2026 takes place at the Clayton Hotel, Belfast, on Wednesday April 29. Doors open at 8.30am for registration and the conference runs until 5pm. Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/SMFestPress
For further information, visit socialmediafestglobal.com or email [email protected]
