B2B Digital Marketing and Communications professional with ten years' experience translating complex technical and scientific information into clear, audience-driven content. New to freelancing, with ten years' experience project-managing agencies and production teams to deliver video, reports, strategy documents, and PR assets. Launched Bernal Institute's website and LinkedIn page. Led digital marketing and multichannel content strategy, growing website domain authority from 31 to 75 and LinkedIn impressions by 30%. Also delivers video production and stakeholder communications for research, life sciences, and health and wellness organisations. Built a social media presence from zero for an independent pilates instructor — 61,419 Instagram views in 73 days and a 3% TikTok engagement rate. Managed end-to-end production of the Irish shoot for a Nestlé TV commercial. Twenty-four million people have viewed the commercial. Available for digital marketing strategy, social media strategy, content creation, analysis, and video production.…

Áine O'Neill

PRO
5.0 (1 review)

B2B Digital Marketing and Communications professional with ten years' experience translating complex technical and scientific information into clear, audience-driven content. New to freelancing, with ten years' experience project-managing agencies and production teams to deliver video, reports, strategy documents, and PR assets. Launched Bernal Institute's website and LinkedIn page. Led digital marketing and multichannel content strategy, growing website domain authority from 31 to 75 and LinkedIn impressions by 30%. Also delivers video production and stakeholder communications for research, life sciences, and health and wellness organisations. Built a social media presence from zero for an independent pilates instructor — 61,419 Instagram views in 73 days and a 3% TikTok engagement rate. Managed end-to-end production of the Irish shoot for a Nestlé TV commercial. Twenty-four million people have viewed the commercial. Available for digital marketing strategy, social media strategy, content creation, analysis, and video production.…

Available to hire

B2B Digital Marketing and Communications professional with ten years’ experience translating complex technical and scientific information into clear, audience-driven content.

New to freelancing, with ten years’ experience project-managing agencies and production teams to deliver video, reports, strategy documents, and PR assets.

Launched Bernal Institute’s website and LinkedIn page. Led digital marketing and multichannel content strategy, growing website domain authority from 31 to 75 and LinkedIn impressions by 30%.

Also delivers video production and stakeholder communications for research, life sciences, and health and wellness organisations.

Built a social media presence from zero for an independent pilates instructor — 61,419 Instagram views in 73 days and a 3% TikTok engagement rate.

Managed end-to-end production of the Irish shoot for a Nestlé TV commercial. Twenty-four million people have viewed the commercial.

Available for digital marketing strategy, social media strategy, content creation, analysis, and video production.

See more

Language

English
Fluent
French
Advanced

Work Experience

Freelance Digital Communications Strategist at Áine O'Neill
March 2, 2026 - Present
●Designing and executing a social media strategy for an established business building its digital presence: Valerie Hayes Pilates and Valerie's Video Content Plan (March 2026, ongoing) ●Planning, filming (iPhone, DJI mic), editing and publishing vertical video using CapCut; 60 Reels scripts developed using AI research tools with manually reviewed captions/subtitles, for Instagram and TikTok ●Track performance; achieving 61,419 Instagram views in 73 days, with 65.6% from non-followers, and a 3% TikTok engagement rate from a standing start on March 31st 2026
Digital Communications and Engagement Specialist at Nestlé Development Centre, Nutrition, Askeaton
April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2025
●Create and execute the multichannel Communications Strategy and content for Nestlé Development Centre (NDC) ●Collaborate with the Head of NDC to create a culture that fosters positive attitude, openness, engagement and exceptional performance; to build recognition of Nestlé as the leading Nutrition, Health, and Wellness organisation ●Collaborate with Nestlé Corporate Communications to align with the organisation's global identity, compliance, business strategy and evolving digital media trends ●Develop demand supporting digital content to promote research expertise, inclusion, and recruitment ●Create the centre’s digital media calendar and content: video, Workplace, LinkedIn, Nestlé R&D website, brochures, newsletters, and quarterly magazine ●Lead video content from concept to delivery, working with internal teams and external agencies ●Track and evaluate engagement, audience profiles, online journeys, and sought-after content to build measurable, data-driven campaigns and optimise performance ●Partner with senior leadership to develop and deliver corporate social responsibility projects ●Initiate and manage a collaboration with SSPC, Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals, to design a STEM programme for school children ●Procure and manage external agencies to deliver compliant communications assets ●Manage the annual communications and engagement budget in alignment with Nestlé's global procurement policy
Digital Communications Officer at Bernal Institute, University of Limerick. www.bernalinstitute.com
July 1, 2017 - March 1, 2023
●Own and deliver the Bernal Institute Communications Strategy in alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in health, energy, and environment ●Own the institute's digital media calendar and demand supporting content: LinkedIn (paid and organic), Twitter, YouTube, website (WordPress), strategic plan, brochures, and annual reports ●Manage digital marketing campaigns using HubSpot, Mailchimp and Hootsuite, including email marketing, contact management and campaign analytics ●Source and translate complex scientific, medical device and pharmaceutical research into clear, audience focused content for students, industry and academic partners, policymakers, and funding bodies ●Lead communications and engagement projects to support the Institute in the delivery of its strategic plan ●Project managed the institute's website build and research group websites to improve organic search performance, domain authority and WCAG compliance; detail in Bernal Digital Marketing Strategy 2022-2023 ●Collaborate with key academics from the Bernal Institute, Research Ireland and Enterprise Ireland funded research centres (SSPC, DPTC, PMTC) and industry partners to maximise publicity and collate news stories ●Liaise with journalists, radio producers, media production companies and RTE to pitch stories and plan interviews ●Establish and chair the Bernal communications committee to align messaging and develop thought leadership content on innovation, science, and technology findings ●Participate in the UL50 Research PR Committee, UL web committee and Research Ireland Comms. Network ●Moderate webinars with international scientists communicating research to solve global grand challenges ●Manage the annual communications budget ●Use competitor and performance analytics to optimise content strategy, with independent analysis showing Bernal outperforming established peers on X (Twitter) and consistently achieving LinkedIn engagement rates above 3% ●Report quarterly on communications, website and social media performance to the Supervisory Board
Communications Adminstrator at Materials and Surface Science Institute, University of Limerick
February 1, 2015 - July 1, 2017
●Manage the creation of the MSSI Annual Report 2015 and digital content to convey scientific research in plain English ●Manage all MSSI digital media, i.e., MSSI website (Drupal) and LinkedIn ●Procure and manage graphic designers to develop marketing materials
Specialist, Educational Programs, Vista Collaboration and Learning Program at Cook Medical. www.vista.cookmedical.com
May 1, 2013 - July 1, 2014
●Support EU business units in the delivery of surgeon training programmes, coordinating related digital marketing assets ●Collaborate with global design teams to deliver compliant digital multilingual communications and develop the Vista website

Education

Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing at UCD Professional Academy
April 1, 2022 - October 2, 2025
PRII Chartered Diploma in PR Honours (NFQ 8) at Public Relations Institute of Ireland
May 1, 2022 - October 2, 2025
Applied Project Management Certificate at UL
October 1, 2016 - June 10, 2026
DELF B1 at Alliance Française
December 1, 2012 - June 10, 2026

Qualifications

PRII Chartered Diploma in PR Honours
May 1, 2022 - October 2, 2025
Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing (Distinction)
April 1, 2022 - April 1, 2022
Alliance Française DELF B1
December 1, 2012 - December 1, 2012
Applied Project Management Certificate
October 1, 2016 - October 1, 2016

Industry Experience

Education, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Media & Entertainment, Professional Services, Government
    Valerie Hayes Pilates — Social Media Launch & Growth

    Period: March 2026 – Present (ongoing)

    THE BRIEF
    Valerie Hayes is an established pilates instructor — trusted by medical professionals, physiotherapists and nutritionists — with no digital presence. My brief was to build her brand online from zero: create a consistent, reputable social media presence on Instagram and TikTok that would expand her profile beyond her existing network.

    WHAT I DID
    Designed and executed a social media strategy, including platform selection, content pillars, and publishing cadence
    Developed 60 Reel scripts using AI-assisted research tools, manually writing captions and subtitles for accuracy, authenticity and tone.
    Planned, filmed (iPhone, DJI microphone), edited and published vertical video content using CapCut
    Set up and managed both Instagram and TikTok accounts, establishing brand identity and visual consistency
    Tracked and reported on performance weekly, adapting content based on traction

    RESULTS
    61,419 Instagram views in 73 days · 65.6% reach from non-followers · 3% TikTok engagement rate from a standing start · 60 Reels produced

    View the social media strategy here, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nAkArGMddn2OQn2QPLCyBXYu-t8w7ArU

    View the video content plan here,
    https://oneill3795.github.io/Pilates-2026_social_index.html/

    Bernal Institute, UL, Ireland (Materials Science Research) Digital Content and Science PR

    The Bernal Institute’s research spans nanomaterials, pharmaceutical manufacturing, biomedical engineering, and sustainable energy aligned with SDGs in health, energy and environment.

    I started the institute’s LinkedIn page, building its content, style, and audience — translating complex science into clear, relatable stories. I pitched stories to national media, securing coverage on Futureproof, Newstalk Radio, RTE and SiliconRepublic.com. I implemented communications evaluations using Ruepoint media monitoring, Altmetrics and Hootsuite.

    LINKEDIN PERFORMANCE (ENGAGEMENT RATE CONSISTENTLY 3–4%; INDUSTRY AVERAGE 1–2%)
    https://www.twine.net/signin

    Research fellowship announcement — 300 engagements (291 reactions, 9 comments)
    Research Ireland funding awards — 216 engagements
    Nanomaterials researcher profile — 210 engagements
    Process engineering researcher profile — 207 engagements
    Health research for autoimmune diseases — 180 engagements

    View LinkedIn content portfolio
    https://www.twine.net/signin

    View Bernal Institute LinkedIn page
    https://www.twine.net/signin

    MEDIA COVERAGE

    RTE: Limerick institute turning plastic into car parts
    https://www.twine.net/signin

    SiliconRepublic.com: Dr Joseph Mooney — water desalination and sustainable technology
    SiliconRepublic.com: Dr Shalini Singh — nanoscience and materials energy

    LINKEDIN PAID CAMPAIGN

    Managed a targeted LinkedIn paid campaign for a virtual conference — €100/day budget over three days, targeting leading international universities and key industry sectors. Delivered 20,000 peak live audience.