By Victoria Gladstone
Former Editor-in-Chief
She’s documenting New Jersey’s coolest, trendiest things to do — and she’s doing it through her Instagram and TikTok pages. Mackenzie Malpass, who graduated from the College in the spring of 2023, is the creator of the popular social media account @TheJerseyyGirlGuide, with a growing platform of over 14,000 followers.
Malpass, originally from Point Pleasant, runs accounts on both platforms and highlights local restaurants, attractions and activities to her mostly female targeted audience. She shoots all of her own content and works directly with companies to come up with marketing strategies like giveaways or special edition items.
Malpass created her signature bowl of the month, titled the “Jersey Girl Bowl,” which will be sold at the Playa Bowls of Howell. (Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Malpass).
“I definitely like having a very feminine feel to the Instagram, and most of my followers are still women,” said Malpass. “I do have a few men go to my page, but I just kind of love that like having a space where it's like, OK, where can we find a girl’s day. Something that you and your friends can count on that always be something there.”
Beginning a little over a year ago, Malpass started her journey as a content creator and “didn’t think [the account] would go anywhere.” But after six months of consistent posting, she saw an influx in followers she hadn’t seen before and began making an income from the account.
In a recent partnership with the Playa Bowls of Howell, Malpass created her signature bowl of the month, titled the “Jersey Girl Bowl,” which will be sold at that location. She described this marketing opportunity as an “absolute blast” and is excited to come back to her first ever workplace to create content.
While she runs the account on her own, Malpass focuses less on including herself in the content and works toward a “business first perspective,” by featuring businesses in high quality videos with curated aesthetics. She believes her style of content will continue to help business owners reach a new marketing strategy and audience.
Malpass said she found her passion for social media and marketing during her internship with Vineyard Vines in 2022. She also found a love for entrepreneurship when she opened an online consignment store titled Kenzie's Kloset during the pandemic. Her small business has since shut down, but she started her newest account because of her new-found interests.
Malpass is currently working part-time in marketing for Brick Chamber of Commerce and also working part-time on her social media account. In the future, she said she would like to work full-time on her social media brand and to continue building “The Jersey Girl Guide” on Instagram.
