How to organize an Instameet? (updated sept 2018)
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In order to encourage Instagramers to meet each other and share their experiences, we have prepared this short tutorial that will reveal some of our best basic ideas and cool tools that can make your Instameet a successful event.
Having fun is of course the first main “must have” ingredient and the main objective of any meet up!
Most of the time you will find that all that is needed is a group of fun and easy going bunch of people (Just as you are today!) and a dose of good spirits to have a great event.
Once you have met these fundamental requirements, you can start using the following tips to impress your local Instagram friends.
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The Right Time:
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Select an adequate moment for your Instameet moment. Keep in mind that your national, regional or local holidays will certainly influence when you can have your Instameet.
Avoid ‘’competition’’ with other major events, don’t put your potential guests in a difficult position to have to choose between two great venues.
This goes for Election Day’s, football, baseball or any sport finals… Your Instagram team will often have to take all these elements into consideration to adapt itself to local realities, this has happened before in past Meet ups.
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The Right Place:.
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An Instameet is a great opportunity to meet new people, share opinions, tips and experiences related to Instagram. Nevertheless don’t forget that it should mainly be about taking pictures and stories and uploading them to Instagram!
Chose an interesting subject and select a place that goes well with it. For instance you could hold an event in the old part of town and then select topics that go well with that location:
‘’old doors in black and white’’, ‘’reflections on windows’’ or simply ‘’people’’ or ‘’children’
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The Right Pics:
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A leaflet:
With the help of a designer (don’t we all have a friend or know someone who is a graphic designer?) prepare a small leaflet with the information about the Instameet, make photocopies and don’t forget to include the subject and the main Hashtag you will promote that night.
Include the rules and regulations such as limitations on number of pictures posted, the Apps or colour scales allowed, etc.
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Define a Hashtag:
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Short, ‘’original’’ and easy to remember hashtags are the best, . i.e. #InstameetMilano11, #IgerSFsummermeet. This will facilitate the recovery and search of all Instameet or Photowalk pics on Instagram search bar.
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Prizes:
If you really want to go out of your way to impress your community, get local businesses to participate by having them donate a prize, this is a great way for them to promote their business locally.
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This is a great little incentive to promote participation and stimulate Iger creativity. If all of the above fails, you can always set up a jury that will recognize the creativity of all competitors involved.
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The Right People:
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Naturally everyone can participate in the meet ups, nevertheless, there should always be a small group of Igers that are dedicated to make each InstaMeet or Instawalk a success by helping others integrate the group, define the purpose and objectives, set up the Walking map that will take members through the city and select the best places to visit and organize simple schedules for all to follow.
Another great idea we tested in Madrid and Barcelona was the printing of simple name stickers, only instead of writing the persons real name we wrote down the Instagram Nickname. It was great to see peoples faces when they finally put a face to the name they where following of commenting.
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The Right Planning:
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Promote the Instameet or Instawalk on your Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
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– Decide what the right topic and location will be.
– Define the exact starting time.
– Communicate the Hashtag in a timely manner.
– Promote creativity by setting up a challenge with or without gifts and prizes.
– Define the roadmap and streets you will visit accurately.
– Adapt the Instawalk to the number of participants. If you are a group of 12 you might not go be able to go to places a group of 120 can go…
– End your Instawalk with a nice sunny lunch in a park or even in cool bar where you can unwind and talk about the event.
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The Moment Right “After” Instawalk.
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– We mentioned something about this above, but allow me to elaborate on this. You should end you Instawalk or Instameet with a group drink at a cool bar of coffee shop, or even in a park. This will allow you to comment the event, share some pictures, user names and Facebook contacts.
– The moment the event ends is the perfect moment to ask for advice and share your best tricks and knowledge. This is very appreciated by most people after an event ends.
– Organizers or coordinators should collect all participants Nicks in order to send all of them information about what went on at the Post-Instawalk or just to share information for the next Instameet or Instawalk.
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I hope find this tutorial useful and that you will share your tips and suggestions about organizing an Instameet with us too.. Have a great Instameet or Instawalk!
All the pics were taken at our First Instameet in Milano, click here to check them out: Instagramers Italia first Instameet!
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@philgonzalez
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More tips:
If you don’t know how to meet other Instagramers in your city, consult our list of more than 600 Instagramers local groups , you will also find feeds of all the latest events, Instameets, instawalks etc.. .You can also create your own Instawalk in your own town too.
You will also find countless examples in Instagram consulting our @igers account.
Remember that we are available to help you launch your own Instagramers Local Group. Just send us an email to igers@instagramers.com and we will get back to you ASAP!
