3 Ways To Add Instagramable Moments To Your Event

In an earlier post, we looked at the social media platforms currently being used by our next generation of attendees. Knowing about these platforms is valuable to the event organizer. Knowing how people are using these platforms is equally important. Few event organizers have the resources to jump on every new app that comes out. You simply do not have the time to learn and add yet another platform to your list. That’s okay, as long as you make room for how attendees use those platforms at your event. Photos are a huge trend. Selfies are getting event more popular every day. Apps like Instagram and SnapChat are growing by leaps and bounds because people love posting pictures. Getting attendees to post pictures of your event is as easy as making your event photogenic.

Photo Worthy Happenings

One way to encourage people to take pictures, is by having photo worthy happenings at your event. Peter Eelman, VP exhibitions and communications at the Association for Manufacturing Technology said attendees at IMTS just naturally gravitate to the exciting things happening at the show every day to pose for selfies and then share them on their social media channels. The world's first 3D printed car was one such photo worthy happening at IMTS. What is taking place at your event that will stop attendees in their tracks and prompt them to pull out their smartphone to snap a photo?

Celebrity Sightings

Celebrities are not just sports stars or entertainment icons. Every industry has their celebrities, and hopefully you have them as speakers at your event. Set up an area off your main stage for attendees to pose for pictures with your speakers. This area could include a fancy set or just have a step and repeat backdrop with your event name and possibly a sponsor or two on it. Add signage that includes the hashtag you want people to add to their photos. Just be sure to include photo time in your speaker contracts so attendees can make their friends jealous with a celebrity selfie. What celebrities will be at your event that your attendees will want to pose with?

Social Media Decor

Debra Roth, devoted Instagram user and creative/principal of the Originators, a company that helps clients create bold impressions through the use of fabric structures and design, introduced me to the term social media decor. Roth says, “don't forget that aesthetically-pleasing, artistically-driven, high-impact decor creates great visuals that inspires more guests to snap and share their photos than when there's no decor at all.” Roth explained that visually compelling background is what she calls social media decor. "That decor surely enhances the overall experience and creates an 'Instagramable moment.' And we see, over and over, that this appeal proves irresistible to today's trigger-happy generation," said Roth. What is so irresistible about your decor that people will want to take their picture in front of it? Incorporate any of these, or all three, components into your event and you will turn your attendees into the selfie paparazzi! Written by Traci Browne