Why I Instagram Our Events by @JennG_

With every introduction of a social network, I’m reminded of my social media manager mantra: “Stick to the channels that work and do those well,” which Rejuvenate Marketplace keynote speaker Jon Acuff reminded me of again during our interview last week. It’s easy to spread myself too thin, and the last place I want to do it at work is with my organization’s messaging and image.

I manage a website for each of our communities, as well as accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. We flirt with Pinterest and have almost fallen off of Flickr. But I am hook, line and sinker for Instagram.

Why add yet another medium when it’s hard enough to keep the major accounts flowing? Because on-site, Instagram offers the best of the social networks most popular at events.

Twitter is great for attendees because it is mobile, quick and drives common conversation into one place with a hashtag. Facebook is personal, visual and has more options for posts. Foursquare is driven by your physical location.

Instagram combines all of those. It is visual, mobile, searchable by hashtag and geographic location, and personal. The photo-sharing network lets attendees be reporters at an event, showing how they interact with the experience and what they resonate with most.

Here are some tips if you’re trying out Instagram at your events for the first time:

1. Use the same handle on Twitter and Instagram. Instagram photos can be shared to other networks so when users tag your handle in an Instagram photo that is shared on Twitter, you want it to link easily to both.
2. Use the same hashtag. We broadcast our event hashtag for Twitter and Instagram as many places as possible—most notably as our avatar on the two networks.
3. Set your geographic location. Foursquare powers the geo-tagging in Instagram. If your venue isn’t an option for users when you arrive, create it yourself under Name this Location.

What networks outside the major ones have you committed to at your events?