122: Creating the IGDC Instameet Community with Holly Garner

Holly started IGDC Instameet Community after being intimidated by the social media community when she first discovered it. Fifteen people showed up at the first meeting, and some are still active in the community! She used Instagram as a way to connect with other photographers and to reconnect with DC. The IGDC hashtag took off, and now the Instagram account has over 65,000 followers.

The account doesn’t take advertising dollars and isn’t there to make money. Holly makes sure every collaboration is beneficial to the community.
“We all get so stuck in our routines, and it’s good to have some motivation to get out and explore. And so, we just try to do that with our cameras”.
If you’re looking to foster community, stick with it. You aren’t going to have a lot of followers in the beginning. Get out there. Reiterate that you’re there. Be open to everybody and be persistent.
If you’re building a community, you want it to reflect that rather than one person.
In order to foster community, you have to step out of your comfort zone.