National Geographic Community Propels @NatGeo Instagram Account to Record-Breaking 100 Million Followers, Becoming First Brand Ever to Reach Coveted Number

Photo of National Geographic 100 Million Instagram Followers

For Press: galleries of most popular photos from the @NatGeo Instagram account available. Interviews with photographers, internal spokespeople available.

National Geographic’s Instagram account, @NatGeo, has surpassed 100 million followers on the photo and video-sharing social platform. @NatGeo, whose creative control is largely in the hands of a number of National Geographic’s contributing photographers, shares the rare and incredible sights they encounter on a daily basis and has been delighting audiences with the work of these amazing photographers for years. The stunning images that come through the feed every day, paired with captions from the photographers’ words, bring an authenticity to the account that has proven to resonate with the community. This week’s milestone celebrates the special community between the tremendously talented photographers and the passionate fans who love their work, as well as National Geographic’s legacy of visual storytelling.

"National Geographic and photography have gone hand-in-hand since we first published photos in our magazine back in 1889. We were considered cutting edge then, and through Instagram, we are finding new ways to blaze trails in visual storytelling 130 years later. Driven by our passionate fans and tremendously talented photographers, we are using Instagram to showcase our world through breathtaking images that inspire people to care about the planet. We are grateful and encouraged that 100 million people want National Geographic at their fingertips."

Gary Knell, Chairman of National Geographic Partners,

“National Geographic set the bar long ago for visual storytelling that brings the world closer together. On Instagram, they’ve brought that vision to a whole new generation, and a global community. We’re thrilled to congratulate them on achieving such a remarkable milestone."

Lila King, Head of News Partnerships at Instagram,

In celebration of the community that has made this milestone possible, a 24-hour contest has been launched on the @NatGeo Instagram account, encouraging the account’s fans to tap into their inner photographer and share their most Nat Geo-inspired photos from their own feeds using #NatGeo100contest. For more details on the contest and to see the complete rules, click here. The grand prize winner will receive a National Geographic Tanzania Photo Safari trip valued at over ,000.

For galleries of some of the most popular images from the @NatGeo Instagram account, click here.

Please contact Anna Kukelhaus (Anna.Kukelhaus@natgeo.com) or Kelsey Taylor (Kelsey.Taylor@natgeo.com) for image and interview requests.

Here is a link to the social media toolkit.