Hamilton Island Expands Social Media Campaign With Second Island Instameet

Hamilton Island Following the success of Hamilton Island's inaugural Ultimate Instameet, Australia's premier island destination has unveiled a short YouTube documentary of the global social media initiative, as well as announced a second Instameet to be held from 17-19 May 2013. Only the second global Instameet to ever be held on the world-heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, the May Instameet will see Instagrammers from the United Kingdom and Asia come 'down under' to experience this Australian slice of paradise. One lucky competition winner and one ambassador from the UK, and one ambassador from Asia, will visit Hamilton Island with four Australian competition winners plus Australian ambassadors for a weekend of exploring the Island and sharing their experiences on their social media outlets including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest. Sophie Baker, Hamilton Island's Senior Communications Manager said: 'The first Instameet promoted our beautiful Island to a global audience of more than eight million social media users over one weekend. This reach and power of genuine, word-of-mouth endorsements from ambassadors to their friends, family and other influencers makes social media a very valuable tool due to its legitimacy and authenticity.' Participants in the second Instameet will enjoy exploring Hamilton Island and surrounding Whitsunday islands and Reef, including enjoying the Island's award-winning cuisine, visiting world famous Whitehaven Beach, snorkelling, watching a blazing sunset with cocktail in hand, and getting up close to native Australian wildlife including cuddling a koala at Wild Life Hamilton Island. To be part of the Instameet from 17-19 May, simply post a picture on Twitter or Instagram of your idea of holiday bliss with the comment '@HamiltonIsland this is my holiday bliss #hamiltonislandinstameetcomp' before 31 March 2013. Winners will be announced by 5 April, and must be able to travel from 17-19 May for Australian residents and from 13-22 May for UK residents. If a free holiday to Hamilton Island isn't enough to awaken your travel bug, Hamilton Island's YouTube documentary from the inaugural Ultimate Instameet just might. The documentary shows some of the best Instagrammers from Australia and America experiencing the Island for the first time, along with some well known faces including TV personality and Chef Hayden Quinn and model Annabella Barber. The group captured 600+ photos over one weekend with more than 50 of these appearing on Instagram's highly sought after 'Popular' page on all 100 million active users' feeds. Their images and those from the inaugural Instameet can be viewed on Instagram by searching for hashtag #hamiltonislandinstameet, and following @hamiltonisland on Instagram. Since launching the Ultimate Instameet in October 2012, Hamilton Island's Instagram followers have increased by over 3,000%, and its Facebook fans have increased by over 20%. Hamilton Island is located off the Queensland coast of Australia, within the Whitsunday Islands at the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Here visitors can experience everything that is great about Australia - natural landscapes, calm turquoise waters, secluded beaches, beautiful weather, fascinating coral reefs, diverse flora and fauna. Hamilton Island offers a wide range of accommodation options, not to mention over 60 activities and all within a short direct flight from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Cairns. There are also great connections from other Australian cities. www.hamiltonisland.com.au www.facebook.com/hamiltonisland View the Hamilton Island Ultimate Instameet documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqAu4gleAYs Facebook: www.facebook.com/hamiltonisland and www.facebook.com/qualia   Instagram: Connect with us: @hamiltonisland and @qualiaresort, Mention us: #hamiltonisland and #qualia Twitter: @hamiltonisland and @qualia