Instagram has announced the winners of the Instagrammer of the Year 2019 awards. With a global community of over one billion users, Instagram has become the site where people world over visit to create original content, and engage and connect with the like-minded. In its second edition, the awards recognise achievements across categories like Most Followed, Engaged Account of the Year, Storyteller of the year, Rising Star of the year, Fashion, Food and Entertainment accounts of the year.
The winners represent individuals who have best embraced Instagram’s power of visual storytelling, engaging fans and building a strong community across its various surfaces and features including the feed, Live, stories, IGTV and more.
While announcing the awards, Saket Jha Saurabh, Head, Entertainment Partnerships, Facebook India said, “It’s heartening to see young people come to Instagram everyday to share memorable experiences and engage with the things they’re passionate about. The Instagrammer of the Year awards are a way for us to recognise creators who epitomise the spirit of our platform, where connections evolve into communities and passions meet products in an inimitable way. They have especially played an important role in helping us maintain authenticity and creating a space for diversity of expression on the platform.”
India’s famous Bollywood Instagrammers are Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Sara Ali Khan. With 39 million followers, a global fan base, and many international projects, Bollywood diva, Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) emerged as the ‘Most Followed Account’ this year. Impromptu Boomerangs at the Cannes Film Festival, slo0mo videos while catching a flight or an AMA with fans, Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) was awarded as the ‘Storyteller of the Year’ for the account with the most engaging stories.
From providing a sneak peek into the locker room, to his gruelling training sessions or an off-field selfie, Indian Cricket Team Captain, Virat Kohli (@virat.kohli) emerged as the most ‘Engaged Account of the Year’. Sara Ali Khan (@saraalikhan95), who’s blockbuster Bollywood debut wowed audiences, also made her Instagram debut in 2018 and wins the ‘Rising Star Award’ for growing her fan base on the community significantly through the year.
“What I really cherish about social media is that it gives me the opportunity to interact with my fans directly and connect in a way that is personal and authentic. And considering I’m someone who doesn’t say much with words, but more through emotions, I think photographs are a great way for me to express myself,” said Deepika Padukone.