Goethe-Institut London Instagram takeover series
About the project
Since 2021, the Goethe-Institut London has hosted its annual Instagram takeover series, whereby inspirational figures from marginalised communities are invited to share authentic content and insights with their 24.2k followers. Lasting one to two weeks, each takeover endeavours to raise awareness, spark engagement, and disseminate diverse perspectives on current cultural affairs, debates or trends in Germany and the UK.
The series has become a cornerstone of the Goethe-Institut London’s digital strategy, significantly boosting digital audience engagement, strengthening community interaction, and expanding the cultural reach of the organisation’s online presence.
As a registered association, the Goethe-Institut London operates independently, is politically neutral, and legally autonomous. Therefore, the takeover series also presents the opportunity to cover topics and angles it cannot address directly. Encompassing these perspectives allows the Goethe-Institut London to achieve its organisational goal of providing the public with comprehensive overviews of particular cultural debates, issues, or trends.
Project responsibilities:
Head of production and communications
As the manager of the Goethe-Institut London's social media channels and budget, I led the production of three annual takeovers between 2021 and 2024.
My production duties comprised research, coordinating planning meetings, suggesting and inviting guests, outlining measurable project objectives, preparing and sharing posting schedules, informing guests of editorial guidelines, and revising content before it went live to ensure it was in line with our contractual agreement.
Working within the Communications department, I was the primary point of contact for all digital and in-person interactions between stakeholders. During the takeover, I was also responsible for community management, which involved consulting our community guidelines to make executive decisions on shitstorms, moderate discussions, and respond to audience questions or queries.
Finally, I handled all administrative and budgetary processes, which covered budget planning, preparing contracts, processing payments to guests, and utilising analytical data tools to evaluate the effectiveness of the takeover in achieving its objectives. I also launched digital surveys for our audience to provide future guest suggestions and feedback on content and formats they liked/disliked.
You can find the content produced during the Instagram takeovers I managed below.