UND, Ralph Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks make top 5 N.D. posts on Instagram

Grand Forks might be the third-largest city in the Peace Garden State, but it’s among the most widely viewed on social media.
Instagram released the locations with the most posts from each state this month, and Grand Forks made three appearances in the top five: UND, the Ralph Engelstad Arena and the city itself.
The five most Instagrammed locations in North Dakota in 2016 were:
Fargo.
UND.
North Dakota State University.
Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Grand Forks.
North Dakota followed a pattern with many rural states with its top Instagram locations dominated by state universities.
For those interested in making Grand Forks an attractive place to work and visit, the social media presence is seen as a boost.
Grand Forks Downtown Development Association Executive Director Sarah Prout said tagging locations and hashtags on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook is a driver for attracting visitors.
“It’s actually really important to us as a nonprofit and a community engagement organization,” she said.
DDA has worked to improve its social media presence on all platforms this year, Prout said, resulting in a 3,000 increase in followers on Facebook.
“We want people to engage with downtown,” Prout said.
Shops, bars and restaurants associated with the organization have been encouraged to use the hashtag #godowntowngf. Brick and Barley and Kittsona are some of the most frequent users of the hashtag.
Prout said the hashtag has taken off this year.
“It’s something that’s really important to us,” she said.