12 Of The Most Engaged Brands On Instagram via @sejournal, @donutcaramel13

For galore verticals, Instagram should beryllium an indispensable portion of their integer selling strategy to assistance turn their assemblage and their brand. With implicit 2 billion monthly progressive users, Instagram is simply a beardown societal media transmission wherever brands tin link with their audience.

However, erstwhile gathering your pursuing connected Instagram, don’t autumn into the trap of chasing numbers. Engagement counts.

Engagement is simply a overmuch amended measurement of your brand’s impact. It tells america however good your contented was received, however progressive your assemblage is, and however those interactions construe to conversions oregon loyalty.

We reviewed the engagement rates for immoderate of the apical brands connected Instagram to spot who is engaging their customers and not conscionable shouting into a void.

To execute engagement, the brands beneath aren’t conscionable posting randomly oregon often – they’re leveraging storytelling, jumping connected timely trends, and cultivating communities.

By the extremity of this article, you’ll person actionable insights and inspiration that could assistance your selling squad rethink however to link with your customers connected Instagram.

Note, the pursuing brands are grouped by taxable and not ordered by engagement rate*.

12 Brands & Their Winning Strategies On Instagram

Storytelling & Brand Identity

1. Nike (@nike)

• Followers: Approximately 302 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.03% (While this seems low, this measurement is “average” fixed its monolithic fig of followers, and the aforesaid goes for the large brands listed below.)
• Average Likes: 103,000.
• Target Audience: Millennials and Gen Z, aspiring athletes from each generations.

Nike’s bio – “You can’t win. So win.”– sets the code for its full Instagram presence, mixing successful precocious black-and-white images and motivational quotes. Their Instagram posts consciousness similar a pugnacious but encouraging coach, pushing followers to strive for more.

This is each exemplified successful their caller post: Nike teamed up with Grammy-award-winning rapper Doechii to dependable their caller mantra, featuring almighty women successful assorted sports challenging what they’re told they can’t bash and breaking escaped from societal expectations.

Meanwhile, high-energy neon colors bring sneaker shots to life. Nike is doing an awesome occupation inspiring its assemblage with its motivational content.

The flood of comments are jam-packed with occurrence emojis, trophies, and applause hands –  intelligibly shows the heavy transportation they’ve built with their audience. Their almighty messaging genuinely resonates and hits the mark.

2. McDonald’s (@mcdonalds)

• Followers: 5.3 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.93%.
• Average Likes: 49,000.
• Target Audience: Fast-food lovers, Gen Z, Millennials, and nostalgia-driven consumers.

McDonald’s Instagram takes audiences consecutive backmost to the ’90s with its usage of bright, bold colors, disposable camera-style photos, and the instrumentality of McDonaldLand characters.

Its strategy blends merchandise promotion with collaborations with culturally applicable brands, similar the Pokémon Happy Meal, to entreaty to Millennials.

It besides taps into contiguous trends, utilizing popular civilization memes related to their fast-food staples, specified arsenic one referencing the iconic Kendrick vs. Drake rap battle.

Creating user-centric contented – similar polls, memes, quizzes, and teasers – for established brands similar McDonald’s goes a agelong way.

With lone 360 posts, it has an engagement complaint of 0.93% successful followers successful the past month, averaging 882 comments per post.

This occurrence isn’t conscionable owed to its fame but due to the fact that it consistently produces elemental yet engaging content that resonates with Gen Z and Millennials. Fast nutrient brands tin instrumentality a cue from McDonald’s.

User-Generated Content (UGC) & Community Building

3. GoPro (@gopro)

• Followers: 20.8 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.07%
• Average Likes: 14,800.
• Target Audience: Adventure seekers, utmost sports athletes, and contented creators.

It’s casual to spot wherefore GoPro has 20 cardinal followers – their relationship is filled with immersive, adrenaline-pumping POV shots. But that’s not all.

By showcasing existent idiosyncratic acquisition done UGC and contention giveaways, similar its #GoProLineOfTheWinter winners’ post, the marque is engaging its assemblage of GoPro users and thrill-seekers portion offering a wide objection of the merchandise successful action. And that is simply a strategy you tin replicate for your product.

The blend of pro tips to sleek merchandise shots, seamlessly tying successful dynamic POV footage and photos from users against stunning landscapes thrust genuine engagement with its assemblage – they’re genuinely excited, arsenic shown successful this merchandise station of Go Pro Hero13 that received 8,000 comments.

Social media managers should retrieve to collaborate with, not against, their fans, rewarding their efforts and keeping firm branding to a minimum.

4. Shopify (@shopify)

• Followers: 1.6 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.08%
• Average Likes: 1,012.
• Target Audience: Ecommerce entrepreneurs, online concern owners, and tiny concern startups.

Shopify’s strategical usage of blue, green, and yellowish neon accents enhances its visually appealing feed. With carousel tutorials and reels featuring entrepreneurs, it caters to online store owners who are abbreviated connected clip oregon frustrated imaginable concern owners who deficiency information to yet unfastened up shop.

The brand’s contented is brief, educational, and conversational, similar this station astir their bundles’ feature, which generated implicit a 1000 comments. It besides regularly addresses topics that resonate with its audience, specified arsenic restocking issues, cart abandonment, and influencer collaborations.

Similar platforms could payment from emulating Shopify’s optimistic branding connected Instagram truthful that users are enticed to demo their products. Takeaway: intelligibly upbeat messaging not lone attracts users to effort your merchandise but besides builds a assemblage of hopeful concern owners.

5. Zendesk (@zendesk)

• Followers: 46,000.
• Engagement Rate: 0.36%
• Average Likes: 160.
• Target Audience: Customer work professionals/teams, small- to medium-sized businesses.

Zendesk’s Instagram feels similar a small, welcoming assemblage of lawsuit work professionals. Each station diagnostic a achromatic substance overlays that intelligibly present the topic, from customer occurrence advice to thoughtful discussions connected AI integration.

For example, posts astir the “perfect work lawsuit voice” oregon “ideal clasp music” are conversational and approachable, helping physique rapport with enactment professionals alternatively than focusing solely connected merchandise specs.

This attack fosters authentic connections and conversations, which could yet pb to conversions, making its lawsuit support-focused provender some utile and genuine.

SaaS brands would bash good to instrumentality this humanized attack truthful they tin demystify their exertion portion supply a harmless abstraction for their users, successful this case, lawsuit work pros and SMBs.

Humor & Relatable Content

6. Liquid Death (@liquiddeath)

• Followers: 5.1 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.24%
• Average Likes: 11,932.
• Target Audience: Millennials, Gen Z, alternate manner consumers.

Definitely lasting retired from the crowd, Liquid Death feels much similar a dense metallic set than a beverage company.

While it whitethorn look similar an intoxicant marque astatine archetypal glance, its non-alcoholic drinks carve retired a unsocial niche arsenic an alternate to mainstream intoxicant and sugary iced teas.

On Instagram, the marque embraces edgy aesthetics, featuring metallic golden accents, acheronian colors, and bold typefaces.

Its brash, in-your-face selling strategy drives engagement – evidenced by its collaboration with The Deep (from Amazon’s The Boys), which racked up 24,000 comments.

Since launching successful 2019 successful the highly competitory F&B space, Liquid Death has skyrocketed successful popularity acknowledgment to its clever, viral marketing – amassing millions of views connected TikTok and tens of thousands connected YouTube  – impervious that unconventional approaches tin prosecute and make caller communities, too.

For marketers gathering caller brands oregon adjacent existing ones, this is impervious that unconventional strategies tin work, particularly erstwhile tailored for circumstantial social media platforms.

The cardinal is ensuring brand individuality translates seamlessly crossed channels without sacrificing originality, truthful don’t beryllium acrophobic to brainstorm “refreshing” ideas with your selling team.

7. Duolingo (@duolingo)

• Followers: 4.2 million.
• Engagement Rate: 7.14%
• Average Likes: 316,000.
• Target Audience: Foreign connection students, meme lovers, and Gen Z.

Educational exertion request not beryllium boring, and Duolingo’s Instagram page is thing but. It has capitalized connected however users person a love-hate narration with Duo, its ubiquitous greenish owl mascot, and its endless reminders to instrumentality their adjacent connection lesson. And truthful it has ‘killed’ er, announced the vertebrate is dead.

With posts afloat of Gen Z/Millennial humor and commentary connected existent trends, it manages to support a precise precocious engagement complaint (the highest connected this database arsenic seen supra and a whopping 265% summation successful followers successful the past month), and yet inactive reminds everyone to usage the app and proceed the learning process.

According to Meme Marketing: Generation Z Consumer Behavior connected Social Media,

“Successful and viral memes should match their interests and values, specified arsenic entertainment, informative, trend–relevant, and bespeak the unique characteristics of tech–oriented, innovative, funny Generation Z.”

Social media managers of EdTech should larn to talk the slang of their people assemblage connected Instagram arsenic it works. Overall, playful contented with taste memes and trending events mixed with acquisition connects with younger, integer natives – usage memes to your vantage to summation your marque awareness.

8. Ryanair (@ryanair)

• Followers: 1.6 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.16%
• Average Likes: 2,500.
• Target Audience: Budget travelers, predominant flyers, and meme civilization enthusiasts.

Ryanair’s Instagram bio reads, “Catch flights, not feelings with Europe’s favourite airline.” It perfectly sums up its marque and sets the code for the full leafage – meaning it is not acrophobic to poke amusive astatine its audience.

It posts hilarious abbreviated videos, and each station to the left on its grid features a relatable flying meme in its signature royal bluish branded template.

Once successful a while, it mixes successful stunning bird’s-eye shots of exotic locales. It besides caters straight to fund travelers with predominant flight deals and announcements.

Budget question apps and sites should instrumentality note: Knowing your people audience and tailoring your messaging, whether comic oregon serious, is key. They power betwixt comic and applicable contented without losing their marque personality.

Ryanair’s Instagram works due to the fact that it has mastered contented that resonates with fund travelers who conscionable privation to beryllium entertained and astatine the aforesaid time, prime up utile question info.

Influencer & Partnership Strategies

9. Vans (@vans)

• Followers: 16 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.06%
• Average Likes: 10,000.
• Target Audience: Skateboarders, streetwear fans, and euphony civilization enthusiasts.

Vans appeals to assorted groups of radical astir the satellite arsenic a manner prime alternatively of conscionable a footwear brand.

Loyal fans flock to its leafage to cheque if aged favorites person been restocked. Fashion brands managers, you should instrumentality enactment of showcasing your marque arsenic a manner for and successful bid for this strategy to work, carefully take collaborations that correspond their people audience.

Its occurrence connected Instagram is partially owed to strategical collaborations with musicians similar The Paranoyds and rising nine DJs for the brand’s Premium Old Skool Music Collection, which features a bold leopard print.

It besides collaborates connected footwear designs with skaters, surfers, and athletes, similar the Skate Old Skool 36+ featuring Olympic jock Zion Wright.

Vans mixes grainy, quirky merchandise shots with manner imagery and behind-the-scenes takes that marque viewers consciousness similar they’re portion of the club.

It has done this implicit the past decade, yet this strategy inactive works to prosecute radical subconsciously, with seemingly low-effort content, but the charm takes immoderate effort to propulsion off.

10. Red Bull (@redbull)

• Followers: 26 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.33%
• Average Likes: 85,000.
• Target Audience: Extreme sports fans, escapade seekers, and adrenaline junkies.

As expected from the world-famous vigor drink, Red Bull’s Instagram is packed with adrenaline.

Case successful point: multi-gold-winning motorcycle jock David Godziek riding connected apical of a moving train! This is conscionable different time for the brand, arsenic it has featured Adam Snosler jumping his snowmobile implicit a bus.

Red Bull’s Instagram showcases jaw-dropping feats by legendary athletes doing the seemingly impossible, with astir each station being a collaboration.

Like Vans, Red Bull highlights a wide scope of sports and stunts – connected foot, 2 wheels, oregon 4 – and is besides well-known for its F1 team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, with immoderate posts dedicated to pushing velocity boundaries.

This strategy ties successful perfectly with Red Bull’s unsocial selling constituent and sparks engagement from fans, who capable the comments with witty jokes, similar successful this skydiving post.

Between these stunt posts, it mixes successful merchandise updates, similar caller flavors oregon pop quizzes. It’s a large illustration of sticking to what works, showcasing what your merchandise is known for, and expanding your endowment web to entreaty to an energetic audience.

Stunning Visuals & Interactive Content

11. The Sill (@thesill)

• Followers: 734 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.08%
• Average Likes: 551.
• Target Audience: Houseplant lovers, location decor enthusiasts, and young professionals.

Like their logo, The Sill’s Instagram leafage feels balanced, featuring eye-catching florals, lush greenery, and elegant, cozy location gardens.

Its branding is beardown crossed the board, with posts highlighting its online store – similar this carousel of a red-and-pink pigmented works shaped similar a heart arsenic portion of its Valentine’s Day offering. Scroll past the archetypal representation and you’ll spot aggregate adjacent up slots of violet-tinged leaves and flowers – it simulates receiving a bouquet of flowers and admiring them individually, making it creative.

How bash you privation your marque to travel across? What bash you privation your customers to feel erstwhile they cheque retired your leafage – energized oregon relaxed?

Every representation connected The Sill evokes warmth, sunshine, and assorted shades of green.

To guarantee customers bask visiting their page, societal media managers of tiny brands should prioritize high-quality visuals implicit banal images. Don’t scrimp connected the fund for originative shoots. Invest successful them and implicit time, your Instagram leafage tin evoke a soothing atmosphere, too.

Especially for B2Cs, immoderate your marque sells, showcasing it beautifully connected Instagram with a premix of close-ups, overviews, and short videos is cardinal to maintaining engagement and awareness.

12. National Geographic (@natgeo)

• Followers: 279 million.
• Engagement Rate: 0.03%
• Average Likes: 84,500.
• Target Audience: Nature lovers, photographers, and acquisition contented consumers.

Wildlife contented takes the spotlight connected National Geographic’s Instagram, with each different station featuring amusive facts astir animals, the environment, oregon notable figures.

For example, this station astir first-documented encounter with a heavy oversea fish: the achromatic seadevil is accompanied by elaborate technological descriptions. The aforesaid goes for this listicle of 5 amusive information astir female samurai, featuring colorful drawings and well-placed representation captions with arrows to assistance accessibility.

While lengthy, it efficaciously engages users successful the comments section, who stock their cognition and opinions astir the subject.

This works due to the fact that Nat Geo’s assemblage enjoys exploring and learning astir the world. There’s nary request to marque each post, but the subtle usage of a yellowish rectangle and yellowish font helps viewers admit the brand.

Media and publishing companies tin thrive connected societal media, utilizing it not conscionable for amusement but besides arsenic an acquisition level for consumers who whitethorn not ticker TV.

Continue adapting your documentaries, interviews, and much into digestible formats connected societal media. Make each station arsenic accessible arsenic you tin for viewers of each ages and turn your leafage into an acquisition hub wherever radical foster learning from each different successful the comments section.

Level Up Your Instagram Strategy This 2025

While you tin emulate these brands above, existent engagement volition ever travel from your brand’s authenticity.

Maintain authenticity by being wide with your marque individuality and values.

Engaging contented is imaginable successful immoderate niche, whether B2B SaaS, multinational nutrient & beverage, travel, oregon education.

Even topics that Gen Z mightiness find boring tin beryllium turned into bite-sized, entertaining formats, and austere-sounding brands tin inactive humanize their content by partnering with the close influencer.

Staying successful tune with trends, including key U.S. holidays and events, and short-form video formats, whilst layering successful your marque individuality and messaging tin help.

When done right, creating contented that resonates with your assemblage volition effect successful genuine interactions and thoughtful engagement.

*All stats supra are taken from Social Blade but the engagement complaint has antithetic benchmarks depending connected the industry, truthful the bid is not a comparable measurement for each the engagement rates above. According to the 2024 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report from Rival IQ, 0.43% is the median engagement raacross each industries.

More Resources:

• Beyond Vanity Metrics: How Brands Are Measuring Social Media Impact
• 5 Excellent Brand Instagram Bios To Inspire Your Own
• Social Media Marketing: A Complete Strategy Guide

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock