Many retail brands on Instagram are learning something powerful about the social media network: visual commerce converts to sales.
Nitrogram 50 ranks the top brands on Instagram. We identified three powerful brands on the list and will show you what they are doing well and what you can learn from their successes.
1. Nike
The most popular brand on Instagram, according to Nitrogram 50, is Nike. It surpasses the second most popular brand (Starbucks) by more than one million followers. They also have more than 7 million posts with their hashtag.
Their secret? They don’t just market their products; they market the spirit of Nike. Many posts have captions motivating their audience to push farther, not give up, and #justdoit. They also encourage people to use their famous hashtag on photos of them accomplishing great athletic feats, promising to re-post a few.
The takeaway: Think about your brands message and personality: is it warm and fuzzy, or motivational and intense? Use your captions to give your brand a clear voice to make it memorable.
2. Michael Kors
This fashion brand’s whole Instagram feed is beautiful, elegant, crisp, and modern – everything the woman who wears Michael Kors aims for in her style. They run campaigns like other brands on Instagram, but they aren’t gaudy and obvious.
For example, there are multiple photos with one watch and various paraphernalia related to a specific location. The caption will read whatever time and the place where the watch is at the moment. It’s a simple, clean, but glamorous way to display a product.
The takeaway: Don’t throw your product in the audience’s face. Find subtle ways to make people covet your product with interesting themes and beautiful photos that match your customer’s aesthetic.
3. Disneyland
The most magical place on earth sits at number 30, but here’s the data fact that makes it special: more than 3.5 million posts have the #Disneyland tag. A testament to how popular this vacation destination is. It’s a good thing people use that hashtag, too, because that’s how Disneyland’s Instagram gets all of its photos. The brand credits the outside sources and then adds a wholesome, sometimes funny, caption.
The takeaway: If your business is a service that ends up pretty enough for a photo, encourage your fans and customers to take pictures and use your hashtag. Even if you don’t get many followers, you can still stay relevant on Instagram with this “outsourcing” technique.
Tell us about some of your favorite brands on Instagram. What are they doing to stand out from the rest?