18 Top Brands Excelling on Instagram with Examples

Missguided – 9M

Missguided is a fast-fashion brand based in the UK that grew thanks to social media, particularly Instagram.

Their content strategy is based on sharing as much outfit inspiration as possible, involving their customers and user-generated content (UGC). To keep up with current conversations, they also share memes and relatable content to connect even more with their audience.

Burberry – 18.9M

Burberry is a British luxury brand that has built a strong online presence to keep up with the times, despite having a wealthier target audience.

They maintain an editorial look in their content, sharing high-quality studio pictures, as well as clips from their shows and new collections. They consistently make the most out of different content formats and post regularly.

ASOS – 12.7M

ASOS is a fashion and beauty online retailer based in the UK that sells multiple brands alongside its own.

They also focus on sharing outfit inspiration and using UGC to build a stronger connection with their audience. Moreover, they post memes to offer entertainment and relatable content.

Love Leggings – 36.7k

Love Leggings, a UK-based brand, effectively showcases its wide variety of leggings by focusing on user-generated content (UGC), demonstrating how they perfectly fit all body types. Their strategy is product-focused yet skillfully involves their audience and customers in the content.

& Other Stories – 2.6M

Because they sell higher-end items, their content is consistently high quality. They include UGC from fashion influencers and known stylists, mixing it with studio and product pictures. Additionally, they provide value and inspiration to their audience by sharing outfit ideas and highlighting seasonal colors, fabrics, and pieces.

Passenger Clothing – 145k

Passenger Clothing is a brand that focuses on sustainability and targets adventure lovers.

Their Instagram feed is a mix of inspirational content (travel) and promotional content (clothes and other products). On top of that, they encourage their audience to interact and engage with them through a branded hashtag.

Plump It! – 144k

Plump It! excels by sharing user-generated content featuring fantastic makeup looks, inspiration, and customer product reviews. This approach fosters a strong connection with their audience. Additionally, they share relatable content and popular memes, cleverly linking them to the brand and its products for entertaining engagement that Plump It!’s audience enjoys.

The Inkey List – 437k

The Inkey List is an affordable skincare brand that has built a strong online presence thanks to constantly sharing educational skincare content.

Their content strategy focuses on providing as much advice about skincare as possible while promoting their products. This includes skincare routines for different skin types and concerns, information about ingredients, inviting skincare experts for long-form videos and interactive Lives, and creating concise guides for their audience to save for later.

Glossier – 2.6M

Glossier is a beauty brand that also grew thanks to building a solid social media presence.

Thanks to their attractive packaging and encouraging customers to share pictures with their products, they have a constant stream of user-generated content that they use to post consistently on Instagram. This approach helps their audience feel more involved and connected to the brand.

Aesop – 910k

Aesop is a skin, hair, and body care brand that focuses on gentle care and pleasant fragrances.

Their content reflects their philosophy, incorporating elements of literature, art, music, and collaborations with various artists. For example, they produced a video series in collaboration with a chef, creating dishes inspired by the brand’s eau de parfums.

Godiva – 25.4k

Godiva employs a diverse content strategy, creating inspirational, educational, promotional, and entertaining posts. This mix ensures their audience receives valuable and enjoyable content.

Their Influencer Marketing efforts further support the brand’s organic presence through social events, significantly boosting reach across social media platforms.

PG Tips – 16.7k

PG Tips is a UK tea brand that has been around for almost a hundred years.

They don’t solely focus on aesthetic content or maintaining a beautiful feed; instead, they provide their audience with memes, relatable content, user-generated content, and product updates (e.g., getting rid of plastic overwrap).

Heineken – 12.9k

Heineken is a Dutch beer brand with a consistent online presence across social media platforms, including Instagram.

Their content is very product and brand-focused but still keeps up with current trends. Examples include promoting the new James Bond film and relating their product to popular culture topics like Squid Game, demonstrating their engagement with current trends.

Innocent – 139k

Innocent is a brand that offers natural smoothies and other fruit and vegetable drinks.

They share fun content about the ingredients they use for their products, simple recipes to maintain a healthy diet, and content related to their environmentally-friendly philosophy.

Vivense – 6.9k

Vivense maximizes inspiration-driven content, utilizing static pictures and engaging short-form videos (Reels). They also effectively recommend products and highlight seasonal trends through interactive stories, such as popular “this or that” or “would you rather” polls.

H&M Home – 5.6M

H&M Home is a section from the Swedish fashion retailer H&M.

Their content is purely inspirational, featuring static pictures and how-to short-form videos focused on their products. They also share the newest collections, artist collaborations, and highlight the best user-generated content.

Anthropologie – 4.4M

Anthropologie is an American clothing and homeware retailer with a solid presence on social media, especially on Instagram.

Their content on their homeware page provides a lot of inspiration for customers to decorate their houses and promotes their decoration and furniture.

Zara Home – 7.2M

Zara Home is the homeware collection from the multinational retailer Zara.

They organize their Instagram content by planning rows of three posts around a specific style, product, or collection. This creates a more appealing feed but requires meticulous planning. Additionally, they bring value to their audience with their “at home with” episodes.

These examples demonstrate how brands can leverage Instagram to build highly engaged online communities.

By introducing new content formats, utilizing new features, actively interacting with their audience, consistently providing value, maintaining a distinct brand personality, and employing a solid strategy, these 18 brands have successfully become leaders on Instagram.