Do you want a winning social media marketing campaign? Instagram is the platform for you.

With 1 billion active users under its flagship, it’s one of the fastest growing social media in the world. It also provides the most profitable social media campaigns. That is, if you do it right.

Do you want to slay it with your Instagram campaign? Do you want the winning formula for getting the hearts of your IG followers?

You’re in luck.

We have the 7 best brands on Instagram who are winning it all on the platform. They’re the Mount Everest of Instagram, so they’re doing something right. Of course you could try to buy Instagram followers, but a more organic approach is better in the long run.

Want to join the stars? Keep reading and learn how they do it. It’s going to amaze you how straightforward it is.

1. Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit is famous for many food-related things. Their monthly magazine of tasty dishes and resto reviews is to die for. Their social media game, however, is something everyone should take a look at.

Apart from their super famous Youtube Channel, which is now one of the top 10 in regards to food, they’re one of the best Instagram brands. This is due to their awesome Stories.

They’re using what we call “the classic route” on how to slay Instagram. This is the consistent content route everyone needs to keep up with.

Bon Appetit uploads content and Stories day to day and with consistency. They put up everything from food tours, reviews, quick recipes, how-to’s and much more. This reminds you that their aim is for top quality content you only see in major media brands.

Their social media people are genuine during engagements. They encourage people to see more and move around their ecosystem. Their fresh content makes them some of the top brands on Instagram.

If you’re looking for the same success journey as Bon Appetit, then remember to be consistent. Audiences like fresh content on a consistent basis. When people want you, they want more of you.

What makes the most followed brands on Instagram successful is their constant updates. They never miss a second with their audience.

2. National Geographic

If there’s one brand that Instagram is perfect for, that must be National Geographic. Their reputation with their print magazines and publications exceed them. With a history that dates back to the 19th century, it’s not that hard to see why they’re one of the top brands on Instagram.

Their images are exquisite. The quality of their content is something that everyone can marvel at each and every time. What makes them much better, however, is their audience engagement.

National Geographic requests content from various contributors from around the world and features them with full by lines.

This might seem innocuous. It is crucial, however, to create a strong, tight-knit connection with your audience. It goes a long way.

People like to feel their communities love their works. National Geographic is able to maximize their user content to their advantage. They don’t only get free content forwarded to them, they get to build more engaging brands on Instagram.

If you want the branding that National Geographic uses, it boils down to two things. These are standards of quality and user-generated content.

With a solid standard of quality, you’re pushing yourself to publish. You don’t only publish, but do only the best quality content among Instagram brands. People will see how dealing with you is worth it.

With user-generated content, you get to feature your audience within your platform. You create recognition of their talents for your brand. This means you’re showing them that you’re into the community.

3. Lego

Lego is one of the top brands on Instagram, and it’s among the most entertaining content on the platform. Beyond than simple product placement for children’s toys, Lego tries to tell a story with every photo. They want to show that there’s something for everybody and then some.

Lego knows its audience. They understand that in order for them to rouse their audience, they need to show creativity. Lego likes to create adventures and tours around the world. It has fun takes on everything pop culture, with references that every fan would love.

Want the same brand success as Lego? It’s smart to always know who you want as your audience. Lego is one of the best Instagram out there when it comes to knowing their audience.

They know their products are not only for kids. Their audience is adults and parents who grew up with their stuff. They show that they’re not all about nostalgia, but rather creative outlets for all their users.

Knowing the audience is a crucial step to becoming one of the top brands on Instagram.

They let you speak the right language. They provide the right setting. They show the right content to your readers.

4. Google Maps

It’s funny to see that one of the best Instagram brands is a map app that offers navigation and city-wide grids. What does it contribute? That’s where creativity on the social media team comes in.

Google Maps uses their #OnGoogleMaps campaign to engage people. Much like National Geographic, they bet on having people contribute their discoveries.

The world is a big place. To get people to send their discoveries around their locale makes Google Maps’ Instagram account great at creating engagement with people.

Their Stories feed gives life to these discoveries. It helps people find new places that are off the beaten track. If there’s anything that makes IG people tick, that’s new, cool places to travel to.

How can you follow with the success of Google Maps? It’s simple. Curate an outstanding feed even if it is only a bit connected to your products.

If you want to be one of the most followed brands on Instagram, you need to know how to curate content. It’s not all about your product. It’s about related interests that may connect to your product.

Be creative on how to present your curated content. Know how to connect your brand with a certain interest and share only the best visuals you can find. Don’t be boring on Instagram.

5. Gucci

Gucci is one of the most followed brands on Instagram. It’s the de facto official luxury bag of the platform, and it’s everything every brand on the platform wants to be.

Gucci is op among the “It” brands on Instagram. Their campaigns are awesome and artsy, making people love their brand at every turn. Their images are haute couture through and through.

Every image they upload is art. Every campaign shows a clear theme.

People can feel every line. Their style is so vivid people can almost touch it. It’s a style that represents how high fashion is still a thing in the digital world.

How can your brand come even a little bit close to what Gucci achieves on Instagram? Have a personality.

All the top fashion brands are not clones of themselves. They set themselves apart with a strong, vivid brand personality. This brand personality is indelible in the minds of their audience.

Gucci is artsy, artistic and surrealistic. Calvin Klein’s brand personality is freedom, individualism and being comfortable with yourself. Louis Vuitton focuses on using color to pop.

If you can find a way to set yourself out and show your brand’s personality, go! It will go a long way to being as remarkable as the top brands on Instagram. It can help you make more money out of each campaign.

6. AirBnB

AirBnB is a great brand that uses their international network to find the best images in the world. Instagram and travel are two ideas stuck at the hip. AirBnB merges both to get the best out of both worlds.

The brand uses its contributors and user-base to capture locations in the world that almost nobody knows. You might find a pattern to the most successful brands on Instagram. They engage their audiences and curate their content on the platform.

What makes it one of the best Instagram brands, however, is their ability to use conventions and events to their advantage. They’re good at engaging with their customers during special events like Coachella and SWSX. Their content quality never wanes as well.

How can you make it to the top brands on Instagram like AirBnB? Reward your customer base with various promos and solid deals while keeping the engagement on high.

People love engagement. If brands tend to engage more with them, their relationship with their favorite brands becomes more personal to them. Personal brands mean a stronger click-through rate and even consumption.

7. Starbucks

Starbucks is one of the kings of branding and status. This coffee brand doesn’t always stay with their coffee. They go above and beyond that, focusing more on the people.

Starbuck’s campaigns tend to focus more on people more than any of the Instagram brands out there. Their images are colorful and fantastic every time. It’s rare, however, to see something in their feed that doesn’t have something humane on it.

It may be a cute dog that rouses your “aww” senses. It may be a smiling girl who’s enjoying the coming of fall. It can even be their very own staff.

The brand knows how to humanize its content. It doesn’t try to be above everyone else. It tries to emulate how everyone else is.

How can you do the same and become one of “THE” brands on Instagram? Show a human side to your business.

People like being able to relate to their favorite brands. Showing a humane side to your branding narrows the gap between your business and your customers. It brings to closer to their homes, and to their lives.

How to Join the Best Brands on Instagram?

If you want to be among the best brands on Instagram, there’s no single solution to it.

 Know the people who show interest. Connect with your audience. Engage them and present yourself as a brand that brings value to their lives.