At the beginning of the year, we wrote about the Top 25 Brands on Instagram and how they were using the site to connect with consumers.
Since then, Instagram has grown from 90 Million to now 130 million monthly active users uploading 16 Billion photos in just six short months.
With the introduction of Hashtags on Facebook and Videos, the potential for impressions on branded Instagram accounts are greater than ever.
Advertisers wonder when ads will be released on Instagram, while instead maybe they should be thinking about how they can inspire their users to create content.
For example, in the last 30 days Instagram users shared 591k photos across their timelines and newsfeeds tagged #Starbucks, generating 180MM+ potential impressions for free.
Nitrogram, an Instagram Analytics and Engagement Platform for Brands, has put together the Top 50 Index for branded Instagram accounts designed to showcase who is generating the most discussion through their channels and in their communities over time by taking into account two main factors:
- Number of Followers of the Brand’s Account
- Number of Photos posted on the Brand’s Hashtag
According to their list, Nike is the overall Top Brand on Instagram.
Their brand is highly active on Instagram both from the main @Nike account, but also in various sports verticals. Additionally, the athletics empire from Portland, Oregon has introduced a number of campaigns designed to activate content creation by their fans.
One example includes the Nike PHOTOiD Air Max campaign where they matched sneaker colors with the aid of Instagram snapshots, and #ProjectFlySF where they invited Instagram Influencers to lace up some fresh Nike gear for runs in Half Moon Bay and helicopter rides.
The Nitrogram Top 50 Brands on Instagram
- Nike
- Starbucks
- Forever 21
- Adidas
- Topshop
- Victoria’s Secret
- Vans
- Red Bull
- Michael Kors
- Converse
- H&M
- Go Pro
- MTV
- Burberry
- Audi
- Louis Vuitton
- Hollister
- BMW
- Gucci
- Louboutin
- Zara
- Sephora
- Marc Jacobs
- Asos
- Playboy
- Beats by Dre
- Steve Madden
- Youtube
- Roxy
- Monster Energy
- National Geographic
- American Apparel
- Abercrombie
- Urban Decay
- Disneyland
- American Eagle
- Disney
- Coachella
- Volkswagen
- Juicy Couture
- Armani
- Urban Outfitters
- Free People
- Taco Bell
- GQ
- Oreo
- Versace
- Brandy Melville
- Mercedes-Benz
- Guess
Top 10 Instagram Brands by Followers
- The Ellen Show 2.3MM
- Victoria’s Secret 2.1MM
- National Geographic 2MM
- Nike 1.6MM
- Louboutin 1.3MM
- Forever 21 1.3MM
- MTV 1.3MM
- Starbucks 1.3MM
- E! Online 1.2MM
- Topshop 1MM
Some other fun facts from the data:
- 8 out of the top 10 brands in this list are related to fashion or footwear in some way
- The 50 most popular brands on Instagram have on average 2X more photos on their #hashtag than followers on their @account
The list contains more than 400 brands and can be found here, and is broken down into a number of different categories you can sort by including follower count, and industry.
Did they leave any of your favorites off the list? Let us know in the comments below.