L2’s Intelligence Report: Instagram evaluates the strategy of 250 brands on the social platform. Here are the best-performing posts in each of the nine categories, with the highest rate of likes and comments per follower base. Only posts between Q1 and Q3 were considered.
Auto: Volkswagen @VW
Auto brands outperform all other categories in engagement with an average interaction rate of 1.52% per post. While luxury carmakers BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lamborghini, and Porsche lead in follower count, Mazda has the highest average engagement and this photo from the H2Oi even gathered the most likes and comments.
Beauty: Benefit Cosmetics @Benefit Cosmetics
Beauty brands’ Instagram accounts have the highest growth rate after Consumer Electronics. MAC and Urban Decay have the largest follower base of brands in the category, but Benefit’s post in November received the highest engagement rate by far, 13.78% vs. 8.71% for the second most popular post from @essiepolish.
Consumer Electronics: Cannon @canonusa and Nokia @nokia
Due to data set limitations, only Q1 2015 data was available for a significant number of consumer electronics brands. In that short time period, the give most popular posts in the category belonged to Nokia and Canon.
Drinks: Budweiser @budweiser
The top two posts by engagement rate are photos of Budweiser’s “Best Buds” campaign. The almost identical photos feature a horse and puppy with engagement rates of 5.94% and 5.98%. As we like to say at L2, Puppies Bring Money.
Fashion: Alexander McQueen @worldmcqueen
Thirteen Fashion brands in the L2 study have built followings of over a million on Instagram. Christian Louboutin has the largest community of 3.8 million, but Alexander McQueen @ posted the most popular photo with a 71.28% engagement rate.
Retail: Mr Porter @mrporterlive
Fast fashion brands dominate in the retail category: Forever 21, H&M, Topshop and ASOS have the largest communities and have leveraged the platform to promote their products in real time. However, high-end retailer Mr. Porter @MrPorter takes the top two spots for most liked Instagrams from a retail brand.
Sportswear: Billabong @Billabong
Nike is the most followed brand on Instagram across all categories, but Billabong posted the most engaged-with photo among activewear brands with a122.96% engagement rate. Billabong’s overall engagement rate is high at 2.2%.
Travel: Omni @omnihotels
Travel brands have the smallest followings of all categories in the L2 study. Four Seasons – who leads in followers – has 81,000 fans. Omnihotel posted the most popular photo in the category with a 13.25% engagement rate.
Watches & Jewelry: Swatch @swatch
Tiffany & Co. dominates among Watches & Jewelry brands with the first-mover advantage. It has four times the followers of its closest competitor Cartier. However, Swatch’s Instagram had the highest engagement rate in the category at 17.15%.
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