Instagram marketing isn’t only about big budgets and flashy pictures! Top Instagram brands aren’t winning social media campaigns by posting random pictures. They are crafting signature aesthetics, sharing compelling brand stories, and keeping their audience hooked with innovative ideas.
Such good examples of Instagram profiles that have good branded photos prove that strategy and creativity go hand in hand.
Instagram is projected to welcome 361.1 million users between 2024 to 2028, making it a goldmine for startups and small businesses. The platform creates a space for low-budget businesses to establish their presence, connect with their target audience, and grow their business, eventually becoming the best profile on Instagram!
As a small business owner, you can take reference from the big players to get your social media marketing game started on Instagram, learning how the top Instagram brands develop their national and international presence.
This blog includes a list of accounts, the best brands with successful Instagram strategies, and the best practices to make your Instagram profile look professional.
Why Branded Photos Matter
Instagram is a visual-first platform that helps businesses create a unique and recognizable identity. This marketing technique supports increasing brand awareness and allows users to connect with your brand without any logo. Well-crafted visuals leave a lasting impression, helping you grow organic Instagram followers and establish yourself among the top Instagram brands.
A brand’s visual identity can include a collection of consistent color themes, typography, voice or music theme, logo or imagery personalities, and other design elements. This approach creates a distinguished brand personality and boosts engagement through shares, likes, followers, and comments.
Maintaining a unique brand identity keeps your business’s Instagram profile professional, organized, and cohesive, attracting more interactions on Instagram.
By creating proper social design, startups and small businesses can not only produce a well-branded Instagram profile but also give tough competition to top Instagram brands. The unique visual identity for SMM pulls the right audience and helps you stand out in a crowded market.
The Psychology Behind Branded Visuals
Startups and small businesses must understand the power of psychological branding if they want to become top Instagram brands. It evokes emotions through visual cues, creates belonging, and influences customer behavior, says Psychology Today.
Psychology behind branded visuals helps businesses craft impactful messages, build deeper connections with audiences, and establish meaningful relationships. Understanding branding psychology lets startups implement color psychology, pattern recognition, and the Big Five brand personalities to shape audience perception.
Additionally, visual elements reinforce brand identity, improve memorability, and enhance credibility as the top Instagram brands. Consequently, customers can easily associate themselves with brands and develop trusting relationships. Customers can easily associate with brands and develop trusting relationships.
Tip: Startups and small businesses can achieve visual brand identity by using consistent filters across content, limited font variations, and keeping a precise color palette across platforms.
10 Best Brands to Follow on Instagram in 2025: The Most Creative Instagram Accounts to Follow
Numerous brands have mastered the art of creating branded photos for an effective Instagram marketing strategy, gaining a million followers quickly. These top Instagram brands have established themselves in the market and generate excellent business through Instagram.
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1. McDonald’s (@mcdonalds)
To stay relevant and engage young audiences, this fast-food giant incorporates playful, highly relatable, and meme-driven content. McDonald’s keeps fun and instantly recognizable branding in their pop culture trends and interactive campaigns, as one of the top Instagram brands.
2. Nike (@nike)
Nike‘s Instagram marketing revolves around high-energy, emotional, and inspirational storytelling. Their feed is toned with motivational posts, empowering followers to achieve big as one of the top Instagram brands.
3. Rare Beauty (@rarebeauty)
Rare Beauty has chosen soft pastel aesthetics, which goes perfectly with their approach for community-first, self-love, inclusivity, and mental health advocacy. As one of the top Instagram brands, the brand focuses on UGC content, ensuring its followers feel valued and part of a supportive community through meaningful conversations.
4. Real Madrid (@realmadrid)
This brand has become a global sports legacy due to unmatched fan loyalty and engagement. Real Madrid has a mixed content approach that includes BTS, live updates, exclusive player moments, and historical throwbacks, fostering a strong emotional connection with global followers.
5. Netflix (@netflix)
As one of the most successful OTT platforms, Netflix is known for meme marketing. The brand uses pop culture trends, humor, and BTS content for Instagram content to feel personal and interactive. Consequently, became among the top Instagram brands.
6. Dubai Properties (@dubaiproperties)
This luxury real estate establishment targets premium buyers as one of the top Instagram brands. Dubai Properties shares high-end photography, cinematic video tours, and modern architectural storytelling for the appeal. Their aspirational lifestyle content and exclusive property showcase their expertise in the field.
7. Ferrari (@ferrari)
This iconic luxury car brand exhibits elite and high-performance Instagram posts. Ferrari creates exclusive and luxurious experiences through their cinematic and BTS racing content. The lifestyle branding content invites customers to a high-profile exposure as one of the top Instagram brands.
8. CR7 Eau De Toilette (@cr7cristianoronaldo)
Ronaldo, one of the most followed brands on Instagram backs CR7 Eau De Toilette as an extension of his image to a massive fan following. Their content strategy is to showcase luxury and lifestyle branding, blending sports with personal branding.
9. Apple (@apple)
Apple focuses on minimalist and product-centric branding with a high aesthetic. The brand produces simple visuals and story-driven campaign launches, highlighting their new innovations. As a result, Apple easily became one of the top Instagram brands.
10. Airbnb (@airbnb)
Airbnb allows its customers to speak for themselves and gives a personal touch with geographic targeting. The brand shares real guest experiences as a part of UGC content with high-quality travel photography and emotional storytelling.
These brands believe in storytelling, consistency, and audience connection for unique Instagram tips for exposure, helping them grow organically on Instagram and ensuring their profiles are more than just logos and colors. Even the top Instagram brands, clothing companies follow these principles and become among the most followed brands.
How to Create Branded Photos for Instagram?
Branded photos must entail a story and engage the audience with their visual appeal if you want to become one of the top Instagram brands. Here’s a quick trick to get a recognizable visual presence on Instagram.
1. Finalize a Signature Color Palette
Brand personality consists of a certain color palette for instant identification. Ensure to use similar colors across visuals, from Instagram posts to stories that show your brand personality.
2. Adopt a Distinct Editing Pattern
Using the same editing techniques for every content creates a polished and uniform look on the Instagram profile.
3. Curate Well-Frame Visuals
Only use well-composed and clear images that uplift the brand image, helping you to become one of the top Instagram brands. Utilize professional photography, stock images, and phone shots that match your brand personality.
4. Share a Story
Branded visuals should evoke emotions and communicate with followers. Using contextual background, lifestyle shots, and candid moments makes your brand more relatable to the audience.
5. Maintain Coherence
Your Instagram content, from grid layout to Instagram stories, should align with your brand identity. Visual elements that elevate content must remain consistent throughout the Instagram layout.
Tools for Branded Instagram Visual Content
Your startup or small business doesn’t require a design team to create world-class Instagram content. Streamline these content creation tools to produce quality visual content.
- Canva: Customizable templates and a brand kit for consistent content creation.
- Adobe Lightroom: Professional presets and editing tools to enhance images.
- VSCO: Maintain your brand aesthetics with high-quality filters.
- Planoly: Preview your Instagram grid before posting content.
- Unfold: Design polished Instagram stories with modern templates.
How to Develop a Content Strategy for Instagram?
A well-planned content strategy secures higher social media positioning on Instagram. Figure out content type, best times, and latest trends to succeed. Use a National Geographic style: big, breathtaking nature photos, one clear fact, and a simple caption that makes people save and share.
Here are five easy steps for a structured approach to make the list of top Instagram brands.
- Schedule Your Instagram Content: Experiment with posting frequency and timing, and avoid overwhelming the audience with too much.
- Align Content Type: Figure out what works best with your target audience and create a mixed Instagram grid, maintaining diverse content for various groups of the audience.
- Incorporate Grid Layout for Cohesion: Maintain flawlessness in Instagram grid by generating platform-centric content that aligns with brand aesthetics.
- Storytelling Captions: Choose appropriate words for each post so your audience connects with both the visuals and the message.
- Navigate Engagement: Keep a track of content performance to check what resonates with your target audience and modify your Instagram marketing strategy based on data-driven insights.
Summing Up
A well-planned Instagram profile increases business visibility and engagement. Top Instagram brands don’t only focus on posting attractive visuals, but they also ensure to execute strategically, allowing brand personality to speak to their audience. While this article focuses on commercial brands, many of the best Instagram accounts for self-improvement utilize similar strategies to build their following.
Looking at these top Instagram brands, it’s clear that businesses that invest in intentional and meaningful branding not only easily build a widely recognizable presence but also have a profound effect.
Put these insights into action and build an Instagram presence that truly reflects your brand. You can make it to the top 10 business pages on Instagram!
FAQs on Top Instagram Bands
1. What makes an Instagram profile look professional?
A professional Instagram profile has consistent branding, a clear bio, high-quality images, and a recognizable aesthetic. Using the same color scheme, fonts, and filters helps create a cohesive and polished look.
2. How often should a business post branded content?
Posting at least 3-4 times a week keeps your audience engaged without overwhelming them. A mix of product shots, behind-the-scenes content, and user-generated posts keeps the feed fresh.
3. Can a small business create high-quality branded photos without a designer?
Absolutely! Tools like Canva, Lightroom, and VSCO make it easy to create professional visuals. Using templates and presets ensures your photos stay on-brand without requiring design skills.
4. How do I keep my Instagram feed visually consistent?
Plan your content using apps like Planoly or Preview. Sticking to a defined color palette, filter style, and content pattern helps maintain consistency.
5. Will switching from a business account to a personal one affect my social media posts?
No, your posts will stay the same, but you’ll lose access to Instagram Insights, ads, and shopping features. If you rely on analytics, it’s best to keep a business account.
Ruchi Dhimar is a skilled content writer with 4 years of experience. She is passionate about crafting compelling narratives, specializing in writing content for different industries.
