Isolate one post from the pack and it’s clear it came from, for example, Bon Appetit Magazine. This is how you make social work for you. This is how brands on Instagram don’t just add to the clutter. It’s reasonable to presume that people are looking at your Instagram (IG) account because they already like your brand and they want to see more of what they like. So, you have the opportunity to either disappoint them, or give them a little endorphin boost. These brands have us double tapping every time.

Casper

These guys are meticulous about their brand. It’s always cheerful, playful, images are well lit and minimal. It just makes you smile. Being a company that began exclusively offering products online (yes, they now have stores) Casper approaches their Instagram account like an ad campaign, because traditionally this is where they’ve always advertised. When they launch a new product they tease it on Instagram. They announce it on Instagram. And they follow up with charming on-brand images that fit nicely into a clever campaign that reinforces the benefits of their new product. They strategically send their new product to influencers who are suitable for the campaign. It’s all very intentional, yet somehow feels effortless. Exhibit A: The Nap Pillow launch.

Bon Appetit Magazine

The magazine is known for its punchy colorful photography, design-heavy layouts, unstuffy attitude, and practical, straightforward advice for the homecook. The food is always BIG (completely filling the frame) and bright and artfully styled with natural lighting and dramatic shadows. Their approach to Instagram is a behind-the-scenes-look at what’s cooking in the BA test kitchen with quippy, but accessible captions that feel more like the voice of a friend than a magazine. It breaks through the third wall, which is part of their brand too, as they’re known for telling the stories of restaurant people, chefs, the journalists who write about them, and magazine culture in general. Basically, Bon Appetit makes you feel like a regular.

Away

They don’t make travel basics, they make “travel standards”. The brand is classic, high quality (guaranteed for life), and above all, accessible. Their exclusively direct to consumer sales model keeps prices reasonable, while thoughtful touches like ejectable batteries for charging devices make Away luggage an elegant and practical security blanket for the jetset. Their travel magazine Here, heavily influences the style of their IG presence, lending the images a dreamy wanderlust-inducing quality. Think chic hotel interiors, seductive pool scenes, and enchanting old world architecture, usually with an Away suitcase tucked into frame somewhere. Their account makes you equal parts wistful for the trip you missed out on and inspired to plan an even better one. Effectively, it makes you want to travel. And that’s good for business.