45 Best Brands on Social Media & What We Learned From Them

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Social media users are now spending an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes per day multi networking across an average of 8 social networks and messaging apps.

Around 74% of people follow brands on social media, and 96% of those who follow brands also interact with them on social media.

But what the stats don’t tell you is that not every social media user is interacting with all the brands online, only the ones they love, or the best brands on social media.

Not all brands are amazing online.

“The best brands on social media” this phrase is one of the most coveted titles that brands online consistently aim to prove.

So what makes a brand “the best” on social media?

Today, we’ll break down 45 best brands on social media (based on niches) and what we learned from them so you can do it too!

45 Best Brands on Social Media (Based on Niche) & What We Learned From Them

You can go through our entire list or jump to the niche you’re most interested in; however, there’s a lot you can learn from each brand and niche for your business.

Best App Brands on Social Media

1. Slack

Slack is the collaboration hub that brings the right people, information, and tools together to get work done. One social media slack doesn’t focus on how great they are (well, only 30% of the time).

Instead, they share helpful tips for remote teams and SME’s including their own team. If you take a closer look, Slack is simply highlighting and placing their brand culture in their social media content.

So what does brand culture have to do with anything? Slack is about maintaining company culture online, whether your team is in the office or separated by different countries.

Simply because of this, Slack can connect with brands looking to accomplish this task. This is authenticity in action. Check out this guide on Culture Marketing 101: How to Turn Brand Culture into Content.

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is one of the best social media brands that dominate Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube in the social media app realm.

Hootsuite makes this list because it prides its premium educational content for its social media users and customers alike. They mainly utilize video content and repurposing their best blog articles into videos, tweets, and posts.

3. Tinder

Yup, Tinder made it on the list of one of the best social media brands in the app industry. There are very few brands that have thrived off of meme marketing and culture.

Meme marketing is one of the most powerful social media marketing strategies out there today. With social media continually rising, meme marketing has transformed hundreds of brands’ social media market strategies.

Since Tinder’s demographic is purely millennial, they’ve made it their mission to master all that is meme. Tinder not only repurposes popular meme’s but they also share meme’s from their Tinder content creator partners and their online series #SwipeNight.

4. Duolingo

Duolingo is a language learning app that has an actively engaged community on social media. They regularly post fan art, updating users on new features, and congratulating them along with every milestone. Another key takeaway from Duolingo is its consistent use of seamless branding. It’s hard to miss the green owl and brand colors.

Marketing your brand doesn’t have to be hard, whether it’s on social media or online. Check out these Wishpond articles on how you can improve and boost your app’s brand:

Best Art & Design Brands on Social Media

5. Art Basel

Art Basel is a well-known art magazine that highlights upcoming and famous artists in the art world. What makes Art Basel one of the best social media brands in art is that they translate their magazine writing style onto long-form captions and storytelling.

Long-form captions on specific social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram may seem impossible, especially when there’s a word limit involved. What they lack for in-text they make up for in content.

As a blogger or magazine, it can be hard to put a massive story in just a few words instead of video, GIFs, or Instagram Stories to tell your tale in long-form.

6. Juxtapoz Magazine

Juxtapoz Magazine joins our list of the best brands on social media with over one million Instagram followers and over thirty-three thousand subscribers on Youtube.

Juxtapoz Magazine has a niche audience. They provide graffiti, underground and experimental pieces from artists. Using it’s Youtube channel to share their story and keep their audience engaged. Around 80% of people who said they watched a YouTube video related to a product and not to mention YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine and second most visited site after Google.

7. The Futur

The Futur has a massive multi-platform influence in the art and design industry. Creatives make the best content, but what makes them so memorable is that they’ve mastered making education content exciting, engaging, and eye-catching with the help of branding. What sets them apart is their powerful branding in their content. It allows followers to identify and connect with their brand easily.

8. Boooom

Boooom is an art community that thrives on its community. The Canadian based art brand showcases global arts & culture platforms fostering a community of tomorrow’s talent. They not only share content from well-known brands but thrive on sharing, tagging, and engaging with artists. When it comes to social media and being the best, it’s not always about sharing content but it’s also about striking up a conversation that drives people to engage.

For more on building a community around your brand, it’s important to focus not only on the content but also on engagement and community. Here are some helpful social media guides on driving engagement for your social media brand:

Best B2B Brands on Social Media

9. Salesforce

Salesforce is a well-known B2B software and app that helps companies manage, maintain, and grow sales. They win with social media by using branded content and video content. They share tips on how to master sales, solve problems, and, of course, how to get the most out of their software.

Often brands forget that social media is for being social, so hold off on the heavy self-promotion and start using your content to help and educate instead.

10. CISCO

Cisco is a B2B technology brand that provides connectivity for business. They use their social media to highlight their current customers and brands, making shifts in the tech industry.

They share the latest news, whether it’s directly related to their brand or discovered by someone else in the field. This social media strategy helps you keep your content flowing without figuring it all out on your own.

11. IBM

IBM doesn’t share the same post across all of their social media accounts. They’ve properly identified what each platform is best used for and created a strategy to ensure that they get the most out of each one of them.

12. Wishpond

What would a list of the best social media brands be without a little shameless plug on our own blog?

Wishpond provides content that helps business owners navigate through their DIY marketing strategy—using our social media platform to share “How to “guides, ebooks, and curated blog content.

Creating content and managing a B2B brand on social media can be challenging. You have to learn how to balance being professional yet approachable, not to mention the content structure is a tad bit different from that of B2C brands on social media.

Here are some social media guides explicitly made to help B2B brands like your own:

Best Beauty & Make-Up Brands on Social Media

13. Herbivore

Herbivore has an amazingly stunning social media account on Instagram. It’s visually stimulating, and a great example of how using creative product images can allow your brand to stand out against posts’ feed.

Here are eight types of social media marketing images all brands should use for your next post.

14. Sephora

Sephora is a major beauty and makeup brand that caters to make up lovers and skincare lovers. They have a massive following across all their social media platforms. This brand makes this list because their social media was a hub where professional, aspiring MUA’s and users can learn how to do the most complex or simple makeup tips.

Youtube isn’t the only place that social media users are going to for tutorials, IGTV and Facebook are also a hub for DIY content and product information. Ensure that when you do post tutorials or videos that they fit the social media platforms requirements.

15. Harry’s

Harry’s Instagram page is a sparkling example of answer comments on social media. Responding to social media comments can improve your social media presence. Whether the comments are good or not customers expect fast customer service on social media, but how fast?

Most likely, they expect a response in a shorter period than you would think. Around 42% of customers complaining in social media expect a 60-minute response time.


16. Fenty Beauty

Fenty has gotten into the good graces of social media users with their stunning UGC and influencer content. Afterall 84% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is successful.

Influencer marketing works because people trust influencers. Around 65% of people discover a new brand or product through an influencer at least once a week (24% say they find one daily!)

Best eCommerce Brands on Social Media

17. J Crew

J Crew has mastered Pinterest to push sales on their latest sales and collection launches. It’s an active hub of pins, sales, and instant updates on everything J Crew

Pinterest has grown as a rising contender to Instagram when it comes to social selling. Pinterest is listening to the needs of their business users and continuously adding better functionality for you and your business marketing.

18. Shien

Shein has grown it’s social media with a healthy content mix. A content mix is using more than one type of content on your social media pages or website.

You want your content to strike the right balance between being informative and entertaining while also making sure it supports a larger company strategy. With the right content mix, you can accomplish just this and more.

19. Forever21

Has always found its name on the list of the best brands on social media because it’s consistent in providing content its followers love. It’s also a great profile to watch seamless CTAs in your social media captions.

CTA is a call-to-action that you want customers to take once they engage with your content. This can be as simple as “Shop now” or “Click the link in the bio.”

20. MissGuided

Missguided shows brands how to use branded hashtags to track, increase, and show off their social media mentions. A branded hashtag aren’t just for big brands, as long as you’ve got an Instagram account, you can create a branded hashtag with your business name, slogan or after a contest or marketing campaign.

At Wishpond, we know how hard it is for eCommerce brands to master social media. It’s not just posting product images but using it as a main pillar of your marketing strategy. So we created a few guides to help eCommerce owners with social media:

Best Entrepreneurship Brands on Social Media

21. Inc Magazine

Inc Magazine’s social media page is an entrepreneur’s go-to for the latest in business, tech, and industry developments. They’re also one of the few Instagram pages that use long-form captions to share details and interviews. Usually, visual platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram aren’t popular for long forms of captions.

However, over the years, Instagram seems to be slowly accepting this statement. Magazines have now made use of the 1000+ characters that Instagram provides. The key, ensure that your first line hooks your readers in, as such, the same rules of copywriting apply. Use them wisely, and you’ll see engagement.

22. Hustle and Deal Flow

Hustle and Deal Flow was created by Matt Gottesman is a podcast/blogging brand that’s aim is to allow entrepreneurs and experts to share their tips and experiences.

On Instagram, IGTV is their main distributor of content, interview, and engagement. Instagram announced that IGTV videos’ views have skyrocketed across the board, increasing by ~300-1000%, providing a strong indicator that IGTV isn’t dead yet.

For more on IGTV, check out our guide on The complete guide to IGTV dimensions & best practices you need.

23. Huffington Post

Huffington Post quickly pivoted online and took hold of social media faster than long-standing household names. It’s a consistent pivot to be agile in social media has proven how important it is to always keep up to date with the latest news and social media trends.

24. Foundr

Foundr is the go-to resource for helping today’s entrepreneurs build tomorrow’s leading businesses. They’re popular across all social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

They use influencers and their community to share their stories and social media following, proving that you can showcase your products and services to an audience willing to buy and connect with you with the right influencers.

For more tips on how to market your brand as an entrepreneur, check out the articles below:

Best Fashion Brands on Social Media

25. Vogue Magazine

IG LiveVougue regularly uses Instagram Live to showcase projects, runaway shows, and photoshoots of the latest fashion trends and designers. Vogue’s IG live allows followers to have a live and first-hand experience with fashion week activities making them the source for fresh and up to date content.

Instagram Live is an awesome avenue to explore if you have the fanbase to do it. It’s a great way to interact with your followers on a more personal level. If you’re interested in using IG Live, check out our guide on How to Run an Instagram Live Marketing Campaign: The Complete Walkthrough.

26. Repeller

Formally known as Man Repeller, Repeller is an Instagram that highlights the odd and beautiful fashion. They curate content created by the rising talent and beloved brands. Their community of followers is die-hard advocates for the brand. All this from years of nurturing and building a brand community on social media.

Having countless followers might be something to aspire to, but it’s all about the loyalty that you build with followers that matters the most. Repeller actively engages and invites its followers to be a part of its ongoing content and contributors, giving followers a sense of belonging and ownership in the brand. Remember, it’s called social media for a reason.

27. The Cut

The Cut makes out the list with its amazing use of fashion and pop culture memes. Earlier, we spoke about how meme marketing has become the norm, and now brands of all industries can benefit from its positive effects. After all, meme marketing is a low-cost way to create engaging content that professional marketers, creative pro’s, and even entrepreneurs can stand by.

For professional storytellers—digital marketers, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and creative pros—meme marketing can be an extremely low-cost way to create engaging content that attracts a following.

28. BOF (Business of Fashion)

The Business of Fashion is another fashion magazine that has used social media to help boost their readership. They’re active across all their social media platforms. They use long-form captions and video content to share their updates and stories.

Best Fitness Brands on Social Media

29. Aria Crescendo

Aria is a yoga teacher, and mom and her content say it all. It’s no surprise that most of her audience are mom’s who love yoga and her brand sponsor is a yoga clothing line. Try to stick to your niche, whether it be yoga, kickboxing, weight training, or even martial arts. A niche is what followers use to decide if a fitness brand is perfect for them.

30. GymShark

Social media isn’t only for posting content but showing off and promoting your in-person events. GymShark has mastered fitness when it comes to social media. Often they’ll host pop-up gyms with famous influencers in the area hosting challenges and showing workouts.

Sharing social media via events helps to build anticipation for your next event and allows your followers to see the recap if they missed it. You can either go live during the event or publish a video recap like GymShark did below:

31. Kayla Itsines

One of the biggest mistakes some fitness accounts make: posting more about being fit rather than showing followers how to get fit. Share your workout routines on social media for followers to try. People aren’t just following because of your looks. They want to see the work that goes on behind your success.

32. Taylor Hill

Fitness Influencer Taylor Hill goes live during her workouts to show her fans how it’s done. She actively is in motion, whether it’s going live, using a gif, or sharing stories on her page.

Here’s a quick tip: at the end of your Instagram live, save it to your story and add fitness hashtags, stickers so that Instagram users that follow these hashtags can discover your content.

If you’re a fitness brand or influencer, below are some social media guides you should start using to increase your following today:

Best Food & Restaurants Brands on Social Media

33. Ubereats

Ubereats shines when it comes to eye-catching food images and content made for hashtag holidays. “Hashtag holidays” have found a permanent place in your customers day to day and should be acknowledged. The biggest hurdle that social media and content marketers have is to churn out new content ideas for your brand.

Social media holidays break up that monotony and allow you to step outside the box with new content ideas to post on your social media platforms.

34. Red Lobster

Red Lobster is known for its endless shrimp and biscuits, but it’s also known for its mouth-watering pictures on social media. The attention to detail and food layouts make their content shareable and market their deals and menu.

Foodies follow restaurants on social media because of the great food content. It’s also the images of your food that sets apart from other brands online. SO take time to invest in your brand’s social media photography and content.

35. Dominos

Instagram is ideal for humanizing your restaurant brand. Food photos are great, but people really want to connect with your brand, so humanize your restaurant by sharing real-life photos and videos of the real-life people who work in your restaurant.

Dominos shows off its delicious pizza toppings, but they also show off the people who enjoy and endorse the brand well.

36. Buzzfeed Tasty

Buzzfeed Tasty is a mouth savoring YouTube channel that provides easy to make and fun DIY recipes. Tasty has over a million followers on Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter. But before they branched out on other social media platforms, Youtube was their home base.

What you can learn from Tasty is, apart from cooking, that consistency is key when it comes to content and growing your social media content.

For more ways on how to use social media to grow your food brand or restaurant, check out our niched social media guides to help you do just that, and then some:

Best Hotel Brands on Social Media

37. Protea Hotel

When it comes to a hotel’s social media, visuals speak louder than your captions. Protea Hotel captures its beautiful hotel with images giving followers a 360 outlook on what they can expect before they reach the hotel. They use their social media profile to share experiences and moments to attract new customers all year round.

38. Castleknock Hotel

Castleknock Hotel is a rising brand on social media you should be following. With it’s insta-worthy UGC content and persuasive captions, it’s a hotel where you can learn a thing or two.

Castleknock proves that hotels need social media as an important asset to their marketing strategy as it grows a loyal following that’s willing to share and engage with them regularly on social media.

39. Loews Hotels

Loews Hotels marketing team created an Instagram Story series called Travel Tuesdays. Every Tuesday they share and save stories that feature fun destinations surrounding the hotel displayed like a virtual scrapbook. Viewers learn about popular tourist attractions along with local trivia and special offers from the brand.

Marketing your hotel doesn’t have to be hard, whether it’s on social media or online. Check out these Wishpond articles on how you can improve and boost your hotel’s brand presence:

Best Real Estate Brands on Social Media

40. Allison L. Chiaramonte

Allison is a popular real estate agent that uses Instagram to share listings and educate her buyers. By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017. Don’t get left behind; start recording some videos.

Not only is using video an essential part of any marketing plan, but social media posts with video have 48% more views than static images. The more views your listing has, the greater it’s chance to catch a potential buyer’s eye.

41. Priscilla Izumi | Realtor

Priscilla Izumi is a popular Bay Area Influencer who is a real estate social media rockstar. She has an active and growing following of buyers and sellers who look to her for real estate wisdom.

New sellers and buyers are always hesitant to take the first step because they’re afraid of following bad advice; that’s where you come in, with your amazing real estate tips. Think of fun and educational real estate infographics that you can share on Instagram.

42. Century 21

Century 21 has been around before social media existed. Over the years, the company has adapted and now has one of the best real estate brands on social media. They highlight their top agents and showcase their community of realtors on Instagram and their “Relentless Podcast”.

As a rule, they recreate their podcast episodes into a series of published content on Instagram, either as gifs, quotes, video snippets, or engagement posts and IG stories. Doing this helps them to make the most out of their brand and content team.


For more using social media as a real estate brand or realtor, check out these real estate marketing guides and articles below:

Best Travel Brands on Social Media

43. Airbnb

Airbnb is known for its captivating images of user-generated content, in fact, almost all of Airbnb’s social media content is UGC. The only time you’ll see something fully branded from Airbnb is in its ad campaigns.

44. Expedia

Expedia is another travel brand on social media you should add to your watch list as it’s also mastered sharing UGC from travelers. They also work with wanderlust influencers by reposting their best adventures using Expedia as their booking and travel agent.

45. Travel + Leisure

Each post speaks more about the customer, their mission, and the results of supporting the community that surrounds them.
Scroll through each post, and Travel + Leisure services are never really mentioned—only the customers they serve. When a brand is more social rather than selling, people are more likely to buy from them as they’ve become a solution and brand that they’ve invested in overtime.

The Ingredients for Good Social Media

These brands have mastered social media basics and have simply elevated and consistently recreated these basics over the years.

From each brand you could see that they had two or more of the following:

  • Creating content that their target followers would love (even if it excludes the brand)
  • Crafting eye-catching captions
  • Using branded and popular hashtags
  • Being consistent across all social media platforms
  • Creating content that fits the social media platform
  • Using influencers or user-generated content
  • Using the latest trends in social media, for example, IGTV and video content.

Which brand caught your eye on this list? What brands do you think should have been added? Comment below and let me know.
I’d love to hear from you.

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