Social Media Presence: Brands Killing It On Social Media
Full disclosure – social media isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for brands. Some use it as a direct line to e-commerce, but others use it as a digital canvas to showcase their brand identity. Some use it to build a reputation, and others use social media to establish their unique brand personality. In short, a strong social media presence means different things to different brands.
So, before you dive into the world of likes and shares, the key question to ask is: What is your objective? What do you hope to achieve with your channels, and what are your resources and timelines? If you’re looking for inspiration to answer these questions, you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve curated a list of brands that are absolutely killing it on social media. From their unique content types to their post formats and their ability to forge an emotional connection with their audience, each brand has its own strength. This blog is an exploration of those unique traits and the valuable lessons you can learn from them to build a robust social media presence of your own.
Why Your Social Media Presence Can Make or Break Your Brand
First things first, let’s understand why social media presence is non-negotiable today!
1. Social media influences a majority of purchase decisions. With nearly 90% of consumers depending on social media to make purchase decisions, a well-crafted social media presence is crucial. So, if your brand isn’t active or providing helpful content, you’re missing out on a significant chunk of your potential customers.
2. Social media helps with brand discovery. Data shows that about 58% of consumers use social media as a reliable channel to discover brands. So, overcoming any challenges you might face and marching ahead steadily with your social media presence helps.
3. When it comes to building brand loyalty, social media has a huge impact. Studies show that about 71% of customers who have a good experience when interacting with a brand on social media and get prompt responses tend to trust and recommend the brand.
4. Social commerce is growing steadily. For instance, nearly 58% of users on TikTok have accessed TikTok Shop for their purchasing needs. Additionally, nearly 26% of them have transacted through the platform and made a purchase. But social commerce needs a strong and purposeful social media presence to begin with.
5. A strong social media presence helps boost SEO. In addition to bringing more organic traffic to your website, a social media strategy boosts your content visibility and strengthens your brand’s online presence on the whole. Eventually, this leads to a better SEO performance in the long run.
To sum up, social media is no longer a channel to merely boost visibility or to promote products. It can be so much more. It all boils down to how you make it work for your brand and for your marketing strategy. With the right plan of action, there are plenty of benefits to reap.
6 Brands With Strong Social Media Presence & What To Learn From Them
1. GoPro
Renowned action camera brand GoPro’s social media presence is all about turning customers into storytellers and brand advocates. Instead of creating posts about their products, they let their customers do the talking. This is undoubtedly a brand that has nailed the art of user-generated content on social media.
Not polished content or staged Reels but real photos and videos shared by actual GoPro owners. But how does GoPro achieve this? Through regular shoutouts to creators and adventurers sharing their GoPro content, and through themed contests and awards.
Their photo and video challenges allow users a chance to get featured on the GoPro social media pages and also reward them with cash rewards and GoPro gear. This strategy shifts the focus from the brand broadcasting to the community expressing itself.
KIMP Tips:
So, what are some key takeaways from GoPro’s social media presence?
- Incentivize participation and engagement. Whether it’s a social media shoutout, monetary rewards or freebies, incentivizing contributions encourages more people to share.
- Work on a strong hashtag strategy. Hashtags do not work the way they used to. So curate branded hashtags and relevant memorable hashtags for your campaigns and challenges like GoPro’s unique hashtags – #GoProYourSummer #GoProTravel etc.
2. National Geographic
National Geographic’s social media presence across platforms like Instagram, X, and YouTube is a masterclass in how education can drive engagement. The first thing you notice on their pages is the breathtaking visuals featured. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll observe the themes they delve into, the detailed educational captions, supporting content shared through videos, and long-form content they use to educate and engage their audience consistently.
Here’s an Instagram post from National Geographic, for instance. Evidently, the brand leads on with intriguing facts that evoke curiosity and provide users with useful information.
Unlike brands that rely purely on aspirational lifestyle content, National Geographic’s social media presence serves a dual purpose: it builds authority while fostering a sense of wonder that allures the audience.
KIMP Tips:
- Pair visuals with meaningful content. Focus on all the essential elements that make up a shareworthy Instagram post, like a caption that builds on the visual, relevant hashtags, mentions, useful themes and more.
- Social media is not always about chasing trends. National Geographic is the perfect example – its strategy is rooted in a clear, consistent mission – to educate, inform, and inspire.
3. Patagonia
Social media presence, as we established earlier, means different things to different brands. But that’s not all – the approach changes depending on what channel we’re talking about. For instance, when a brand is working to strengthen its YouTube presence, the strategies need to be different from the brand’s approach to strengthening its Instagram presence. Patagonia is one of the brands that has understood this assignment clearly and executed it effectively.
Patagonia understands that each social media channel has its own language and audience behavior. They don’t simply cross-post content. Instead, they tailor the content to maximize its impact.
On Instagram, Patagonia leans into storytelling that appeals to the adventure-seekers. Additionally, they keep their audience engaged with behind-the-scenes content that builds the brand’s credibility.
In contrast, their YouTube channel is more product-focused with clear demo videos that help remove last-minute confusion when purchasing a product. Functional, no-fluff videos like these are currently the most common ones on their channel.
KIMP Tips:
- Understand search intent. Users search for different things with different goals on different channels. For instance, YouTube is where people find useful information regarding a product, including demos and reviews. Whereas product discovery might happen on other channels, like Instagram. A clear understanding of search intent helps you curate the right type of content for the right channel.
- Connect through shared values. Patagonia is known for its purpose-driven marketing and its messaging across diverse channels cohesively capture this.
4. Auntie Anne’s
Talk about aesthetic Instagram grids – Auntie Anne’s Instagram page is one of the best examples. The brand known for its hand-rolled pretzels has a consistent and aesthetically impressive social media presence.
To begin with, their consistent and apt use of brand colors in their videos and static image posts sets the stage for a cohesive experience. Scroll through their feed, and you’ll notice that every image, whether it’s a close-up of a pretzel, a seasonal promotion, or a lifestyle shot, feels part of the same story. The bold lettering and signature yellow-and-blue palette are everywhere, creating a sense of familiarity that builds trust and keeps the brand top of mind.
In addition to visually immersive posts, Auntie Anne’s also regularly shares behind-the-scenes glimpses and snapshots of live activations to ensure that there’s always something fresh for the audience to look forward to.
KIMP Tips:
- Keep your visual language simple but consistent. Having a signature visual style helps you connect with your audience effectively. This helps your audience instantly identify your brand even without seeing your profile handle.
- When it comes to Instagram presence, plan your grid. A consistent use of brand colors is good, but that’s not enough. Plan your content and your grid layout in advance so that the posts that appear next to each other work cohesively and do not clash with each other.
5. Airbnb
Airbnb’s social media presence is not just about showcasing listings and dreamy shots of travel destinations. It is more about sharing experiences that invite people to visualize their next vacation. To achieve this, Airbnb relies on storytelling to create emotional connections and turn travel dreams into relatable moments that feel more tangible.
The highlight here is that with all its posts, Airbnb focuses on the people as much as it focuses on the places. This helps humanize the brand and its content. The posts highlight the people, cultures and stories behind every stay.
You’ll find posts featuring families cooking together in a rustic cabin or solo travelers finding solace in a dreamy offbeat travel location. To top it off, the brand also integrates descriptive and clear captions that build on the story portrayed. This makes followers feel like they’re part of a larger community of explorers, not just customers.
Additionally, the brand is also quick to respond to situations and their reactive marketing approach works particularly well on social media. Like its free emergency housing solution during floods.
Our hearts are with everyone affected by the devastating floods in central Texas.https://t.co/AlJ3K6ZJhq is providing free, emergency housing for displaced residents and first responders, in partnership with @AllHandsHearts and local officials.
— Airbnb (@Airbnb) July 7, 2025
Get or give help:… pic.twitter.com/Udh3i5aNtI
KIMP Tips:
- Focus on the experiences. This works much better than focusing on the features and benefits of your products and services. The key is to show how your products or services solve a problem or make life simpler for your audience.
- Encourage community participation. User-generated content, real reviews, customer stories and content that puts customer experiences first connect better with other customers and make them feel like an insider.
6. Red Bull
Red Bull’s social media presence, particularly on TikTok, shows how well a brand can adapt to a platform’s energy while staying true to its core identity. The brand embraces the fast-paced nature of TikTok and regularly shares content that drives an adrenaline rush.
Over the years, the brand has associated itself with extreme sports, stunts, and adrenaline-filled moments, and on TikTok and other social media platforms, the brand blends these with trends, challenges, and user interactions.
The content looks native and the video clips are edited to suit the fast-paced vertical scroll of the platform. On the whole, the brand knows how to seamlessly blend into the platform while also carving a niche for itself.
The notable detail here is that the branding in all their videos is subtle. The focus is more on the users, the athletes involved and not on the brand itself. This makes these videos more resonant with thrill-seekers.
KIMP Tips:
- Let your brand personality shine through your social media presence. Do you want people to look at your brand as bold and rebellious or warm and welcoming or perhaps gentle or purpose-driven? Let each video and static image you share on your social media page build on this personality and make your brand relatable to the right audience.
- Keep it real. While polished visuals are great for digital ads and billboards, social media is not a place for staged content. Keep your content and the message real, raw and authentic. This makes the content feel native and easier to connect with.
Elevate Your Social Media Presence With Stunning Designs by KIMP
In short, the one thing to take away from all these brands killing it on social media is that it is all about understanding your audience, playing to your strengths and being consistent with how you show up. Whether it is through heartfelt stories like Airbnb or through high-octane content like Red Bull, what works on social media varies from brand to brand.
But yes, beyond these strategies, there is one thing common to all these brands and several others with a strong social media presence – catchy, consistent, on-brand design. So, it’s time to partner with a team that can make this happen. A team that can create engaging social media designs, a team that gives you the freedom to experiment, iterate and grow without limits.
No more waiting, no more bottlenecks, just smart, on-brand content whenever you need it. Ready to give your social media presence a makeover? Sign up for a KIMP subscription now!
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