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10 Brands to Follow on Social Media for your Visual Content Inspiration

By Xiklab Digital

Content is king, this phrase coined by Bill Gates in his essay in 1996 continues to be heard across the industry and true enough, it has been instilled in every content marketers mind. In this day and age when social media continues to evolve and is also becoming a very saturated landscape, brands need to find a way to stand out.

One effective way to market your brand on social media is through visual messaging. Humans are visual beings and as you may already know, we process visuals faster and impacts us longer than any other form of communication. For brands and businesses, visuals accompanied with a strategic social media marketing strategy will win you a lot of views and engagement. So, with this, allow me to change the first phrase of this article to Visuals are the true kings, as they sit rightfully and comfortably on their throne.

As an Art Director, I’m prone to creative blocks when I need to create visual content for social media. So, whenever I find myself in the art limbo, I find inspiration through other brands that have great visual content.

That being said, I’ve come up with a list of pages across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tiktok you can follow for your inspiration in visual content creation:

Oreo

The world’s best-selling cookie owns the visual content marketing game on social media. The cookie is so versatile, that they are able to do it so creatively and extensively. The ingenuity of the brand shows when they use a trending topic or event and incorporate their cookie into it’s from pop culture, relevant and important occasions, like political events. This is what makes Oreo’s social media content fun and engaging.

Starbucks

Who would’ve thought coffee would be an interesting subject in a photograph? Well, Starbucks has managed to curate creative visuals in their social media pages. They always find a creative way to market their ever so visually-appealing frappuccinos and teavanas, by making the most out of them through visuals. They make good use of the platform and explore different content formats, from animated illustrations, boomerangs and stop-motions. They truly make sure to present their drinks not only for the sake of it, but to make them part of a bigger story.

Spotify

The way Spotify presents abundant amounts of data into eye-catching graphics is outstanding. Their use of typography is brilliant and really bold, it captures you instantly. Even their stylized covers of the artists and playlists are gorgeous enough for users to look at and make them listen to them more. They also create engaging content with, again, bold graphics, that rake in a lot of shares and reactions on social media.

Headspace

Headspace is a good example of a brand pushing inspirational content while being both amusing and uplifting. As a meditation and mindfulness brand, they make use of cute characters and pale hues to convey calmness and positivity. Their posts will surely give you a head start on your day.

GoPro

Since we’re talking about images, this action camera company posts some of the most thrilling photographs taken. They outsource their content from amazing adventurers around the world and make videos out of it, making a compelling visual story. Some of the photos and videos are spine-chilling if you’re not used to seeing some adventure-driven imagery. They cover a lot of extreme sports-related content, but what I love are the stunning landscapes they feature.

@magdashotel #wearebored ♬ Originalton - Magdas Hotel

Magdas hotel

This Hotel was able to make the most of Tiktok emerging as one of the bigger social media platforms. They used a trendy sound, and tied it into a lockdown context. Although they only have 8 videos, each video has a unique take on the same idea, while showcasing some of the amenities and services the hotel offers. On top of that, each video is short and fun which fits the platform well.

Sweet N Nice Ice cream

This Ice cream brand is a good example of how a brand can thrive on the platform without a big budget. Growing steadily from 10k to 160k followers over the past year, there’s no production team behind the tiktok videos, each video is simply funny, enganing, or uses a trend. They are a great follow to see how they execute their ideas and turn it into a fun video.

@sweetnniceicecream Ok what’s better for marketing? IG or Tiktok? 🍦 #familyrunbusiness ♬ original sound - Matthew Rincon

Samsung

Samsung is a great brand to follow on social media, because as a tech brand, they are always looking for the next big thing. They take their new products’ unique selling point and incorporate it into their ads. From a better camera to a more economic design phone, Samsung has a variety of features they build their content around and that makes it a great source of inspiration.

Burger King

Burger King is a particularly fun brand to follow. As a fast food brand they constantly post about new products. It’s fun to see how they introduce new items, or build hype for it. With their recent rebrand, they are also playing with more nostalgic visual elements which makes them stand out from fast food brands.

@mcdonalds

Mcdonald’s Tiktok

The golden arches have always had a good grasp on what makes them appealing. We’re looking at their tiktok specifically,because that platform works differently. As a brand, making a challenge trend is one way to boost your presence. Mcdonalds has been doing that with their different efforts like making a catchy beat users can create content with, or a call to action to duet a video about chicken sandwiches. McDonalds is being more experimental and off beat with their tiktok but it’s great to see such an iconic brand try new things.

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