• Instagram is a great platform for pretty much any business. Even if it's not the best 'sales' channel for your industry, it's still a vital and powerful vehicle to establish yourself among the audience, communicate your message to them, and build a great reputation.
• But for all of this to happen you need to make sure that the content you put out on your Instagram account is actually worth looking at. Everyone knows this, yet not everyone implements it in real business world.
• Big brands like Tesla Motors, Starbucks, fashion houses and the like know the real value and importance of having an Instagram page that people can connect with and relate to. So the question here is, do you think your business can succeed in today's Insta world?

If a picture speaks a thousand words, your Instagram account is the photo album that communicates your brand’s story. As with all albums – wedding, travel, births, etc. - only your best images should make the cut and be on display.

Instagram was always developed to be a photo-sharing platform, meaning that quite often the message behind the picture will be overlooked by the end user. With this in mind, the key for brands to gain momentum is to stop worrying so much about words in the post and attract eyes to your page with captivating imagery.

As a designer, perspective, bold colours and the use of space stand out as the core ingredients to an attractive visual display. A handful of brands I admire are smashing their Instagram accounts with all three elements, so if imitation is a form of flattery, then start mirroring these posts ASAP!

Tesla Motors

With 3.8 million followers, Instagram isn’t just an afterthought for Tesla Motors. It’s a communication channel to inspire, motivate and drive its passionate audience to be proud of the brand and keep Tesla Motors in their minds.

Almost specialising in close up shots of steering wheels, navigation systems, wheel spokes and car badges, Tesla Motors manages to make everyday items seem sleek, sexy and premium. It takes both a trained and imaginative eye to photograph and capture products and put a new perspective on otherwise ordinary and mundane objects.

All their images are also carefully prepared to lighten, brighten and tighten shots before they’re uploaded. Blues are striking, reds are bold and whites are crisp. Compare a Telsa Motors post with one of your Instagram shots and look at the difference colour and perspective make on a product.

Frank Body

Product shots play an important role in this coffee brand’s Insta page, but the guys and girls behind these posts know their audience intimately. They know the balance between salesy product shots and humorous and empowering messages, and hone in on close ups wherever possible.

With a predominantly female audience, Frank Body keeps their images of women diverse - unafraid to show ‘the other side’ of the camera - cellulite, figures greater than a size 12 and women partying until all hours. It keeps it real while also offering a fantasy life of champagne, glitter cars and pink theatre rooms. The images used make great use of space, never overcrowding the shot, and they make people look at them twice, which in turn sparks engagement.

Tony Futura

For a page that pops off the screen, check out Tony Futura! The first thing you will notice is the colour – the vivid, effervescent colours remind me of a candy shop and I just want to delve deeper and deeper to see what’s in store. And trust me, I can and do spend hours on this page!

The next thing you will notice after the colour is the space in each picture. Usually the main image is smack bang in the middle of the design, surrounded with a bold yellow, pink or blue to fill in the space. Tony’s style is quirky and fun but simple and clean.

In addition to his designs, the clever copy alongside each post just tops off a crafty Insta account.

Brit and Co

As a media company celebrating creative women, @britandco shows how to own an Instagram page and really flaunt a message through design without overtly selling programs and products.

The social media team could easily go out and take photos at events and share inspiring women’s stories, but instead they celebrate community with fantastic design that sets them apart from other service brands.

With a strong but not overly saturating page of pinks and oranges, the page showcases its brand with motivating quotes, humour and every day accessories that women can relate to. Fonts are splashed across posts, and colours are enhanced to ensure posts stand out in your feed and make you want to like, tag and repost! It’s a fun page to explore and a great one to emulate if you share similar target audiences.

More Instagram

There are so many accounts I could share here, but I urge you to go spend a few hours exploring hashtags to inspire your next wave of Instagram marketing. A change in the right design direction can turn your Instagram account from just another channel to be active on to one that connects with people worldwide.