As a smart, independent business owner, you know that social media matters if you want to make a splash and drive interest to your physical or online store. Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, it’s possible that you still have fewer followers than that cat you like who wears cute jumpers.
Luckily, certain brands are bossing social media in ways the rest of us can only gawp at. By paying attention to what they’re doing, it’s possible that you, too, will start to rack up a little more interest. But who are the brands, and what can you actually learn from them?
# 1 – Nike
Queens don’t ask for permission.
Nobody rules the pitch like @alexiaputellas. pic.twitter.com/lMxUxuT03I— Nike (@Nike) March 18, 2025
Nike’s social media presence is so iconic by now that you probably knew they’d feature on this list as soon as you saw the title. Despite falling into Facebook silence back in 2018, Nike remains the most followed brand online, across an impressive 320 social media profiles, including a main Instagram account with 139 million followers!
Nike achieves this goal in a few different ways, including via campaigns that get fantastic engagement, like 2017’s ‘Breaking2’. However, Nike’s primary performance seems to come from collaborations that step away from direct product pitches.
Nike’s highest-profile collaborations are with sporting stars like Cristino Ronaldo, but the majority of their activity sees iconic athletes sporting their gear. This is a prime example of how brands can use collaborations to grow audiences and loyalty at a fast rate and is something you can definitely do within your own social media strategy via micro influencers or, if you’re feeling brave, more iconic names.
# 2 – Zoom
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, we’re going to the moon with this next brand’s social media presence. Zoom’s fast rise to fame during the lockdown days has led to social media followings of half a million fans across platforms like Facebook. But, why would people bother following a video conferencing brand? Because Zoom is zooming into the top spot when it comes to customer engagement.
Their focus on two-way social media communications makes them a great brand to follow and perfectly illustrates the importance of not only answering social media questions but also reacting to comments and even implementing suggestions. While this might sound like a long-winded approach, any brand can follow in Zoom’s footsteps by simply working with a digital marketing agency like Southmade, which can help with comprehensive customer engagement strategies that are sure to drive social connections.
# 3 – Starbucks
Starbucks is big on socials, and now has over 69 million followers across platforms, including 18 million Instagram followers.
They achieve these high levels of interest in several ways, including user-generated content like Nike, and customer engagement like Zoom. More iconically, however, Starbucks uses social media to promote its greatest employees. As well as highlighting in-house specialist skills and knowledge, this significantly boosts brand loyalty as customers can see, and are sure to appreciate, that Starbucks is a truly great employer and, in turn, a brand worth trusting.
Struggling to make social media stick? Take a lesson from these brands to finally boost your following.
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