Are you looking for new Instagram accounts to follow?
Are you sick of seeing photos of the latest meal or selfie and want to change up your feed?
Here are 5 Instagram Accounts to send you down the Rabbit Hole of Awesome Visual Content (and some takeaways to apply in your business). WARNING: Once you look at one image, you just won't be able to stop..
When writing this post I knew there would be a risk. A risk to my time.
Because even though I looooove these top instagram accounts, I know that just taking a look at them will send me down the rabbit hole.
It's a good rabbit hole in terms of seeing what is possible with instagram (and for entertainment purposes)… but I find it very hard to take a look at just one image.
Are you with me? Ready to jump in (the rabbit hole?).
Let's do it!
#1 YoYoHa
Josh Hara aka YoYoHa had me scrolling through his images and straight down the Rabbit Hole when I first discovered his Instagram account. His posts caught my attention, and I am sure, now, yours too:
Josh draws his life observations in cartoons on large coffee cups. It's simple, fun, engaging and his talent is definitely attracting a huge following…
A little coffee humour:
Coffee saves lives. Most notably the other lives in the room. #100CoffeeCups A photo posted by Josh Hara (@yoyoha) on
And with his unique comics, the morning “coffee-strip” is now a “thing”…(if you are a follower of the podcast Serial you will get what this image is about, if not, well, that show is another Rabbit Hole that will hook you in, so be warned!).
The Serial finale made one thing perfectly clear… #100CoffeeCups #Serial A photo posted by Josh Hara (@yoyoha) on
One thing is for sure, he definitely makes you think about life with his quirky, well-illustrated observations:
Your Takeaways: Find something that resonates and be consistent with it. If you don't have the creative ability to draw awesome illustrations on coffee cups, then maybe do something that you can do well.
Can you film video clips of you telling your fans a tip? Do you have a unique way of taking photos? Could you take one of your products and make it the “hero” of your images (see #4)?
Whatever it is, having consistency can result in the type of Instagram profiles that attract fans to check out your images…regularly…and comment.
And Double tap. And tell their friends.
#2 Lauren Bath
I first met Lauren 2 years ago when we were both speaking at a tourism conference together. She told me she had just become the first “professional” full time Instagrammer in Australia after moving from a career as a chef into self-taught photographer and quickly finding a loyal following on Instagram.
It was a wise career choice. At the time Lauren had a massive following and was an early adopter (and early infleuncer). Since that time, she has reached almost 370k followers.
Lauren not only works with some of the world's biggest tourism organisations on visual campaigns, but she also recruits respected instagrammers and influencers to join her as part of her services.
There is no doubt that Lauren's images will draw you down the rabbit hole, but the photos she features can teach us all a thing or two about what works on Instagram.
Lauren uses a lot of “leading” lines in her images … they lead you in… down the rabbit hole:
Lauren also posts a lot of images of cute animals because… well, because cute animals. As Lauren says “There's no getting past it, adorable animals get the likes”.
Sunrises and sunsets also bring the goods according to Lauren:
Ah-MAY-zing people shots…
Or in some cases, leading lines, bold colours, sunrise, and striking landscapes are all thrown into the mix!
Lauren may be a professional photographer but there is a lot to learn from her images that you can apply to your own instagram account.
Your Takeaways: Even if you are posting images of your “life” around your business, your team or taking us on a behind-the-scenes-peek, there is a lot you can apply from Lauren's skills to your own shots:
- if you are out and about, capture the day at times when you know you will get a great shot – everyone loves a sunset or sunrise on Instagram.
- Cute animals are loved. If you don't have native animals in abundance, it's amazing how the antics of a pet can catch attention.
- Keep an eye out for leading lines… you would be surprised where you can find them – anything in your environment that leads the eye in with lines is a “leading line”. Use them to your advantage.
- Use bright, bold colours in your shots. They are all around you, so use them when documenting the people and the life behind your business. Be bold and be bright!
- Lauren posts just 1 or 2 great photos every day unless she is on location, then she may occasionally post more. She is a big advocate for posting quality shots. Just because you are not a professional photographer, doesn't mean you can't still be wary of picking your “better” content to post, especially as your Instagram following grows.
#3 Zach King (The Final Cut King)
If there ever was a King of the Rabbit Hole, Zach should be crowned with that title. I have written about his profile before and you can listen to a great podcast interview with him Zach here.
Zach creates just-can't-seem-to-stop-watching short videos that use cool special effects. Each one is about a simple daily life scenario, but they are super clever and engaging and will have you saying “I'll just watch one more then I'll get back to work”.
There is no other way to introduce Zach than by watching one of his short videos:
…so that you can then just… watch… one…. more, then one more then… oops. Rabbit Hole!
The thing that I like about Zach is that he shares some of his best short videos on Instagram and on YouTube but so cleverly drives traffic back to his website, where he shares tutorials about how to create video special effects.
Your Takeaways: You don't have to be a video special effects “King” to create something awesome with short video on Instagram. See how engaging video can be on this platform? Try these:
- Give a short “snippet” or observation about life – either via a quick screen capture of you or filming something with a voice overlay. What can you say to your audience that will help or inspire them in a short video? There have been entire movie previews shown in on Instagram video in less than 60 seconds, so I am sure you can come up with something! Not sure how to edit? Start using a user friendly in-phone editing tool like Videohance.
- Use your phone to give a quick behind the scenes tour. Or use a tool like Hyperlapse to speed up the video.
- Are you unveiling something, unboxing something or revealing something cool? Film it and load it up to Instagram!
#4 Frank Body
If you have ever heard of the term “sex sells” then the team at Frank Bod know how to leverage it. The opening line on their website is “Hey Babe, Tell Me Where You're From”.
Instantly, “Frank” is a person, a hot guy, not just a coffee body scrub. Using this persona, the Frank Body team have rounded up a HUGE following on Instagram, keeping a very consistent message from Frank about his coffee scrubs for their target market.
The fact that two of the founders have a copywriting company shines through in their ability to bring “Frank's” voice through the entire company and especially on the Instagram account:
The Internet = pictures of babes holding things. #letsbefrank A photo posted by frank body (@frank_bod) on
They embrace the fact that Frank body scrub (which is made from coffee grounds and other scrummy natural products) makes you look dirty.. and play on that theme in a cheeky way.
Let's be Frank, there are shots of models, and fans in various stages of undress on the Instagram account. Various body parts covered in Frank body scrub is a big part of this account, but then again it is a company that celebrates the naked body and the product itself does require you to be in your own skin to use it!
As the Frank_Bod Instagram account has grown, Fans have been actively encouraged to share their experience with Frank, so to speak. User Generated content (images posted and tagged by fans) is a huge part of the profile on Instagram… and it's not just the girls:
Your Takeaways:
- Think about how you can create user-generated content. How can you encourage your fans to post images that are relevant to your profile – that you can then post or share to your account. What hashtag can you claim as a way of building a community around those images?
- Be cheeky – Instagram is a social media profile that allows you to have fun. So have fun with it!
- Be consistent with your brand. Your product might not necessarily need to have a “persona” like Frank but it does have to have a personality! What is your brand's personality? From the branding colours to key messages to the type of posts you want to put out, what are you wanting to showcase on Instagram? Use Frank Body's success as a great example of how you can be super-consistent with your message, and how a simple, consistent way of posting can really resonate with fans and help you to grow a big following.
#5 Rachel Ryle
I keep posting about Rachel Ryle but when it comes to going down the Rabbit Hole, she takes the cake for me.
Whenever I catch one of her posts, minutes later I have watched a half-dozen. It is, literally a little like doing an “Alice in Wonderland” down this Rabbit Hole.
So… let's let the visuals do the talking:
Now I need a coffee! And what about this quirky little ViewMaster piece:
Your Takeaways:
Ok, I admit it, most of us will never be as creative as Rachel, and I'm kinda glad she has the whole stop-motion-animation thing cornered! But you can take some lessons from her creativity:
- Short video works on Instagram (and on Facebook). It catches attention and gets views. Think about how you can use other mediums, not just face-to-camera to capture your message. Could you write something and film it or could you use a tool like Adobe Voice to create a short animated voice over?
- What about trying “stop motion” yourself? Check out this super cool stop motion video produced by the team at My Kids Time and shared on Facebook. They are not “stop motion experts” but they had an idea and decided to capture it in video using simple tools available on an iphone, like Stop Motion Studio. Can you use the tools around you (or the toys, like the team at My Kids Time) to create something that captures the attention of your fans?
Hello? Are you there? Did you escape from the Rabbit Hole?
If you have crawled your way out, I would love to hear what you think about these Instagram Accounts and what, if any, of the takeaways resonated with you. Please leave a comment below!
Donna Moritz
