I’m sure you’ve seen Instagram posts on websites. For example, many webshops display branded Instagram feeds and UGC galleries to inspire and show social proof.
It’s easy to see why – social proof statistics reveal that 92% of consumers trust peer recommendations more than any other type of marketing and advertising. Also, consumers typically read at least ten online reviews before buying the product.
Therefore, brands invest in Instagram marketing to build a relationship with customers, increase awareness through brand and hashtag mentions, and eventually drive sales.
But so do their competitors and millions of other companies. Over one billion active Instagram users generate so many images, videos, Reels, and Stories that only a fraction of followers ever see your company posts.
To get more visibility and traction on Instagram, brands use three strategies:
- They pay to boost their organic content and create ads.
- They embed social media on websites and other digital services to grow followers and increase post engagement for their branded Instagram feeds.
- They run user-generated content campaigns, engaging their customers in sharing Instagram hashtags and social proof with others who might be interested in the brand’s products.
The first strategy is recommended for most businesses – the initial Instagram advertising budget can be relatively low. But just as companies have seen Instagram’s algorithm decrease organic visibility without warning, the advertising model is vulnerable to competition, cost increases, and technical changes in the Instagram feed, too.
The other two Instagram marketing strategies do not require deep pockets and are much more sustainable when Instagram’s feed and features keep changing over time. But you need to invest in content creation, build a relationship with your customers, and purchase tools to curate and display Instagram feeds on your websites and other digital platforms.
Blogs and small businesses might use the standard Instagram embed but most brands rely on tools like Flockler to curate the right content and show auto-updating Instagram hashtag feeds without much manual effort. With a few clicks, you can embed Instagram feeds on any website, application, email, and digital signage solution.
This blog post will show you how brands like Allianz, Philips, Mazda, WWF, and many more make the best use of their owned media and build engagement for their Instagram feeds.
15 brands showing Instagram on their website
Here are some of the most inspirational examples of brands showing Instagram images, videos, Reels, and Stories on their websites.
Allianz: Instagram feeds for the brand’s homepage
Philips: Employer branding on Instagram
Sohome: Shoppable Instagram and UGC galleries
Sony: Building a community for cinematography enthusiasts
GoPro: Influencer marketing on Instagram
Social Chain: Instagram feeds build brand image
Mazda: Instagram for press and PR
Worktop Express: Social proof for webshops
WWF: Hashtag campaigns for nonprofit fundraising
Romantik Hotels: The hospitality industry drives bookings via Instagram
Tampa Bay Lightning: Sports teams build fan engagement on social
CUBE: Webshops link products to Instagram feeds
Feros Care: Instagram hashtag contests to increase brand awareness
Opus Art Supplies: Building a community on Instagram
George Washington University: Engaging students and alumni on Instagram
Allianz: Instagram feeds for the brand’s homepage
Automatically updating social media feeds for websites are a fantastic way of ensuring your latest news reaches website visitors and keeps them engaged with your page longer.
Allianz is one of the thousands of happy Flockler customers showing their Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn posts directly on the homepage. On Instagram, Allianz’s Reels videos discuss cryptocurrencies, green energy, health technology, and many other megatrends affecting our long-term financial outlook.
Philips: Employer branding on Instagram
Employer branding on Instagram and other social media channels has become essential for company communications. Current employees often prefer social media over traditional channels, helping them stay up-to-date on the news and events. On the other hand, potential new joiners can learn more about the company culture and job opportunities – sometimes years before they are looking to switch jobs.
Philips has a fantastic example of an inspirational Instagram feed on the careers page. The dedicated Life at Philips Instagram account posts new content actively, and the Instagram slider widget on their website shows both company and employee posts.
Sohome: Shoppable Instagram and UGC galleries
Social commerce features help webshops reach targeted audiences on Instagram. Instagram images tagged with products make it easy for customers to explore new products in a visual way – and often, Instagram users won’t even need to leave the app to make the purchase.
But another trend of social shopping is on the rise, too. Shoppable Instagram galleries with consumer-generated content add social proof to webshops like Sohome. The Instagram hashtag feed with tagged products is a must-to-have for all e-commerce sites – we trust peer recommendations more than the branded content.
Sony: Building a community for cinematography enthusiasts
It’s rare that a consumer brand wouldn’t have an Instagram account. Instagram is a direct channel for brands to share inspirational images and videos with consumers, promoting their latest products.
But for Sony, Instagram is much more than an advertising channel. Their Sonycine Instagram account and related website foster a thriving community for filmmakers and cinematographers. With the help of Flockler, the Sonycine homepage shows a live-updating Instagram feed with easy access to the latest news.
GoPro: Influencer marketing on Instagram
Are you sponsoring any local sports stars, connecting with the most enthusiastic customers, or working with neighbourhood communities? Influencer marketing was born at the time of the first magazines, commercial radio, and TV and still belongs to the most effective marketing tactics.
GoPro is one of the brands investing in influencer marketing on Instagram. They sponsor athletes and social media influencers who use GoPro’s gear to capture thrilling images and videos and share them on social media feeds.
On their website, the GoPro Awards campaign shows a curated Instagram feed of influencer and customer-generated content. The Awards page invites anyone to submit their entry, and the best ones are rewarded with cash and product prizes.
Social Chain: Instagram feeds build brand image
Like any other communications channel, most brands use Instagram to build their brand image. Companies share their latest work and behind the scenes photos and communicate their core values through social media channels.
Social Chain is highlighted as one of the most successful social media agencies globally – they help brands capture the value of Instagram, TikTok, and other social feeds. Therefore, it doesn’t surprise that an Instagram feed grid is a key part of their website, too.
Mazda: Instagram for press and PR
Companies build a relationship with international and local journalists, and social media has become one of the key channels for news and PR distribution. In addition to events, press releases, and personal connections, social media helps to keep the company top of mind for journalists.
Also, many companies build a news hub for media and journalists to find the latest information in one place. Mazda’s Press pages are a perfect example – news and press releases are accompanied with social media feeds.
Worktop Express: Social proof for webshops
Before we purchase new products, we look for recommendations and reviews from others. Making your website's social proof visible and exceptional, builds trust and drives sales.
Webshops like Worktop Express show social proof on the homepage. Instagram on website at its best.
WWF: Hashtag campaigns for fundraising
Many new donors first find out about a charity on social media these days, and social feeds complement traditional fundraising channels like direct calls, mail, and in-person events.
WWF is one of the thousands of nonprofits using social media for fundraising. Their innovative Instagram hashtag campaigns like the yoga pose challenge promote animal rights with a touch of fun.
Romantik Hotels: The hospitality industry drives bookings via Instagram
Instagram is an effective marketing channel for almost any industry, but travel and hospitality businesses won’t exist without an Instagram feed. Whether travel organisations are active or not, customers mention location-specific hashtags and share their fantastic experiences at a holiday destination.
Romantik Hotels invests in their Instagram presence – it drives traffic and bookings. Instagram on the website? Of course!
Tampa Bay Lightning: Sports teams build fan engagement
Sports teams and their fans love Instagram.
Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League (NHL) engages fans in sharing photos and videos with the #BeTheDistantThunder hashtag. Hashtag campaigns are one of the best ways of building a community and increasing engagement on Instagram.
CUBE: Webshops link products to Instagram feeds
Sometimes Flockler customers ask if they can avoid website visitors leaving the site when they click Instagram embeds on their website.
One of the effective ways is to add CTAs linking to your relevant products and services. CUBE bikes webshop shows a fantastic example – their website team adds CTAs to posts featuring a certain product on their webshop.
Feros Care: Instagram hashtag contests to increase brand awareness
Does your company run Instagram hashtag contests?
With a bit of creativity, brands can tap into the customer community, kickstart a new social media channel, and work with influencers. Contests are relatively straightforward to organise, and they get shared a lot.
Feros Care’s 'Ask Gran Not Google' competition helps kickstart the TikTok presence. Together with influencers, their contest promoting intergenerational connections runs on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
With Flockler, marketers can gather content from Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, and more in one place. Here’s the list of supported social media sources.
Opus Art Supplies: Build a community on Instagram
Without our customers, we are nothing. We often hear that from company leadership in speeches and PR messages. But how many businesses are truly showing that daily?
Opus Art Supplies shows they value their customers. The virtual art galleries build a community on Instagram and their website.
In addition to social channels, customers can submit their artwork through embedded forms.
George Washington University: Engaging students and alumni on Instagram
We previously discussed the travel and hospitality sector and sports teams being primary examples of investing in Instagram and social media. Schools and universities are heavy Instagram users, too.
Social media enables them to connect with prospective students and their parents, make the first student year more manageable, and celebrate graduation. Not only that, it helps them to keep the alumni up-to-date and drive donations.
George Washington University is one of the hundreds of educational organisations showing Instagram on websites.
In conclusion – all these examples prove that Instagram marketing is definitely worth it! Stay persistent and focused and the results will come.
