Although the world has been evolving technologically for years, nobody could have predicted that 2020 would be the year to take over social media. As an influencer, brand, or a newbie taking to Instagram to learn a recipe or two, there is an incredible amount of new content with people at home online, more than ever before.
So, it’s no wonder that businesses are moving to influencer marketing to achieve their goals. Keep reading if you want to hear about how some of the most popular influencers of 2020 have grown their accounts and worked with brands this year.
Top 10 Instagram Influencers
When looking at Instagram influencers, it’s important to establish the difference between celebrities, and those that have grown their influence from the beginning on social media.
According to Heepsy, the top 10 Instagram influencers in 2020 are:
- Selena Gomez – @selenagomez
- Cristiano Ronaldo – @cristiano
- Kylie Jenner – @kyliejenner
- Kendall Jenner – @kendalljenner
- Leo Messi – @leomessi
- Billie Eilish – @billieeilish
- Tom Holland – @tomholland2013
- Jennie Ruby Jane – @jennierubyjane
- Lalisa Manoban – @lalalalisa_m
- Lili Reinhart – @lilireinhart
These Instagram influencers are considered celebrities because they are best known for a talent outside of social media, such as sport, music, or television. They have an immense reach due to their huge follower count, for example Selene Gomez at 200m.
However, we are instead going to take a look at a few of the many Instagram influencers in every industry that have grown their presence primarily through social media, and how using a platform to find influencers can be beneficial for a brands marketing.
Food
@mollyyeh
Molly Yeh is one of the foodies to look out for in 2021, with a noticeable 1.7% follower growth rate within the last four weeks alone. Raised in Illinois, USA, with a love for music, Molly pursued her instrumental career at the Juilliard School, gaining a degree with a Bachelor in Music. Alongside studying, a passion for food became evident as well as an interest in writing.
By October 2016, Molly had published her first book Molly on the Range: Recipes and Stories from an Unlikely Life on a Farm, and from here, her career took off. Molly has written several cookbooks and hosts a show on the Food Network, whilst growing her influential Instagram platform at a rapid rate throughout 2020, posting recipes and tips in the kitchen.
By taking a look at Molly’s follower evolution with Heepsy, we can see that she has had a steady increase, with a big rise in followers mid-2020. It’s no surprise that people are flocking to her account for delicious ideas to try whilst being stuck at home and will continue to do so heading into 2021!
Travel
@ournextflight
A travelling couple from Italy, Danilo and Ana have managed to maintain a constant follower growth percentage throughout 2020, even despite the travel restrictions imposed this year. Their huge follower climb came in 2019, but still within the last four weeks have gained a 0.9% increase in followers. The couple captures strikingly picturesque spots and lets their followers live their travel experiences with them.
Through their love for travel, the couple have not only visited many of the most beautiful countries, but have gained an impressive one million followers on their secondary Instagram account @living_destinations, where people can send in some of the most scenic destination pictures taken across the world. Even though being unable to travel this year, this highly engaged account has contributed towards the couples follower loyalty throughout the pandemic.
This amount of communication with followers not only builds a trusted relationship, but can explain the high engagement rate which we can see with Heepsy. By looking at engagement rates, @ournextflight has an audience that is clearly interested in their content.
Lifestyle
@jessiekass
Known as a lifestyle and fashion influencer, Jessie Chanes began blogging in 2011 and primarily growing her YouTube channel where she posted tutorials and style advice. Now with 317k followers on Instagram, she posts recipes, style ideas, home design tips and mommy advice, as well as continuing with her ever-popular blog Seams for a Desire.
Jessie has managed to grow her Instagram account even more throughout this year, helping to expand her audience into categories beyond those of her blog type. Although primarily fashion, she has taken a leap into travel, lifestyle and mommy content, having an impact on the growth of her follower count. This move has been taken at a favourable time, with so many followers this year being interested in at-home mommy tips, or home improvement ideas for the increased time that people are spending there!
Fitness
@blogilates
Cassey Ho is a fitness influencer on various social media platforms, with her interest in health and pilates in particular beginning in her teens. Her YouTube and Instagram accounts Blogilates are most well-known for pilates instruction, but she continues to grow her platforms with general fitness and nutrition content.
Through her incredible growth as a fitness influencer, Cassey has created her own activewear clothing brand and has won numerous awards as a young entrepreneur. Despite her early start as an influencer, her Instagram account continues to grow, with a 1.6% follower increase in the last four weeks.
Another one of the many features of Heepsy is being able to have a look at brand mentions on an account. When looking at one such as @blogilates, we can expect to find many more brand collaborations than with a much smaller account. Irrespective of the number of current collaborations, it is always a good idea to understand the type of companies that the influencer already works with, and the engagement that they have on this content to better understand how your brand can make an impact.
Conclusion
To sum up, although celebrities can be extremely influential on social media, as a brand, you will need to consider much more than just the follower count.
By making use of an influencer platform like Heepsy, you can better understand the data behind why these influencers are growing so fast, look at audience metrics, what to look for to spot fake influencers, and so much more!
About Heepsy
Heepsy is an influencer marketing platform that lets you search over 11 million Instagram and Youtube influencers. Use search filters to find the influencers you want, and analyze their profiles on the stats with our AI-powered analytics.
If you have any questions about the platform or would like to see how it works, feel free to book a demo. It’s completely free, and you choose the day and time that works for you. Our Sales team will give you a tour of the platform that is personalize to your brand, and answer any questions you might have.