Brand Spotlight: American Eagle

American Eagle is bringing Instagram to life, fully integrating the channel into its wider branding and marketing efforts. With a healthy mix of diverse content, American Eagle is a great brand for inspiration on how to get the most from Instagram. We looked at @americaneagle’s most engaging posts to drill down into what works for them, and what could work for you too.

Push Fresh, Timely Content

American Eagle does a great job staying relevant with timely posts in response to events, or new content based on what’s happening in store. This is important not only to keep your content fresh but to stay top of mind amidst a lot of noise in your followers’ Instagram feeds. Don’t inundate your followers with constant posts of your product — mix it up by sharing insight into your culture and how you connect with customers.

And that’s a wrap! Thanks for following along as we danced, sang and ate our way through #ACLFEST! Until next time…

A photo posted by American Eagle (@americaneagle) on Oct 11, 2015 at 8:01pm PDT

Let Advocates Take Over

Whether it’s employees or loyal advocates, it’s a good idea to change things up once in awhile and let another voice takeover. In the below example, AE had one of their in-house stylists take over the account for #fashionfriday to provide a personal, in-depth look into what’s going on in the NY store and show their followers AE from a different perspective.

Good morning! It’s me @Lbreneman, stylist at American Eagle,here for another round of #fashionfriday . Today I am covering fun events of the week here in the NY! Pictured above is the group of lovely models that we had at a “ringing of the bell ” ceremony at the New York Stock exchange ! @clarecirillo @moorechrisplz @cashelb @bridgetsatterlee @sakuraheffron @matthew_noszka @courtneyjamescj @spencerjamesn @lukeeisnerofficial #AEOstyle

A photo posted by American Eagle (@americaneagle) on Dec 4, 2015 at 6:03am PST

Thanks for following me today! Have a wonderful weekend everyone ! Until next time ! -@lbreneman #fashionfriday #nyc #AEOstyle

A photo posted by American Eagle (@americaneagle) on Dec 4, 2015 at 3:13pm PST

Highlight User Generated Content

American Eagle’s most engaging posts reflect brand and user generated content in pretty equal measure. The team has a good eye for spotting great images of outfits curated by customers and fashion bloggers. Sharing these offer a new source of fashion inspiration for their audience and shows just how much influential creators love the brand.

This weekend, get cozy in your #AEOSTYLE. #Regram @aspynovard.

A photo posted by American Eagle (@americaneagle) on Dec 12, 2015 at 7:47am PST

Diversify Your Stream

American Eagle isn’t afraid to create an identity on Instagram that isn’t directly related to or promoting its products. An example is their tie-in to national events, it seems they haven’t missed one of the delicious ‘national food’ days to get followers drooling.

Even though it’s December, we could always go for a scoop (or two). Happy National #IceCreamDay!

A photo posted by American Eagle (@americaneagle) on Dec 13, 2015 at 2:07pm PST

To Recap…

1. Stay on top of news that’s relevant to your audience – both inside and outside of your brand.

2. Regram inspirational photos shared about your brand to tap into a wider content source and build a community.

3. Think of ways to push the boundaries of Instagram content while remaining true to your brand.

Our analysis on inspirational Instagram brands is done through our analytics platform, Insights. To find out how to work with creators or monitor your own brand engagement on Instagram, send us a note or sign up today to try it out.