Top IG Sponsored Posts of the Year (2020)
Creating engaging content is not easy. Creating paid content that is engaging is even more difficult. So in this issue of Creator Insights, we will be looking at all the top paid posts of the year and why they did so well.
For many brands working with a high-end creator can be very appealing given their massive audience but follower counts don’t always equal engagement, especially on paid content. So ROI (return on investment) can vary greatly from post to post. Why? Because the content doesn’t fit the creator’s normal style so it’s important that the creative direction of the campaign is in line with the creator. Other factors can play a role but what we like to call ‘creative resonation’ is key.
Here are the Top Sponsored Posts on Instagram in 2020 in terms of total likes…let’s dive in!
Top Post #5: Rose (Blackpink) + YSL — 5.05m Likes
Likes: 5.05m
Comments: 49.5k
Rose aka Roseanne Park, is a singer from the K-Pop group BLACK PINK. A number of K-Pop stars are considered beauty and fashion trendsetters so this collaboration made a lot of sense for the French luxury fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent.
Top Post #4: Charli D’ Amelio + Hollister — 5.09m Likes
Likes: 5.09m
Comments: 28.8k
For over a decade Hollister Clothing has been near the top of the teenage clothing food chain, so this collaboration was probably a pretty easy sell to get Charli and Dixie onboard. This was quite a long campaign stretching from July all the way to the holiday season in December with the D’Amelio girls posting over a dozen pieces of content. Overall the campaign generated over 23m total likes and was the Top Campaign of the Year! (which we detailed in Issue #1)
Top Post #3: David Dobrik + Gfuel — 5.35m Likes
Likes: 5.35m
Comments: 2.8m
Anything Mr. Dobrik touches lately has turned to gold ($100k Puzzle, Dobrick Pizza, etc) but this post had the trifecta combining Dobrik’s audience, giveaway format, and something everyone wants…Teslas. Giveaways, if done correctly (which we will dive into next issue), have been a key tactic for many creators to drive audience growth and increase engagement over the last couple of years. This post is the perfect example with 5.35m likes and a crazy 2.8m comments.
Top Post #2: Lisa (Blackpink) + Mac Cosmetics — 5.63m Likes
Likes: 5.63m
Comments: 79.9k
Lisa, real name Lalisa Manoban, from the K-Pop band Blackpink teamed up with Mac Cosmetics in this campaign. Once limited to just the Asian markets, current K-Pop bands like Girls Generation and Blackpink are currently giving the Kardashian’s a run for their money in the US fashion and beauty space.
Top Post #1: Selena Gomez — 5.63m Likes
Likes: 7.29m
Comments: 52.7k
This campaign shouldn’t come as a surprise at no. 1 given Selena Gomez’s 202m followers (currently 6th in the world) but what’s important to note here is the simplicity of the post. Simple picture + simple caption and 7.2m+ likes later its the number 1 sponsored post in 2020.
This wasn’t some elaborate photoshoot or taken on some remote island, it looks like it was taken with just an iPhone in her backyard. The Puma brand resonates with Selena’s audience and the simple nature of the photo made it look like content Selena would normally post.
Note: If you would like to see more of the Top Posts of Year, please leave us a comment!
