On the Run: adidas Berlin Marathon 2025 Campaign
Bold New Look for Freunde von Freunden
Decoding German Gen Z for Hinge
On the Run: adidas Berlin Marathon 2025 Campaign
Bold New Look for Freunde von Freunden
Decoding German Gen Z for Hinge
On the Run: adidas Berlin Marathon 2025 Campaign
Bold New Look for Freunde von Freunden
Decoding German Gen Z for Hinge
On the Run: adidas Berlin Marathon 2025 Campaign
Bold New Look for Freunde von Freunden
Decoding German Gen Z for Hinge
On the Run: adidas Berlin Marathon 2025 Campaign
Bold New Look for Freunde von Freunden
Decoding German Gen Z for Hinge
On the Run: adidas Berlin Marathon 2025 Campaign
Bold New Look for Freunde von Freunden
Decoding German Gen Z for Hinge
Instagram remains the most important platform for fashion and beauty brands. With over 3 billion monthly active users and one of the highest purchase intent rates of any social media platform, Instagram is where brand perception translates into buying decisions (Source: Meta, September 2025).
As a social media agency in Berlin, we develop Instagram strategies that go beyond beautiful feeds. We combine aesthetic standards with data-driven performance, for brands like Hugo Boss, Bumble, and Goldwell that don't just want to be present on Instagram, but relevant.
Instagram has evolved from a photo-sharing platform into a complete marketing ecosystem. Reels, Stories, Carousels, Guides, Shopping, Broadcasts. Each format has its own logic and its own audience.
Instagram in numbers (2025):
Instagram is shifting: users now actively tune their feeds, removing topics and telling the algorithm exactly what they want to see. Content that does not earn retention simply disappears, regardless of budget or posting frequency.
For fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands, Instagram is the core of any digital brand presence.
We develop a social media strategy for your Instagram presence tailored to your brand and audience. That means: audience analysis, competitive audit, content pillars, format mix, posting frequency, and KPI definition.
No copy-paste templates. Every strategy is custom because every brand is different.
Reels are the growth format on Instagram. The algorithm prioritizes Reels over static posts and rewards accounts that publish them consistently. We produce Reels that feel platform-native and bring your brand to life: from product launches and styling content to behind-the-scenes moments.
We work closely with our TikTok team to leverage cross-platform synergies: content that works on both platforms is adapted, not duplicated.
Instagram is visual. Your feed is your storefront, and every post communicates your brand identity. Our content team produces content that is both aesthetically compelling and strategically effective:
Instagram thrives on interaction. Comments, DMs, Story reactions, polls: every interaction is an opportunity to deepen the relationship with your community. Our community management team handles the daily care of your Instagram community. On-brand, authentic, and at the speed the platform demands.
Instagram remains the number one platform for influencer marketing in fashion and beauty. We identify creators who align with your brand, coordinate collaborations, and integrate influencer content into your overall strategy.
Audience analysis, competitive audit, content pillars, and KPI definition. No templates — every strategy is custom-built for your brand.
Platform-native Reels that work with the algorithm. From product launches and styling content to behind-the-scenes moments.
Feed posts, Stories, Carousels, and UGC curation. Visually consistent, strategically sound, on-brand.
Daily care of your Instagram community: comments, DMs, Story reactions. Authentic and at the speed the platform demands.
Creator identification, collaboration management, and integration of influencer content into your overall strategy.
Paid amplification with Reels Ads, Story Ads, and feed ads. Targeting and creative that converts.
Fashion and beauty are the DNA of Instagram. As an agency that specializes in these industries, we understand the dynamics:
Fashion on Instagram: Collection launches, lookbooks, Fashion Week coverage, streetstyle. We translate fashion worlds into Instagram content that excites your community and drives purchase intent. For Hugo Boss, we demonstrated how a brand refresh can be communicated on Instagram without losing existing followers.
Beauty on Instagram: Tutorials, swatches, before/after, ingredient education. Beauty content on Instagram follows its own rules. With Goldwell, we combined event content with Instagram storytelling to bring the brand visually into new audiences.
Lifestyle & Events: Instagram is the platform where events live on. From Bumble Making the First Move to brand activations, we transform physical experiences into digital stories that multiply reach.
Reels are Instagram's growth format, but only when used strategically. We work with a clear format framework: 60–70% of Reels output goes to proven Scale Formats (styling POVs, product-in-motion, creator collabs), while 20–30% is allocated to Test Formats: new hooks, unexpected angles, format experiments. Every format is evaluated monthly on followers gained per post, not reach alone. Formats that don't deliver get cut. Formats that perform get scaled. Our Reels production integrates platform-first cutdowns from larger productions, so content feels native while carrying real production value. If you're active on TikTok too, our TikTok team ensures cross-platform content is adapted, not duplicated.
An example: for adidas Germany, we created a three-week, social-first content series built around iconic products from the archive, at a time when most brands were chasing what's next. What started outside the brand calendar became a scalable series of Reels and feed content. The result: 1.8 million views, standout engagement, and a renewed spotlight on the adidas archive as a living part of the brand.
Instagram has evolved into a full commerce channel. Product tags, the Shop tab, in-app checkout: for fashion and beauty brands, shopping integration is part of the content strategy. Interactive formats like polls, quizzes, and stickers turn passive inspiration into active decisions. Content needs to be designed for where someone actually is in their buying journey. We connect Instagram's shopping tools directly to your organic content flow, so inspiration leads to conversion without friction. For a broader look at content-driven commerce strategy, explore our content agency.
An active community takes consistent work. It takes consistent daily effort: responding to Story interactions, setting up DM automation for first-response touchpoints, moderating comments with the right brand voice. Our community management team handles this work seven days a week, with priority windows around drops and campaigns. The insights we collect from your community feed directly back into content and creator planning.
Assessment of your current Instagram presence, competitive analysis, audience insights.
Monthly content plan for Instagram with a defined format mix across Reels, Carousels, Stories, and Static posts. We write creative briefs per format series and define the tone of voice and hook logic for each content type.
Production across all formats: Reels, feed posts, Stories, Carousels. Platform-native and on-brand. Hook-first: every post is built to stop the scroll in the first two seconds.
Daily community management, engagement strategies, social listening. Weekly performance checks identify early which formats and topics are working.
Monthly performance reports with clear stop/start/scale decisions per format. KPIs: follower growth, engagement rate, Reels views, website clicks.
FAQ
The 2026 Instagram algorithm prioritizes three signals: retention (how long users stay on a post), engagement quality (saves and shares carry more weight than likes), and content relevance (the algorithm matches content to user interests based on explicit signals). Since Instagram now lets users actively curate their feeds and remove topics, relevance has become fragile. Content that does not match intent disappears regardless of budget or follower count. For brands, this means every post needs a clear role and a hook that stops the scroll in the first two seconds. We work with a format framework of 60-70% proven Scale Formats and 20-30% Test Formats to systematically work with the algorithm.
A successful Instagram Reels strategy rests on three elements: format diversification, hook logic, and performance iteration. Reels reach twice as many non-followers as other formats according to Socialinsider (2026) and are Instagram's primary growth format. We define 4-6 recurring Reels formats per brand (styling POVs, product-in-motion, creator collabs, behind-the-scenes), test new hooks monthly, and evaluate every format based on followers gained per post, not views alone. The key: Reels must feel platform-native, not like repackaged TV spots. Brands also active on TikTok benefit from cross-platform adaptation rather than content duplication.
An Instagram agency offers strategic depth, multi-discipline teams (strategy, content, community, paid), and industry benchmarks from managing 10-15 brands in parallel. A freelancer can produce content on a project basis but rarely covers strategy, community management, reporting, and paid social in an integrated way. For brands seeking professional Instagram marketing with measurable results, a specialized agency is the more sustainable path. Freelancers work well as a complement, for specific production formats or creator content. Get in touch and we will show you which model fits your situation.
Instagram is a relevant channel for B2B as well. 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business account. For B2B, Instagram functions as an employer branding platform, recruiting tool, and brand awareness channel. The content focus shifts: instead of product shots, team culture, thought leadership, event coverage, and behind-the-scenes take center stage. Reels with expert insights or office culture generate strong engagement in B2B contexts too. For deeper B2B touchpoints, we complement Instagram with LinkedIn strategy as part of a holistic social media strategy.
We recommend 4-5 feed posts and 3-4 Reels per week, supplemented by daily Stories. This frequency has proven optimal in our work with fashion and beauty brands. It keeps the algorithm active without diluting content quality. The ideal frequency depends on your industry and audience: fashion brands with high seasonality post more frequently, lifestyle brands maintain a steady cadence. We define the optimal posting strategy during the strategy phase, data-driven, not gut feeling.
Reels currently have the highest organic reach on Instagram, reaching twice as many non-followers as other formats and receiving algorithmic priority for the Explore page and Reels tab. Carousels achieve the highest engagement rates and save rates according to Socialinsider (2026). The best Instagram strategy combines both formats strategically: Reels for reach and follower growth, Carousels for depth and education, Stories for daily community engagement.
Instagram and TikTok serve different usage logics. Instagram is visual-aesthetic, shopping-oriented, and ideal for brand building. The feed is the storefront, Reels drive discovery. TikTok is culture-led, lo-fi, trend-responsive, and works through entertainment and authenticity. For fashion and beauty brands, we recommend both platforms with natively adapted content, not the same post everywhere. Instagram content is typically more polished and brand-controlled; TikTok content is more spontaneous and community-driven. Cross-platform synergies come from adaptation, not duplication.
An Instagram agency makes sense when your internal team lacks the capacity to professionally cover daily posting, community management, Reels production, paid strategy, and monthly reporting. The advantage of a specialized agency like HY.AM: we bring industry benchmarks from managing brands like Hugo Boss and Bumble, have an integrated team of strategists, content creators, and community managers, and deliver measurable growth. For brands that want to operate independently, we also offer strategy + enablement: we develop the strategy and empower your team to execute. Contact us for an initial conversation.
The core Instagram KPIs: engagement rate (the cross-industry benchmark is 1-3%), follower growth (absolute and per post), Reels views and average watch time, Story views and reply rate, website clicks, and for shopping integrations: conversion rate and revenue per post. We track all metrics monthly and deliver reports with clear Stop/Start/Scale decisions. The decisive indicator is followers gained per post. It reveals which formats drive sustainable growth.
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