02 Aug Leisure scores again in Belgian Instagram Top 100
A new year calls for a new approach: in 2023, Somention is converting the quarterly Instagram Top 100 into semiannual hit lists. And for a good reason, big things are coming! What stands out about the Top 3: Dour Festival, Graspop Metal Meeting and Rock Werchter? Somention updates you on the most successful Belgian brands on Instagram of the past six months.
The research
The Instagram Top 100 is compiled based on independent research by social media agency Somention. The most successful Belgian and international brands with a Belgian account on Instagram are rated based on the number of followers and engagement rate*. Every half year, the brands that score best on average on these points appear in the Instagram Top 100. At the beginning of February, the list of the most successful brands on Instagram over the entire year of 2022 was announced. The complete list for Q1 and Q2 of 2023 can be found later in this article.
Festival fever in Belgium
The Top 100 in 2022’s last quarter saw Belgian Instagram users gearing up for the 2023 festival season. This year’s first half-year rankings show us the same excitement. With a slight change in the Top 3: Rock Werchter managed to stay in third place, Graspop Metal Meeting dropped one spot and Dour Festival moved up one spot, making them this half year’s number 1. The best performing post of the five-day festival was their line-up announcement filled with big names, which made the community’s anticipation levels go through the roof!
Looking further into the Top 100, Belgium’s entertainment industry is well-represented in the rankings. Pukkelpop (5) and Pairi Daiza (6) show consistent strong follower counts, indicating a keen interest in leisure activities. Additionally, nine out of ten accounts within the top 10 are entertainment related brands.
The account that managed to rise the most spots is multibrand fashion store Zeb Fashion. With an increase of 78 places, they are now number 15 on the list. Another name-worthy rise is that of Colruyt. Rising a whopping 71 spots in the list, they are now number 25. The Belgian supermarket chain manages to reach their target audience with fun content, like memes and recipes. And it didn’t go unnoticed, their engagement rate rose from 0,29% to 0,93% In comparison with Q4 of 2022.
From music festivals to theme parks, fashion, academia, and culinary delights, the list demonstrates the varied facets of Belgian culture and interests. We are already looking forward to the next semiannual results. Want to know what else happened? Check out the full list of Q1 & Q2 of 2023 below.
Belgian Instagram Top 100 – Q1/Q2 2023
Q1/Q2 2023 |
Account |
Followers |
Engagement Rate |
Rise / Drop |
1 |
dourfestival |
111,812 |
2,71% |
+1 |
2 |
graspopmetalmeeting |
100,577 |
2,68% |
-1 |
3 |
rockwerchterfestival |
136,785 |
1,97% |
0 |
4 |
walibibelgium |
57,776 |
3,47% |
+2 |
5 |
pukkelpop |
115,298 |
1,71% |
-1 |
6 |
pairidaizaofficial |
209,704 |
1,36% |
+3 |
7 |
redbullbe |
99,769 |
1,15% |
+33 |
8 |
rampagebelgium |
90,479 |
1,10% |
-1 |
9 |
zoo_planckendael |
43,663 |
1,41% |
+3 |
10 |
plopsa_official |
57,225 |
1,07% |
+7 |
11 |
sunrisefestivalbe |
27,321 |
4,69% |
+13 |
12 |
kuleuven |
40,671 |
1,64% |
+1 |
13 |
flyingbrussels |
112,901 |
0,63% |
-5 |
14 |
dupuis_bd |
50,953 |
0,91% |
+19 |
15 |
zebfashion |
63,101 |
0,70% |
+78 |
16 |
neuhauschocolates |
48,929 |
0,77% |
-1 |
17 |
ridley_bikes |
138,269 |
0,39% |
-1 |
18 |
easytoys |
39,014 |
1,04% |
new |
19 |
bobbejaanland |
21,341 |
3,01% |
+3 |
20 |
zooantwerpen |
21,941 |
2,64% |
+5 |
21 |
ugent |
30,858 |
1,27% |
0 |
22 |
bellewaerde |
21,752 |
2,21% |
+1 |
23 |
lidlbelgium |
128,044 |
0,35% |
-5 |
24 |
yvesrocherbelgium |
72,347 |
0,44% |
-14 |
25 |
colruyt_be |
34,080 |
0,93% |
+71 |
26 |
stibmivb |
21,862 |
1,78% |
+1 |
27 |
natancouture |
64,379 |
0,42% |
-8 |
28 |
tomorrowland |
8490,980 |
0,24% |
-14 |
29 |
brusselsairport |
32,566 |
0,94% |
-3 |
30 |
couleurcafefestival |
22,845 |
1,42% |
+15 |
31 |
airbelgium_official |
17,386 |
1,95% |
+1 |
32 |
universitedeliege |
14,413 |
3,16% |
+21 |
33 |
uzgent |
15,781 |
2,13% |
-3 |
34 |
mcdonaldsbelgium |
32,747 |
0,65% |
+18 |
35 |
junique.fashion |
16,577 |
1,66% |
+4 |
36 |
actionbelgie |
183,402 |
0,23% |
+30 |
37 |
14,242 |
2,70% |
+20 |
|
38 |
vubrussel |
21,712 |
1,31% |
+9 |
39 |
delvaux |
372,766 |
0,20% |
-34 |
40 |
leonidas_chocolatier |
29,819 |
0,64% |
-11 |
41 |
xandres_belgium |
25,041 |
0,74% |
-3 |
42 |
delijn |
14,874 |
1,59% |
+21 |
43 |
ikeabelgium |
199,905 |
0,18% |
+19 |
44 |
stabilobelgium |
11,566 |
3,24% |
-2 |
45 |
xiaomi.belgium |
10,487 |
5,70% |
+1 |
46 |
13,142 |
2,52% |
+8 |
|
47 |
disneyplusbe |
34,672 |
0,43% |
+24 |
48 |
fondationboghossian |
27,546 |
0,62% |
+11 |
49 |
havearoll |
20,354 |
0,96% |
-6 |
50 |
bmwbelux |
50,834 |
0,30% |
-15 |
51 |
essentielantwerp |
330,636 |
0,16% |
-14 |
52 |
casterman_bd |
43,712 |
0,32% |
-41 |
53 |
disneybe |
51,573 |
0,26% |
+25 |
54 |
oudbeersel |
13,939 |
1,64% |
+40 |
55 |
abconcerts |
63,681 |
0,23% |
+18 |
56 |
kinepolisbelgie |
30,837 |
0,47% |
-15 |
57 |
caroline_biss |
29,078 |
0,48% |
-8 |
58 |
tuibelgium |
43,844 |
0,26% |
+16 |
59 |
botanique_bxl |
26,323 |
0,53% |
+11 |
60 |
dekoninck |
11,279 |
2,17% |
-4 |
61 |
alpro |
330,330 |
0,13% |
-10 |
62 |
visitoostende |
24,842 |
0,49% |
-14 |
63 |
mu.zee |
14,582 |
1,07% |
+5 |
64 |
autoworld_brussels |
18,476 |
0,74% |
-20 |
65 |
uzleuven.be |
8,948 |
3,07% |
+7 |
66 |
hema.be |
80,831 |
0,18% |
-1 |
67 |
godiva |
327,825 |
0,12% |
-17 |
68 |
uantwerpen |
15,245 |
0,81% |
-4 |
69 |
mercedesbenz_belgium |
41,613 |
0,24% |
+19 |
70 |
action.belgique |
121,799 |
0,14% |
+16 |
71 |
iciparisxlbe |
78,831 |
0,17% |
-13 |
72 |
thedoughbar |
10,137 |
1,97% |
-12 |
73 |
jbcfashion |
90,514 |
0,15% |
+28 |
74 |
callebautchocolate |
436,742 |
0,07% |
+7 |
75 |
kbc_be |
18,297 |
0,62% |
+2 |
76 |
comicsartmuseum |
10,211 |
1,95% |
+16 |
77 |
paintedtrains |
78,534 |
0,15% |
+6 |
78 |
volvocarbelux |
13,296 |
1,06% |
-11 |
79 |
avoandcadoclothing |
6,448 |
4,92% |
+1 |
80 |
listenfestivalbrussels |
12,520 |
1,13% |
+44 |
81 |
kruidvat.belgie |
40,742 |
0,22% |
-5 |
82 |
alternate.be |
10,483 |
1,54% |
+26 |
83 |
nintendobelgique |
14,873 |
0,71% |
+21 |
84 |
warnerbrosbelgium |
22,504 |
0,40% |
+42 |
85 |
audibelgium |
31,373 |
0,29% |
-49 |
86 |
sneakerdistrict |
375,103 |
0,03% |
+5 |
87 |
bozarbrussels |
101,500 |
0,10% |
+20 |
88 |
icewatch |
187,377 |
0,06% |
+9 |
89 |
samsung_be |
34,851 |
0,23% |
+45 |
90 |
centerparcsbe |
24,729 |
0,35% |
-21 |
91 |
nespresso.belux |
25,643 |
0,33% |
+21 |
92 |
porschebelgium |
10,373 |
1,20% |
+27 |
93 |
hortamuseum |
8,345 |
1,65% |
+24 |
94 |
mustela.belgium |
10,089 |
1,33% |
+52 |
95 |
maisonsdumonde_be |
83,422 |
0,10% |
-10 |
96 |
facqbathroom |
6,239 |
2,55% |
new |
97 |
ubisoftbelgium |
54,587 |
0,13% |
-36 |
98 |
flyingtigerbe |
32,040 |
0,22% |
-19 |
99 |
burgerkingbe |
13,557 |
0,63% |
+23 |
100 |
floralux_be |
15,870 |
0,42% |
-10 |
Explanation of study
In this independent research, a number of factors were taken into account when selecting the brand accounts. To obtain a reliable engagement rate, only accounts with more than 5,000 followers were included. Accounts also need to have posted a minimum of 12 posts in the previous half year. Excluded are (news) platforms, broadcasters, programmes, agencies and sports clubs. In addition, accounts with an 18+ setting (such as those of some alcoholic beverages and lotteries) are excluded due to Instagram’s settings.
*Engagement rate shows the percentage of the audience who engages with the content posted by the brand. Calculation: the likes and comments divided by the follower count and the number of posts for the given period.
Want to find out which brands in neighbouring countries are successful on Instagram?
♦ View the Dutch Instagram Top 100 here
♦ View the German Instagram Top 100 here