A few well-known brands have built up sizeable Instagram followings themselves - National Geographic with 169 million followers and Nike with 159 million followers have done an amazing job with their own accounts. However, this is well beyond the capabilities of most brands. The average company can reach a much higher audience by working with one or more influencers.

Finding influencers on social media can seem daunting to brands. That is the reason that influencer platforms were first set up - to simplify the influencer search process for brands.

It is not a simple process determining who top Instagram influencers are, and it would be impossible to categorically state who were THE top 25 Instagram Influencers. Influence very much relates to the niche that a person operates in. You certainly can’t go by followers alone - the Instagram accounts with the most followers tend to belong to celebrities, and any influence they have is because of their celebrity status, rather than their Instagram prowess. There are many non-mainstream niches which have people operating Instagram accounts who are recognized as experts in their field but have smaller follower numbers, simply because of the limited support for that genre.

Of course, relying on follower numbers is not a good indication of influence, even within a particular niche. In reality, to be an influencer you need to be engaged with your audience, not simply a broadcaster.