March saw a return to more travel and events for influencers, with many feeling now is the time to leave the pandemic behind. However, the influencers who are really driving engagement continue to tap into relatability, heartwarming stories and content that helps their followers.
Also in our top 10 for March 2022 are those with cult followings – influencers whose audiences are obsessed and there for every post. As always, creators posting Reels are seeing huge spikes in engagement which impacts their overall average (see this post by Jade Green) but galleries – or photo dumps – are driving engagement too – worth bearing in mind for Q2 campaigns.
Ten most engaging Instagram influencers from March
1. Victor Kunda (26% engagement rate): it’s no real surprise Kunda is number one. He’s a TikTok star, he can dance, he’s hilarious, he’s smart and now fashion is obsessed with him too (last month he was featured in Vogue and in February he was a guest at Burberry’s first London Fashion Week show in three years, dressed by the brand). The post that made his engagement rate this high? This brilliant Reel.
2. Alice King (23% ER): King pops up again and again in CORQ’s most engaging influencer data reports. Her secret? Reels and consistency. The makeup artist produces tutorials entirely focused on eye makeup and her looks often have zeitgeisty references such as Euphoria.
3. Nicola Bailey (22% ER): get ready to lose your entire day to Bailey’s content. The parenting influencer aims to raise awareness of Down syndrome by sharing her life as a mother-of-three – she has a son (Lucas) and twin girls (Harper and Quinn), one of whom has Down Syndrome. Her touching Instagram Reel last month about the sisters’ relationship went viral – watch it here.
4. Hannah London (21% ER): a beauty creator, Hannah is the master at creating flawlessly radiant skin and showing her followers how via regular Reels. She also shares her skincare favourites but it was this Reel demonstrating “winged soft eyeshadow” that outperformed all of her other content last month.
5. Becky James / Bambino Becky (20% ER): James has a cult following thanks to her hilarious content across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Last month, this post on the latter platform was typical of her sense of humour and outperformed everything else.
You may also like
6. Sasha Ellesse (20% ER): Ellesse has consistently high engagement rates for her fashion-focused content but her audience particularly loves it when she shares pictures of her journey as a mother and last month, she posted an adorable gallery to celebrate Mother’s Day. It’s worth noting her followers also enjoy her hair content and are always asking for more.
7. Nayna Patel (20% ER): Patel is a student based in Edinburgh and posts on Instagram in a way that is quintessentially Gen Z – unposed, spontaneous photo dumps. Her engagement rate is ever-increasing and fellow Gen Z-ers love her work.
8. Moses Duckrell (19% ER): mark our words – Duckrell is set to be a breakout star of 2022 thanks to his comedic Reels and TikToks. Another creator with consistently high engagement rates, he is also a creator for COPA 90. While his football content is hilarious, it’s his relatable skits which really show his star potential.
9. Millie Taylforth (19% ER): the YouTuber was in Dubai last month and shared content from her trip but the post her audience really, really loved? An appreciation of her boyfriend – football YouTuber Jamie Shawyer.
10. Jack McCann (19% ER): McCann shared incredible photography and video from his belated honeymoon in the Maldives last month with his wife, makeup artist and entrepreneur Jamie Genevieve. The couple’s followers adore their work and following their journey – it is rare to see such positive sentiment towards creators, but there is something special here. It’s heartwarming to see – and their content is great.
This report was produced in collaboration with our technology partner, Dyzio. Picture credit: Victor Kunda.
