In the challenging world of Instagram marketing brands are trying to find new ways to better engage their followers. To do so, brands are experimenting with posts containing various characteristics whose potential influence on user engagement is tested in this thesis. The study conducts an empirical research on 150 brand posts from 5 most followed sportswear brands on Instagram, focusing mainly on 3 characteristics; vividness, message theme (functional, emotional, brand identity, current event, sales promotion) and interactivity. Engagement of users is addressed through number of likes and comments on each post. The results calculated using a log-linear regression (OLS) show that posts with higher vividness receive less likes and comments than posts with lower vividness. Furthermore, neither functional nor emotional attributes of the posts affect the engagement. However, posts that relate to brand identity prove to be significant for the engagement but affect the number of both likes and comments negatively. Structuring the post around current event doesn’t significantly relate to numbers of likes and comments. Study also prove insignificance of sales promotion in Instagram post. The only characteristic showing a positive impact on both likes and comments is high post interactivity.