Marketing Management

Instagram Marketing
Topic: A Study on impact of Instagram Marketing on Consumer Purchase Behavior
Objectives:
 To study and understand Instagram marketing
 To understand the impact of Instagram marketing on consumer’s purchase behavior -
online
 To understand the impact of Instagram marketing on consumer’s purchase behavior –
offline
Introduction:
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service originally created for
smartphones. Since its inception in 2010, the platform has soared in popularity, especially among
millennials.
Instagram marketing is the way that brands use Instagram to connect with their target audiences
and market their offerings. Recently, it’s gained popularity as an exciting method for brands to
show off their cultures, recruit new employees, engage with customers, and show off products in
a new light.
Like Facebook and Twitter, everybody who creates an Instagram account has a profile and
newsfeed. Users can interact with one another by following, being followed, private messaging,
and commenting on or liking photos or videos. The in-app filters and editing options Instagram
offers make the app unique because it was the first app to offer in-app editing to this extent.
Instagram allows users to upload photos and videos to their profile and edit them with various
options. Instagram hosts dozens of original filters that users can add to their photos. These preset
filters make various changes to photos, including adding light, giving the image a warm or cool
tone, increasing or decreasing saturation, and much more. Additionally, users can edit images
directly in the platform, as opposed to using a third-party photo editor. If they don’t like one
filter, they can use Instagram’s editing feature, to individually change the contrast, brightness,
structure, warmth, saturation, sharpness, and more.
The History of Instagram
Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The two Stanford graduates were
pivoting from their original location check-in app, Burbn, due to its similarity to Foursquare.
They decided to focus on photo sharing instead and developed the name Instagram as a
portmanteau of “instant camera” and “telegram.” Instagram was launched for iOS on Oct. 6,
2010. After almost two years of continuous success, the app was launched for Android phones
on April 3, 3012, and was downloaded more than 1 million times in less than a day.
Shortly after, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion. Since the acquisition,
Instagram has continued to roll out new features. The year 2012 was a big one for the photo-
sharing platform, as it also rolled out its website interface in November. The website interface
was, and still is, limited in functionality (users are unable to upload photos from a computer –
they must use their mobile device). However, it allows users to scroll through their feeds and
view other users’ profiles from their desktops.
Instagram's evolution
One of the features that prompted the most chatter and excitement came in June 2013, when
Instagram introduced video sharing for the first time. Many speculated that this was to compete
with Vine, the short-form video hosting app that was launched in 2012. Video sharing took off
quickly and, in 2016, the time limit was increased from 15 seconds to 60 seconds.
In December 2013, Instagram introduced direct private-messaging. These messages can be in
photo or text form and can include up to 15 people. However, quite possibly the most notable
and controversial updates took place in 2016.
In 2016, Instagram replaced its original logo with a new, more modern and colorful version. The
original logo was beige and brown, resembling an old-school, polaroid camera. The revamped
purple and orange design took some getting used to. And by that, we mean that we all had to
search for at least 30 seconds when trying to find and open the Instagram app.

Additionally, in June of the same year, Instagram switched from its chronological old-to-new
newsfeed to an algorithm-based feed. This change was released with the goal of ensuring the
content users were seeing was the content they were most interested in. While its intentions were
good, this change was met with quite a bit of controversy. Apparently, change is always difficult,
even when it’s something as simple as our favorite social media platforms.
Instagram Stories
That said, one last change in August 2016 has proved to be massively successful – so much so
that it gets its own section in this guide!
Instagram released Instagram Stories, a feature that allows users to post photos and videos in a
slideshow format that’s only visible to that user’s followers. Similar to Snapchat stories, these
disappeared after 24 hours, as opposed to a normal Instagram post (which only disappears if the
user or Instagram deletes or archives it). Stories don’t show up in a user’s Instagram grid but,
instead, are indicated by a colored circle around the user’s profile picture.

Believe me when I say that leveraging this feature will be more than worth it. They feature the
same lighthearted and fun content as Snapchat, without the need to build an entirely new
audience on another social networking platform. And, unlike standard Instagram posts that can
get lost in your audience’s feed, your Instagram stories is easily accessible sitting right at the top
of the app.
Instagram stories are also incredibly interactive. To dress them up, you can write or doodle on
the images, place Instagram filters, tag users, and more. You can even ask a poll-type question to
which your audience can respond. Recently, Instagram rolled out the most interactive feature yet
– the ability for your audience to ask you a question that you can then respond to on your
Instagram story. If your primary objective is to engage with your audience, then the possibilities
are endless.
Unlike a typical Instagram picture, you can see which users are viewing your Instagram story. If
you post more than one image or video, creating a series, you can see if they’re clicking through
all the way. This is a simple feature that can be massively intuitive.
Say you posted eight images on your Instagram story, but after the third, there was a significant
drop off in viewers. You can easily go back to that third image, see what may have gone wrong
(Was it boring? Potentially insulting? See? It’s easy to troubleshoot!), and adjust your strategy
for next time.
Instagram stories have proved to be invaluable to users, influencers, and marketers alike.
Audiences quickly embraced the short-form videos and images. Since its creation, I have yet to
open up my Instagram app without seeing a multitude of different users’ Stories stretched across
the top of my screen.
IGTV
Instagram users can also go live on their Instagram Stories, meaning they can post a video that
their followers can see in the moment. Think a giant group FaceTime, with video only on one
side while others just watch. As far as new features go, this has certainly been one of the most
successful. Multiple studies have shown that consumers go nuts over live video. It creates a
sense of urgency and truly allows a viewer to feel in the moment.
That’s not all. In its never-ending quest to continue innovating, Instagram launched Instagram
TV (IGTV) in June 2018. For the first time, the app offered long-form, vertical video for users to
watch and enjoy. IGTV differentiates itself from typical Instagram videos in a few ways. Unlike
typical Instagram videos, IGTV videos don’t have a 60-second limit. Most notably, though, is the
video’s vertical orientation. Instagram created this feature keeping in mind not just what users
watch from their phones, but how.

IGTV is also exclusive to well-known and well-liked Instagram creators. Not just anybody can
create or post a video on IGTV, making this content even more desirable.
There’s no doubt that Instagram will continue to release new and innovative features. For now,
we’ll move on to what this guide is really about – what is Instagram marketing and why do we
do it?

References:
https://learn.g2.com/instagram-marketing
https://www.g2.com/products/facebook-instagram/reviews?hsCtaTracking=9114cc37-1885-
481b-8088-7cad9497f6de%7C435ad2b1-f420-4b02-a276-1cc9bed00667
https://neilpatel.com/blog/instagram-marketing-tips/
https://www.hubspot.com/instagram-marketing
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6c51/8c014c9c4e4683ebbe2d9f02fc4063b5eddb.pdf