Using Instagram to Engage with (Potential) Consumers: A study of Forbes Most Valuable Brands’ Use of Instagram

Authors

  • Oluseyi Adegbola Texas Tech University
  • Sherice Gearhart Texas Tech University
  • Jacqueline Skarda-Mitchell University of Nebraska at Omaha

Keywords:

Instagram, brand, customer engagement, social media

Abstract

With over 800 million monthly users, Instagram has become one of the most popular social networking sites utilized by individuals and businesses alike. Guided by interactivity theory, the current study identifies connections between the posting behaviour of popular brands on Instagram and audience engagement. Instagram posts (N = 710) from brands on the Forbes Most Valuable Brands list were coded for image type and the presence of brand-related and social content. Using an individualized engagement score for each post, results found audiences were most responsive when images featured products and logos together and when social content appears in captions. Findings of this study are useful to marketing strategists aiming to capitalize on this platform.

Author Biographies

Oluseyi Adegbola, Texas Tech University

Oluseyi Adegbola (oluseyi.adegbola@ttu.edu) is a doctoral student in the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University. His research focuses on media effects on public opinion formation.

Sherice Gearhart, Texas Tech University

Sherice Gearhart (sherice.gearhart@ttu.edu) is an assistant professor in the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University. Her research interests include the role of new media in the public opinion process.

Jacqueline Skarda-Mitchell, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Jacqueline Skarda-Mitchell (jskarda@unomaha.edu) is a graduate student in the School of Communication at University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research focuses on social media and influences on public perception.

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Published

2018-12-31

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2018): The Journal of Social Media in Society

Section

Articles