The Instagram Effect on buying behavior

The relationship between Social Media Marketing and self-esteem;

Can Social Media Marketing contribute to self-worth? If so how can this phenomenon affect customer buying behavior?

The reason I’m interested in this topic is the fact that we now live in a digital world where we are online 24/7 and this has changed our lives for better or worst in some cases…We see more and more people using their mobile devices on a daily bases; we all do, turning mobile phones into our “digital getaway” from the real world !

Nowadays, there are so many social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat just to name a few. But the question that I am asking you today is this: Why do you think we are under the social media spell? What is it about social media that is stronger than the internet itself? It is indeed captivating (or addictive) and at the same time pretty annoying and even stressful at times (as I am writing this, I am stressed about all the negative comments, different opinions or critiques I might receive) … But social media made it possible to interact, give opinions (mostly where they are not requested), and find in one place people with similar interests and ideas.

It is interesting to notice that there is no age limit in using social media channels, even grown up people are addicted to it and the increase use of mobile devices made it even easier to surf these social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram, which the later has been my focus and personal favorite. I am fascinated by how Instagram has evolved during recent years, crawling smoothly under our skins, affecting us in our styles, tastes and eventually our buying behavior.

Most of you might know that Instagram is owned by Facebook and marketers at Facebook saw that social media and mobile can be a powerful intersection of synergies and they are absolutely right, as mobile users are more likely to be daily active social media users than desktop users. Social media indeed started with fewer players that have now been empowered by another obsessive technology which is mobile! For marketers it is vital to use the visual, mobile and messaging in their marketing strategies.

This phenomenon has affected us not only on our personal but also on our professional lives; but on a personal level it is hard to resist the temptation of joining social media networks, it can be a bitter sweet experience as you get to be connected with people you know or barely know and you get to witness a filtered version of their lives; in other words, you get to witness a part they chose for your to see ( the good part mostly, the happy part !)

So why am I linking the use of social media and self-esteem… Let me describe a simple scenario. Let’s say you want to open a personal account on Instagram. First things first, you create the account and ask your family and friends to follow you, they accept. What a joy! The acceptance is flooding in and you already built up your profile and now you start surfing the network for more familiar faces… and then the number of your followers drop. Who has unfollowed you? Why? That is when the “depression “hits (for some people, and some people simply do not care, so bear with me). Describing it as a depression is a bit of an exaggeration, maybe the word is disappointment! … You would frantically look at your past posts to see who you could have offended, finding reasons why you were not interesting, funny or sexy enough for someone to follow or like your posts?

It is fascinating to me that social media websites have created a ‘school yard society’ amongst adults. Why did we let ourselves and our children believe that the number of followers and likes can define someone’s character? People are losing themselves in this digital bubble and they are bickering and falling out with people they haven’t seen face to face for years, or even with total strangers in most cases.

Social media’s outcome has been TRANSPARENCY especially in our feelings, in other words, this transparency comes from having the power to Share. This can be pretty disruptive at times. It got so easy to ‘block’ our friends, ‘unfollow’ and generally become a keyboard warrior! How noble of us !

With the increase use of social media websites, people got more introvert over time, they prefer to hide behind their computer or mobile screens than to have one on one interactions. They care more about how their lives are portrayed to others than what the reality is. They prefer to have more followers, more likes and to be digitally popular than to improve intellectually and academically. How all of this affected our self-esteem? Most importantly how it has affected our buying behavior which is what marketers are really interest in; keeping in mind that social media phenomenon is going out of hand and is affecting our young generation’s self-esteem and self-worth in a negative way. How could anybody purchase something for themselves or treat themselves to something good if deep down they do not feel confident or worthy enough? The young generation, especially young women in general should keep in mind that what is portrayed in the digital world is not necessarily the reality of people’s lives.

Depending on how you can use social media, it can be harmful or helpful, it is your choice as social media is very much part of our today’s world and you have to learn to use it to your advantage on a personal and professional level.

With more and more commercials relying on the concept of self-esteem, that the purchase of a product will affect how a person feels inside, have created a daily challenge especially for women and young girls; no wonder why we are under pressure, as if we need to look and act a certain way in order to appeal to a larger society. They are so many brands that are encouraging women such as Dove; it is important to note that were these self-esteem ad campaigns, however well meaning, focus only on a woman’s appearance as a source of confidence other than relying on what is really important. They have been trying to change it up a bit with the famous always #like a girl ad campaign against gender discrimination which is a personal favorite of mine.

In this digital world of direct and indirect advertising through social media, why focus on a certain way of living, certain way of looks and styles, when we could promote based on less superficial characteristics? For one physically perfect model, select 10 brilliant successful people (men, women or any gender they want to be presented in). If any of us should envy something, it should be for becoming a better person or more successful in our studies and careers.

In the world of hashtags, with more and more people using social media, it is interesting to see that a brand is no longer what we tell consumers it is, it is what consumers tell each other what the brand is all about! As Mark Zuckerberg founder of Facebook says:

“A trusted referral is the holy grail of advertising “!

From the business point of view, customers are under the spell of social media, maybe that is why more and more companies are becoming more active online and investing more on the digital aspect of their business. They are learning how to use social media to their advantage. So how many advertisers are present on Instagram ready and eager to follow you hoping for you to follow them back? More than 500,000 advertisers! (Twice as many as 6 months ago which was April 2016 (Year in which I did my research for my Master's thesis).

There was indeed a time that social media was considered by some as a passing phenomenon, something that the ‘kids’ were using that businesses could never benefit from. Over time, the skeptics were proved wrong; to this day we are over 3 billion internet users and over 2 billion of them are active on social media and 500 million are active monthly on Instagram alone! (Please take note that the examples and statistics are from the year 2015 - 2016) …So, a large user base and encouraging engagement levels between users and brands are two factors driving advertiser demand for Instagram.

To go social or not, that is the question!

I think we do have an idea of the answer to that question in 2018!! Companies can find success if they do go social by whether gaining more followers or by increasing customer engagement. Brands are discovering how social media can contribute to their overall success and growth within the market. It would also provide opportunities for companies to learn about their customers and connect with potential audience locally and globally. Social media would help your business to improve customer service, having better and more efficient relationships with your consumers and gain market share and competitive advantage over your competitors.

So, let's break it down to ways a company can make social media work for them:

• Increase brand awareness and loyalty (brand recognition)
• Create a community (by having an official account and other accounts based on different locations around the globe so that marketers could help the company connect more closely with its customers and be able to answer their questions based on their geography and offer them promotions that are unique to certain areas.)
• Gain valuable customer insight (on what they like, dislike, need or want)
• Provide rich customer experience (better customer service, more personalized and genuine service; Aka having personality!)
• Building genuine relationships with your customers (generate good will)
• The importance of visual contents. In order to cut through the noise and grab our attention. (Interesting to know that brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than it does text!)
• Focusing on emotional branding (with this you can create a powerful and personal bond between your brand and your customers, for example TOMS not only inspires them but motivates them as well! They found a cause and they are using it in their messages.
• Run targeted ads with real time results to generate more sales
• Increase website traffic and search ranking
• Geo targeting in order to find potential customers that would be actually interested in your services and products
• Find out more about your competitors and what they are doing in order to gain competitive advantage in the long run regarding product, pricing and promotions
• Take it offline! Taking social connections offline and into the real world! Cross the boundaries of online and offline through social media

More and more companies are using the indirect sale approach on social media websites especially on Instagram; showcasing a product by a famous blogger or a celebrity, wearing their products without focusing on the product itself. Marketers know the power of effortless ads, more natural, more genuine, creating that feeling of envy or need in acquiring that certain product or service; and us being completely aware of that these celebrities and fashion bloggers are in a way sponsored by the designers to post a picture with their designs and attract attention and eventually increase sales, and often it does work! The pictures and videos are carefully selected with perfect lighting, portraying the perfect setting for a perfect life.

So, the question I have for your is this: Successful companies, how do you think they benefit from using their Instagram account? What is their secret? How to they make their Instagram account appeal to a vaster audience? And how all this affect the way we feel about ourselves and the shift in our buying behavior?

They do the following right:

• Create a dynamic Bio (it is all about first impressions)
• Brand continuity comes to mind, be consistent in selecting high quality pictures and the right ID for your account to be the same with your other accounts on social media
• Select photos that show many aspects of your brand, be divers and change it up
• Space out your posting times so you get more reactions from your followers
• Think out of the box regarding ways to get exposure without being so in your face on the topic of ‘selling’ and ‘marketing’
• Take advantage of social aspect of Instagram for example, so be social! Generate good will and trust by leaving comments and show that you actually care
• Encourage your followers to share your posts so that you get exposure in a genuine way

We know that on Instagram the visual and the hashtags should be used wisely.

• Knowing the top hashtags for your brand and that it be in sync with your business so that you attract quality followers. Do not use generic hashtags. Use a combination of high, medium and low volume targeted hashtags in order to reach a vaster audience.
• Be consistent with the hashtags and don’t overdo it.
• Growing your followers by following them back
• Choose relatable subjects and picture within a more familiar environment that is at reach for a wider audience.

The last point is something that I believe is not respected enough; we cannot always change how customers might perceive something, nevertheless we can change how something is portrayed; by choosing relatable subjects, relatable scenarios and environments. We could increase one’s self-esteem and self-worth by showing diversity in our approach, by not favoring one over the other, our young generation’s future buying decisions would be more accurate and relevant.

Instagram’s community is connected, urban and cool! ...These characteristics make Instagram an amazing channel for businesses to communicate to prospective customers by being mindful with Instagram’s best practices as discussed earlier. Furthermore, Instagram with their action features has become also an e-commerce for different brands with their ‘shop now ‘ button and a ‘contact us‘ button that allows perspective buyers to call, email or test a seller without ever having to leave the app.

Social media nowadays have become a trend mapper and idea generator hrough customers themselves. In other words, social media provides a possibility for businesses to invest in communities and also in the people within them. Because of its rapid growth, I am sure that we will see a lot of trends developing and changing the way consumers see and consume products and services in the long run.

It is important to understand on each channel; your company’s objectives and the difference is key in succeeding on social media channels. There is no’one size fits all’ approach. It takes research, trial, measurements and revision to create a truly thriving social media strategy. If you want to trigger action, you have to invest in a good visual content and in an even better digital marketer for your business and by learning more about the behavior and demographics of your audience, you can create more relevant and timely posts on your social media accounts. One thing is sure is that social media will become more personalized and less noisy in the future. As Mark Zuckerberg says:

“Think about what people are doing on Facebook or Instagram today, they are keeping up with their friends and families, but they are also building an image and identity for themselves, which in a sense is their brand! They are connecting with the audience that they want to connect to. It is almost a disadvantage if you are not on it now…”

We do leave digital footprints of our lives in this magical box and it will stay there even after we are long gone… In this digital universe, our personal history is succeeded by our social networking profile; the information online is a product being sold to market researchers in order to better predict and guide our future.

Yasamin RAHNEMA