Brand Awareness through Instagram Advertising

Abstract

We live in an era where we are cluttered with a lot of information being generated every second. The source of it is TV, newspapers or increasingly popular online media. It has therefore become quite important for both Product and service-based companies to stand out amid all the buzz. As we have witnessed in recent years, technology has given new platforms through which companies can communicate and interact with their target audience. Social media has risen as the leading star. Out of these social media platforms, image sharing service platforms such as Instagram have gained huge success and attracted a large customer base. Instagram is basically a free, visual content sharing social network platform, focused mainly on sharing of pictures with friends/followers through an easy to understand and use mobile application. It recently surpassed 300 million registered users, which clearly indicates the growing appeal and the use of visual social media. As consumers are inclining more and more towards new social media platforms, brands must identify the change and learn to communicate in innovative methods. To gain that engagement, brands first need to understand which kind of content drives users’ engagement. The subject areas such as visual communication, brand communication/branding on social media as well as social media itself have been researched independently, but their combined effect i.e. visual brand communication and consumer engagement, has not been researched in the specific context of Instagram. Our study will explore visual brand communication applied to visual social media platform i.e. Instagram, to understand what type of visual brand communication is effective to engage with customers and why. This theoretical framework presents Social media and visual communication in an in-depth manner, with focus on brand communication/branding, on social media platforms and a presentation on specific platform: Instagram.