Instagram Brand Equity : How Generation Y can be reached through Instagram Marketing

Abstract: Taking a photo and hitting share is easy. The social media platform - Instagram - is an effective way to build brands and increase customer loyalty. It started in 2010 and currently the number of users is over 400 million. The purpose of this study is to gain insight in why Instagram users chose to follow a brand’s Instagram page, and what kind of images a company should post to create a popular and appealing page. This, can in turn illuminate how brands can use this platform as a marketing tool in a more effective way. In this study we have collected existing theories about social media, Instagram, marketing communication and brand theory. By analyzing and comparing existing theories with the collected empirical data, we reached several conclusions that can benefit businesses in their marketing activity on Instagram towards consumers in Generation Y.