Instagram Influencer Engagement and the World of Social Media Miranda Zangara Miranda Zangara@My.Uri.Edu

University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI

Senior Honors Projects Honors Program at the University of Rhode Island

2018 Instagram Influencer Engagement and the World of Social Media Miranda Zangara [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Zangara, Miranda, "Instagram Influencer Engagement and the World of Social Media" (2018). Senior Honors Projects. Paper 627. http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/srhonorsprog/627http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/srhonorsprog/627

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors Program at the University of Rhode Island at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Instagram Influencer Engagement and the World of Social Media Miranda Zangara Sponsored by Dr. Christy Ashley 40,246 Social media has become a driving force in today’s Marketing world by connecting people all over the globe in an 3,155 230 5,188 instant. Instagram is one of the leading platforms in social media with almost one billion users to date. Instagram has become a tool that many individuals utilize when marketing a product, a brand, an 0.6 Positive Correlations with Post Engagement organization, or themselves. It is key to 0.5 understand how to use this platform, what variables p <.001 affect your success, and what strategies can be 0.4 implemented to reach your goals in creating a 0.3 presence in the world of social media. p <.001 0.2 p <.001 A thorough collection of observational data on 50 p <.001 p =.001 p =.007 p =.03 micro-influencer accounts along with a deep 0.1 p =.02 p =.03 analysis was generated by coding 1,000 Instagram 0 posts and capturing user engagement. The analysis Location No. of Likes No. of Number of Embedded Food Tags Hashtags People Account was designed to identify factors with strong, positive Tags relationships to follower engagement, which Likes Comments suggests these factors may be motivating follower behavior. Negative Correlations with Post Engagement Caption Tags Caption Text Ad Hashtag Link In Bio

-0.05

p =.04 -0.1 p =.001

-0.15 p <.001

p <.001 -0.2

p <.001 -0.25 Likes Comments In discovering the key factors that influence engagement levels between Instagram influencers and Likes their followers, we gain a better understanding on how to use Instagram as a platform to market oneself using social media. Based on the findings, Instagram Emojis Comments influencers can better tailor their posts to optimize user engagement and grow their following, propel their social media presence, increase recognition and exposure, and strengthen their status as a human brand. *** Acknowledgments 150 or less 151 to 300 I would like to sincerely thank my sponsor, Dr. Christy Ashley, URI College of Business, Department of Marketing, for her instrumental role up to 50 51 to 100 301 to 600 601 to 900 in making my project a success. Her valuable help and guidance throughout this journey in addition to her incredible knowledge and 101 to 150 151 to 225 901 to 1200 1201 to 1500 support were key in this endeavor and I am immensely grateful. 226 to 300 301 to 600 1501 to 1800 1801 to 2100 Yes No 601 + 2101 to 2400 2401 +