Instagram as a social media marketing tool

This thesis is perfect for someone who has no prior knowledge of social media, Instagram, and how it could be used as a marketing tool. I will analyse the basics of social media marketing and Instagram as a platform, after which an experiment will be presented including framework, processes, execution, analysis and conclusion. The type of this thesis is practice-based, and the research methods used are interviews, discussions, observations and statistics. The purpose of the thesis is to gain insight on social media marketing as a tool in for businesses or any other organization for that matter. This is beneficial to anyone who wants to gain some understanding on this contemporary topic. I will write about the importance of social media, with a specific focus on the importance of social media marketing for businesses. Some key numbers including references are presented to emphasize this, with the main point being that over the last decade the use of social media has increased exponentially. After this I will give insight on the plan of this thesis and how I came up with the idea, as well as some information regarding the objectives of this so-called experiment. I focus on the theoretical part by explaining key concept around social media, marketing, Instagram and influencers. This part is particularly important for the laying of the framework of this thesis, including the limitations. I will explain the methods and measurements used in the thesis, the main one being the experiment, where I start an Instagram account and make 67 posts after which I analyse key metrics, such as reach, likes and comments. The experiment includes an observation period, during which social media is practised, during and after which the key numbers involved are analysed and assessed. Here is also analysed what kind of skills are required in order to perform the experiment. The main focus on the empirical part of this thesis will be on this experiment -the development of the Instagram account. I will use a variety of articles to support my thesis theoretically and also use the concrete numbers and other measurements drawn from the experiment to find some kind of answer or conclusion. The experiment is all about the results and observation made along the making of this thesis as well as a major analysis on key statistics at the end of the observation period. The numbers are taken from statistics provided by Instagram insights and present statistics of 67 Instagram posts with a variety of data. conclusions are made based on the results and observations. Some key findings are that it is important to make posts on a regular basis, making constant analysis in order to improve the reach and engagements of posts. The main objectives in this thesis were not met, but otherwise this paper gives an extraordinary insight on things learned during the process as well as provides a kick-start to any social media marketer