I spent two months researching Instagram, Gen Z, Millennial consumer behaviors and values, and influencer impact to try to increase engagement and revenue. In order to keep this short and sweet, I will summarize some of the most important aspects of my findings, which are referenced below, and give my personal insights into how to strategize your advertising on Instagram.
With Gen Z and Millennials being the most native to the digital world, I wanted to focus my research on these generations for my target audience. Gen Z and Millennials deeply desire to focus on what benefits society and protects the environment and are extremely concerned about climate change. Focusing on eco-friendly practices aligns with these two generations’ goals, values, and consumer behavior.
These younger generations have an extensive attitude towards pro-ecological practices and they pay attention to them more than ever. They tend to value when a company’s manufacturing is eco-friendly, and it motivates Gen Z and Millennials’ purchases. Moreover, the purchase intentions of Gen Z and Millennial consumers are heavily persuaded by the presence of influencers and micro-influencers. Not only do I believe that companies and brands should align with Gen Z and Millennials’ goals and values, but there are also other key components that can be marketed on social media that motivate Gen Z and Millennials’ purchase intentions. For instance, these two generations are also influenced greatly by attractiveness, trustworthiness, security, and price.
How can businesses promote these influencing factors on social media, specifically Instagram? As a Gen Z individual with a large amount of experience with social media platforms, I can give you some of my personal opinions and advice on how to be able to use these influencing factors to your advantage on Instagram. “Marketplace Analysis of Purchase Decision Factors for Instagram Social Media Users” explains that Instagram heavily influences purchase intentions because the platform makes it easier for consumers to find, compare, and purchase products. This information helps to narrow down the target social media platform. Regarding how Gen Z and Millennials are influenced by attractiveness, this section is difficult to judge and determine because of generational trends and differences. However, focusing mostly on the target audience is a good place to start when creating captivating posts.
In my opinion, Canva is a great website that provides trendy templates, stickers, fonts, etc., that are appealing to these two generations. For people who grew up in the digital world and were introduced to social media at a young age, creating Instagram content that is viewed as attractive can come easier to them than for others belonging to a different generation. These people can understand what other people like them, who hold similar values, will find attractive. With that being said, companies that struggle to produce visually appealing posts should do further research on how they can continuously assemble them or consider hiring Gen Z or Millennials who have more first-hand experience.
Advertising on Instagram that a brand is trustworthy can be as simple as providing a space for people to leave feedback and reviews for everyone to see. For example, having a link in your Instagram biography that brings you to a bracket of other important links, such as your shop website, is a great place to provide a space for people to leave feedback. This grouping of links will show other consumers that people have purchased from the website before, have received their items, and are providing helpful advice. In addition, posting these reviews on your Instagram page allows consumers to have easy access to them. From my research, I infer that it is best to have information and products be easily accessible and well-organized.
Companies that capitalize on the success and popularity of influencers and micro-influencers positively impact consumption and brand image. With that being said, I presume that companies will favor teaming up with popular influencers by publicizing it on their Instagram page. Additionally, I found that companies should encourage uniqueness and advocate for people to not attempt to fit in with the crowd. Instagram makes people feel pressured to buy the most recent products. Helping people feel as though they do not need to buy the most recent products by formulating posts that promote uniqueness can be a great way to combat this pressure. Furthermore, I believe that promoting inclusiveness is an impactful effort regarding Gen Z and Millennials’ values. I personally feel more included in society when a brand has clothing sizes that extend the traditional small, medium, and large sizes and can fit most body types and sizes. As a 5’1 female, a brand with short and extra short sizes allows me to feel not so divergent from society.
To further align with Gen Z and Millennials’ values, I believe companies that do not already have eco-friendly manufacturing practices should consider implementing new regulations that focus on economic, environmental, and health-related concerns and publicize these practices to the public. Some examples of these new regulations can be sorting garbage, avoiding disposable bags, having plastic-free packaging, and saving energy and water, and state these environmentally friendly practices in their Instagram biography and posts. Another example can even be associating the brand with the color green.
A major factor that I found to be extremely important in generating revenue is price. Having sales, coupons, discounts, and affordable prices impacts purchase intentions to a great degree. On Instagram, I would suggest advertising whenever a company is having a sale and making the public aware of the affordable prices of products on Instagram to sway consumers to purchase.
Out of all of the research that I obtained, I found this information to be the most beneficial. As a Gen Z human, I will say that I am more likely to purchase a product that is environmentally friendly. I also value a company’s pro-ecological practices, am influenced by prices, admire a company’s encouragement for inclusiveness and uniqueness, and engage more with a company whose content is attractive. For entrepreneurs who are looking for a way to boost user engagement on Instagram and generate higher revenue, I hope my research and experienced advice can be helpful to you.
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References
Rebekah Heath, PhD. “Using Sustainability Initiatives to Engage Young Professionals.” The CPA Journal, 22 Oct. 2021, https://www.cpajournal.com/2021/10/22/using-sustainability-initiatives-to-engage-young-professionals/.
Maciej Dębski, and Małgorzata Borkowska-Niszczota. “Consumer Ecological Behaviour and Attitudes towards Pro-Ecological Activities in Accommodation Facilities by Generation Z.” Tourism, vol. 30, no. 2, Dec. 2020, pp. 43–50. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.18778/0867-5856.30.2.20.
Santi Duwi Putri Nugroho, et al. “The Impacts of Social Media Influencer’s Credibility Attributes on Gen Z Purchase Intention with Brand Image as Mediation.” International Journal of Research In Business and Social Science, vol. 11, no. 5, June 2022, pp. 18–32. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i5.1893. https://doaj.org/article/6c474bf5b8e54d589d1a386853867c2e
Muhammad, Faris, and Sri Hartono. “Marketplace Analysis of Purchase Decision Factors for Instagram Social Media Users.” Journal of Intelligence Studies in Business, vol. 11, no. 3, Sept. 2021, pp. 42–56. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=bth&AN=155744641&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Jacobsen, Stephanie L., and Nora Ganim Barnes. “Social Media, Gen Z and Consumer Misbehavior: Instagram Made Me Do It.” Journal of Marketing Development & Competitiveness, vol. 14, no. 3, July 2020, pp. 51–58. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.33423/jmdc.v14i3.3062.