Instagram Engagement with Brands during a Global Pandemic

Abstract

Digital channel usage has skyrocketed through the pandemic, while Internet access is evolving into a necessity as people scramble to work, learn, shop, and exist from home. Over 246 million Americans used social networks to post pictures, likes and comments on content, or send private messages (Clement, 2020). Social media platforms allow research to quantify the behavioural component of customer engagement and examine this engagement rate construct within the research. The study gathered posts from the Instagram API for 37 companies and compared the engagement rate before and after the 15-days-to-slow-the-spread announcement was made. Results of a paired samples t-test indicated that engagement rate was higher during the pandemic than before, despite the fact that the number of posts stayed consistent, suggesting that consumers were potentially looking for more information during the crisis. A content analysis of the hashtags in the post found no significant difference in engagement rate for either pandemic-related hashtags or those with a focus on leisure (celebrities and holidays). Results suggest that brands do not need to increase their social media communication during a crisis, and that hashtags alone were not motivators of engagement.

Keywords: Instagram, Pandemic, Marketing Communication, Hashtags, Engagement Rate

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