Analysing the correlation between the impact of the Instagram community on shopping and the position in the sociogram

Abstract

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER

Opinion leaders can be considered as one of the most important target groups in network marketing, as they facilitate the dissemination of product information and the adoption of products. However, the question may arise as to whether influencing the purchase behaviour of opinion leaders requires more resources compared to the average user. To explore this, the primary goal of the research is to assess the impact of Instagram’s community upon the purchases of opinion leaders in school communities. The secondary research question’s goal was to achieve deeper understanding of opinion leaders.

METHODOLOGY

Analysing the relationship between the impact of the Instagram community on shopping and the position in the sociogram.

The study examined a group belonging to the 13-20 age group in high school students. The final sample size is 228 people. The questionnaire was completed by participants using Google Forms. Due to the sampling method and the number of sample items, the results are not representative.

A semi-structured interview and pilot questionnaire were conducted to explore the research topic in more depth and develop the set of questions.

MOST IMPORTANT RESULT

In this regard, the results show that opinion leaders' purchases are not more (or less) influenced by the Instagram community than the rest of their class. This may suggest that sponsored advertising campaigns should be specifically targeted at opinion leaders, as they are more effective in supporting the distribution of products with the same incentive to buy.

In doing so, a significant correlation was revealed between the role of opinion leadership and the number of Instagram followers. It was demonstrated that individuals who were nominated as influential, generally had more Instagram followers. However, in relation to the network indicators (degree centrality, degree prestige, betweenness centrality) the mentioned correlation was not significant. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a correlation between online and offline influence of individuals, but their online influence is not directly related to their observed network position.