A recent MU study has found that a majority of Instagram users are more likely to use the social media platform to engage with social or entertainment images than with political or controversial images. The study was led by T.J. Thomson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Journalism, and Keith Greenwood, an associate professor of journalism.
According to Thomson, about 4.2 billion likes are exchanged on Instagram each day, but they are not equally distributed. This topic was therefore chosen to further understand why certain kinds of images attract more engagement or why certain kinds of users respond to them the way they do.
For this study, Thomson and Greenwood chose a group of 30 individuals, with their ages ranging from late teens to mid-40s and presented each of them with a collection of 50 random photographs that were from some of the most popular Instagram accounts.
They were then asked to arrange those images in an inverted pyramid, starting with images they were least likely to engage with on the left to the images they would definitely engage with on the right. Thomson also conducted personal interviews with each individual to get some background or depth on their responses.
The key finding from this study was how users are more likely to interact with social or entertainment images and are less drawn to political or controversial images.
“The reasons for this are multifaceted,” Thomson said in his article “I ‘Like’ That: Exploring the Characteristics That Promote Social Media Engagement With News Photographs.”
“Some users said they felt badly about ‘liking’ a photo of a tragedy while others said they get ‘serious’ news from other sources and Instagram is an oasis where they can escape from the troubles and concerns of everyday life,” he said in the article.
Another important finding was that because users’ engagement is public, they are aware that their likes have visibility and they consciously promote certain content by “liking” it, Thomson said.
This study helped reveal three main categories of Instagram users.
The “Feature Lovers” are the group of people that are more interested in features or adventurous photographs because that’s something they can’t see as easily through other sources, Greenwood said.
The “News Hounds” are people who use Instagram as another news source. They try to track visual news and see things about what’s going on in the world, Greenwood said.
The “Optimists” are a group of people engaged most strongly with images that were uplifting, positive, empowering or funny while disregarding photos that showed armed force, military might or weapons of destruction, Thomson said.
Various organizations, especially news outlets, can use this study to determine how to better engage with their target market and reach a greater audience using Instagram.
“The newsworthy or gritty aspects of life can achieve good engagement provided that they are rendered in aesthetic and empowering ways,” Thomson said.
Thomson said starting off with a simple, clean image on the first frame and using the multi-post feature on Instagram can be helpful.
Instagram users are more drawn to images that are original, authentic and tend to stand out. Getting closer to the subject in the image or isolating one feature helps simplify its composition, Thomson said.
“By thinking about and applying these principles, you can create Instagram content that is more thoughtful, engaging and attractive to your audience so you can differentiate your brand and stand out in the chaotic media landscape,” Thomson said.
_Edited by Stephi Smith | ssmith@themaneater.com_