Author(s): Yuvika Gupta, Sonal Agarwal and P.B Singh
With 1 billion monthly active users as of June, 2018, Instagram is undoubtedly one of the most popular social networking apps in the world (TechCrunch, 2018). In today’s scenario it has become the most popular gaining and giving popularity to people through app. Hashtags have become the jargon of the Generation Y. Every life story finds its way through likes and comments with the aid of #Hashtags. Instagram is that social media networking app which is much more than just uploading and liking pictures and maybe, that is one of the crucial reasons why it has surged up in comparison to other social media like snapchat, facebook etc. The social media platforms, such as Instagram, continue to grow rapidly in popularity, brands are using this platform effectively with new strategies, in order to gain visibility in the audience. A new popular tactic utilized is an online “celebrity” known as a social media influencer (SMI). Brands are using SMI the same way as celebrity endorser to distribute information and influence consumers’ perceptions. Using SMIs in communication and marketing campaigns has grown in popularity in almost all the industries whether it is beauty/fashion, home/family, health/fitness, travel/lifestyle, food/beverage, business/tech or entertainment. The purpose of this paper is to study and understand the factors that affect the consumers’ buying behavior with reference to Instagram. The study also investigates the source credibility of Instafamous Celebrities on consumers’ buying intention. The goal is to show that celebrities on instagram are influential and effects consumers’ purchase behavior.