The impact of engagement on Instagram during Covid-19

: a look at the portuguese context

Abstract

With the outbreak of Covid-19 and its pandemic, we have seen our lives turned upside down. People had to adapt to a new reality, changing their habits and routs. Not only were people affected by Covid-19 but also brands and digital influencers had to adjust. With the confinement, people started to spend more time at home and, consequently more time on social networks, either looking for entertainment, information, or even to communicate with friends/family. The objective of this dissertation is to understand the impact that Covid-19 had on the use of Instagram, what type of social media marketing activity most positively impacted users, and how brands/influencers took advantage of this, nothing whether or not there was an increase in brand awareness and image. In the first part, research was made on the existing literature related to the most relevant concepts for this research, mainly about social media marketing, branding, and Covid-19. A quantitative methodology was applied to obtain information about a significant group of Instagram users, in an age range between 18 and 44 years old, and a descriptive and statistical analysis was performed in order to confirm or refute the defined hypotheses. The results obtained show a change in the use of Instagram during this period of confinement and, although there is no significant link between the type of marketing activity and the increase in awareness and brand image, there was still a demand for different content and formats, an increase in followed accounts and also an increase in awareness and brand image. There is a scarcity of studies on the use of Instagram in Portugal and, even more, on its use during Covid-19. In this sense, this research and its findings may be relevant for those who work with social networks and with content creation for them, because it provides an insight into what users most seek and the respective implications and may facilitate the management of resources to invest in social networks, especially in times of crisis.

Date of Award	28 Jun 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Patrícia Dias (Supervisor)