Cole Haggerty

EN 102

Professor Lewis

1/27/2020

Modern Social Life and the Influence of Instagram

Throughout generations, social life and its norms are constantly being changed and

challenged by the evolution of technology. Before the evolution of the telephone, people used to

communicate by writing letters or sitting down and having a chat with friends, strangers and

family. With the evolution of the telephone came a plethora of options such as long-distance

calls, radio signals and many other methods used in order to communicate with one person or to

the masses. Before the inventions of Facebook and the Internet, there were no social media

platforms to see where your friends are currently. Additionally, people did not have the abilities

to video chat and message people in the matter of nanoseconds, nor did the ability to have

billions of videos at the click of a mouse or touch of a finger. The evolution of technology into

the Information Era has opened up a world of possibilities, but with that comes lots of pros and

cons. Applications such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube have created plenty of full-time jobs

and the potential to spread a message to the masses and has given plenty of niche groups a

stronger place in society. While there may be problems with social media such as lack of

privacy, the influence of social media for the most part been a sign of how far society has come

over the last 150 years.

Social media is the place where you can find the most interaction between people. One

channel where this is very apparent is the creation of Instagram and the rise of social media

influencers and advertisers. Instagram has become the world’s platform for anything under the
sun. It is a place where the world can showcase almost anything they want within the parameters

of a country’s free speech and censorship laws. Instagram’s rise has also created a business for

millions of people. This paper will be covering an article from Lyfe Marketing about the benefits

of growing a business on Instagram. With one billion active users on Instagram and five hundred

million daily active users, over a third of users have used Instagram to buy a product online.

“…over 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram, so ⅓ of them would mean at least

333,333,333 Instagram users have used Instagram to purchase a product online!” With this in

mind, the article also talks about this in the sense that there is plenty of untapped market in the

world that has been reached because of this app as mentioned in the article. From a business

standpoint, this allows businesses to grow at a level never before seen in decades and centuries

prior.

Additionally, the people over at Lyfe Marketing talk about the advancement in

technology when it comes to advertising and specifically targeting advertisements to select

individuals on Instagram based off of selective algorithms. Ever since Mark Zuckerberg bought

Instagram in 2012, they have used Facebook’s advanced advertising algorithms to start targeting

specific audiences and had Instagram turn from a simple photo-sharing app into a marketplace

where businesses can grow and has grown to the point where users can link products to specific

advertising by using tags on photos. One example that Lyfe gives is the cold targeting of

customers on the internet. “In addition to the cold targeting options listed above, Instagram has

the same extensive retargeting capabilities that Facebook does! Here, cold targeting refers to

people who have never seen or heard of your brand and business before. They’re cold and need

to be “warmed up” in order to become a buyer and hopefully repeat buyer.” With that being said,

there have been plenty of complaints about privacy and security when it comes to the usage of
these Facebook algorithms. Plenty of people feel as if their privacy has been invaded by these

companies who are looking for data in order to sell products to them and while it has created a

bunch of controversy in the world of the Internet, the influence this algorithm has had on

business can be felt.

While there are plenty of examples of the influence that Instagram has had on business,

another bit of information that has stood out in this article is the part of the article where Lyfe

Marketing talks about the ability it has given retailers to grow a business. Lyfe writes, “On

Instagram, you can build your followers organically. This allows for a very natural relationship

to occur between your brand and your followers from the start as opposed to forcing the

connection with paid ads.” What this allows for is the growth of small businesses around the

world and growth has never been more apparent than it is now. With the ability to track statistics

like never before as mentioned in the article, Instagram allows the user to see details such as

leads, page views and clicks. While this may seem invasive on the surface, it is beneficial for

businesses to track all forms of progress and Instagram allows for this. The main statistics, likes

and comments, are valuable information to find out what the consumer base on Instagram likes

or dislikes.

With this all in mind, there has never been a better time to create and build a business

with Instagram. In today’s world, there may be many malpractices when it comes to doing

business on Instagram from illegal data mining to scamming and it is important to be cognizant

of that. But on the other hand, Instagram has become a platform for the growth of many

influencers and businesses around the globe. Many more people are now famous because of it

and many businesses, even the large businesses such as Nike, Adidas and others have seen strong
growth from these platforms. While Instagram may be a platform for showcasing the best of

people’s lives, it is also a very strong place to start a business.

Works Cited:

o Brandi. “Top 10 Benefits of Instagram for Business - LYFE Marketing.” Lyfe Marketing,
Lyfe Marketing, 13 Aug. 2019, www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/benefits-instagram/.