Instagram Influence on Buying Behavior Among Klang Valley Students

This thesis investigates the influence of Instagram on the buying behavior of Klang Valley University students. It begins by outlining the evolution of social media and the rise of Instagram as a marketing platform. The research identifies that young adults are the primary users of Instagram, making them a key target for marketers. The study explores how Instagram, compared to platforms like Facebook and YouTube, impacts student purchasing decisions. The research employs a quantitative approach, using a survey with 100 student respondents to analyze their Instagram usage, exposure to advertising, and the correlation with their buying choices. The study further examines how businesses leverage Instagram to reach a wider market and influence consumer behavior. The findings aim to provide insights into the relationship between social media marketing and consumer buying behavior, specifically within the context of Klang Valley University students. The thesis also acknowledges limitations such as the study's short timeframe and lack of comparative statistical analysis.

Running head: THESIS
Thesis
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THESIS
Table of Content
Instagram Background.....................................................................................................................2
Problem Statement...........................................................................................................................3
Research Questions..........................................................................................................................3
Research Objectives.........................................................................................................................4
Scope and Limitation.......................................................................................................................4
Literature Review............................................................................................................................5
Research methodology (Theoretical Framework)...........................................................................5
Research Methods............................................................................................................................6
Sample Size.....................................................................................................................................7
Sampling Procedures.......................................................................................................................7
References and Bibliography...........................................................................................................9

2THESIS
Topic- Influence of Instagram on buying behavior among Klang Valley University student
Instagram Background
It has been identified that due to the technological advancement such as the advancement and
innovation on social media tools have made it easy for people across the world to remain
connected on a regular basis. Instagram is one such tool, which provides the opportunity to
observe what others are up to, and share the preferred things. In the recent time, the social media
tool Instagram has been developed in a way that people could share everything, especially the
images of their regular activities. This makes the users to know each other on a frequent basis.
The major purpose of the research is to investigate the influence of social media platforms such
as the use of Instragram on people in general; this means the research particularly focuses on the
fact how Instagram influences the buying behavior of Klang Valley University student.
The CEO Kevin Systrom is the co-founder of Instagram who made it possible for 800
million people to share and capture the world moment (Instagram.com. 2017). Kevin takes the
responsibility for organization’s overall vision and strategy and the regular operation. As the
consequence, Instagram has become the home for the visual storytelling for every individual
including the celebrities, brands, newsroom, entertainment and anything with a creative passion.
Instagram is a social network, which provides a great marketing platform to reach the potential
customers from nation of the world. The business found a new platform to reach the wide market
through instagram. As put forward by this social media tool started to roll out business profiles,
which largely mirrors Facebook’s business profile as well as compete with a large “contact”-call-
to action, permitting users to call and text the business. This social media tool has gained

3THESIS
popularity due to the user-friendly functions embedded with the apps that can be handled through
Smartphone.
Problem Statement
It has been identified that mainly the young and adults are mostly use Instagram as their
communication network. The marketers target those young people as their segmented market.
However, it has also been identified that when it comes to social media tools, the marketers
mostly take the advantages of Facebook and YouTube but Instagram is also a significant tool
which could influence the buying the behavior of people belonging to any cultural background.
A large percentage of Klang University’s students is engaged in Instagram sharing their regular
activities and certainly influences the buying behavior of the students. Thus, it is necessary to
learn how Instagram or to what extent Instagram influences the students of Klang Valley
University. This is also necessary to learn how businesses are using Instagram as their
communication to reach wide market.
Research Questions
1. What is your gender?
2. What is your age?
3. Do you follow any social media tools to receive and share updates?
4. Which social media tools do you follow? (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat)
5. Do you watch online advertising on social media tools?
6. How far do you agree that intagram influences you buying decisions process?

4THESIS
7. How often do you use Instagram for sharing and receiving updates?
8. Is any brand you purchased after seeing the advertising on Instagram?
9. Do you receive adequate information in the advertisement regarding the brand on Instagram?
10. How much time do you usually spend for Instagram activities?
Research Objectives
 To analyze the evolution of social media tools
 To critically analyze the impact of social media tools on buying behavior of the students
of Klang Valley University
 To examine the frequency of using Instagram among the student of Klang Valley
University
 To investigate how marketers are using Instagram as their communication tool to
influence the student of Klange Valley University
 To identify the relationship between the consumer buying behavior and social media
marketing
Scope and Limitation
Scope-
1. For conducting the analysis, the proposed sample include the students of Klange Valley
University
2. The proposed research will include both primary and secondary analysis to derive the
proposed result

5THESIS
3. To conduct the literature review, almost 40 journals will be selected
B) Limitation
1. The proposed study is considered to be conducted within two months, which is certainly less
for conducting such thesis
2. The proposed study lacks a comparative analysis, which would have helped to identify the
significance of Instagram in business
3. The study lacks a proper statistical analysis such as SPSS and Regression
Literature Review
The literature review includes the papers that have been conducted on consumer buying
behavior theory, advertising model on social media platforms, social marketing theory and other
relevant theories. The review of literature identifies the relationship between the social media
marketing and the consumer buying behavior. The literature review also focuses on the fact that
how people around the world are influenced by the advertising strategies applied on social media
tools. In order to conduct the analysis, almost 40 papers will be selected. The papers selected for
the analysis have reliability and validity as the scholars have performed the analysis considering
the current affairs. The publication of the selected papers are not lesser than 2011. The
secondary data for analysis has been collected from reliable secondary sources such journals,
articles, blogs, news paper and other relevant sources.
Research methodology (Theoretical Framework)

6THESIS
Social media
marketing through
Instagram
Purchasing
intention among the
students of Klange
Valley University
Background of the
students
Type of social media
tools
Frequency of using the
social media tool
Figure 1: Research Methodology (Theoretical Framework)
(Source: Self-Made)
Research Methods
Methodology is often considered as the philosophical base within which the study is
conducted. Such methodological base is associated with a specific set of paradigmatic
anticipation that can be used to conduct the research. According to Snyder (2012) methodology
needs to be the most suitable and appropriate to meet the research objectives.
Once appropriate research methods are selected for the analysis, quantitative research
method will be applied to conduct the survey among the students of Klange Valley University.
For conducting the survey, a questionnaire will be prepared consisting of 10 questions on the use
of social media tool and consumer buying behaviors. The questionnaire will be distributed
among the students through email. The first responses will be collected and then they will be
converted to the numerical digits to present them in the table and graph. Moreover, the statistical
data will help to derive the statistical findings such as mean, mode, median and standard

7THESIS
deviation. The conversion of the responses to the numerical digits will certainly help the
researcher to analyze the attitudes and behaviors of the students. Moreover, such forms of data
will help to relate the finding with the facts found in the literature review. Based on the finding
derived from the survey, appropriated recommendation can be developed in the end of the study.
Sample Size
To conduct the survey, a proper sampling size will be selected. Even though, there is a
general fact that millions of people are regularly involved in the social media activities, the
proposed research only considers the Klange University students. Therefore, the sample size for
the proposed study is 150, which means the population size is 150 undergraduates but the
responses of100 students will be considered in the analysis. Among different sampling methods,
the random sampling method will be used for conducting the survey where each respondent of
the population has the chance to take part in the survey.
Sampling Procedures
To collect the data, quantitative data collection method will be used. Under the
quantitative method, a survey will be conducted involving 150 students of Klange Valley
University. The students will be provided with a set of close-ended questions related to consumer
buying behavior and social media marketing. As put forward by Scotland (2012), the essence of
survey technique can be described as questioning individuals on particular topic and then
explains the process. In the present study, the survey method of quantitative data collection is
applied to verify the concepts, and reflect the altitude of people. All questions will be written in
English; thereby, each respondent involved in the survey could understand and respond to the
questions. The close-ended questions will be developed and designed in a way that they could

8THESIS
help to reject or accept the research hypothesis before the analysis. Only close-ended questions
will be designed because such format will not take time for answers.
Implementation of the quantitative method
By implementing the survey method, the questionnaire will be formed online. In addition to this,
Google Docs and other documents will be created on the basis of variables- consumer buying
behavior, social media marketing and advertising.

9THESIS
References and Bibliography
Chu, S. C., & Kim, Y. (2011). Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic word-of-
mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites. International journal of Advertising, 30(1),
47-75.
Forbes, L. P. (2013). Does social media influence consumer buying behavior? An investigation
of recommendations and purchases. Journal of Business & Economics Research
(Online), 11(2), 107.
Forbes, L. P. (2013). Does social media influence consumer buying behavior? An investigation
of recommendations and purchases. Journal of Business & Economics Research
(Online), 11(2), 107.
Heinonen, K. (2011). Consumer activity in social media: Managerial approaches to consumers'
social media behavior. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 10(6), 356-364.
Instagram.com. (2017). About Us • Instagram. [online] Available at:
https://www.instagram.com/about/us/ [Accessed 18 Oct. 2017].
Scotland, J. (2012). Exploring the philosophical underpinnings of research: Relating ontology
and epistemology to the methodology and methods of the scientific, interpretive, and
critical research paradigms. English Language Teaching, 5(9), 9.
Snyder, C. (2012). A case study of a case study: Analysis of a robust qualitative research
methodology. The Qualitative Report, 17(13), 1.

10THESIS
Tufford, L., & Newman, P. (2012). Bracketing in qualitative research. Qualitative social
work, 11(1), 80-96.
Wang, X., Yu, C., & Wei, Y. (2012). Social media peer communication and impacts on purchase
intentions: A consumer socialization framework. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(4),
198-208.