Instagram is arguably one of the biggest social media success stories. It started out as a simple photo sharing app that has grown to be integral to everyday life. When Instagram launched in October of 2010, it had 1 million users by December of that year and would only get bigger. By the time Facebook would acquire the company in 2012, it had more than 10 million users. Pictures of food, nature, dogs, and sunsets suddenly became art with just a filter and a clever hashtag, available for anyone in the world to see and click the precious ‘like’ button. With Instagram’s instant rise to fame, it is easy to see how corporations could be tempted to use the medium as a way to advertise their products. Advertising on Instagram occurs in two ways,
…show more content…
In other words, the perfect market. In the article Hegemony by James Lull, this type of advertising is displayed as “the power of dominance that one social group hold over others.” The vast majority of these ads are coming from celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Lindsay Lohan, Jwow, Nicki Minaj, and Ashley Benson from Pretty Little Liars. All of these female celebrates have pictures on their Instagram that promotion for a company stemming from weight loss teas to teeth whitener. Their posts range from Hillary Duff’s subtle advertisement for a teatox, “Having a spot of @lyfe_tea (British accent) #healthkick #lyfetea” to Jwow’s obvious plug for a waist cincher, “If I can count on anything I know I can count on my @girlycurves_ waist cincher❗️Every mom can use that extra helpThanks @girlycurves_ www.girlycurves.com (They are having a 15% OFF Memorial Day Sale Use Code: Memorial)”. By using celebrities and by showcasing these products in photos as just part of everyday life companies are able to set their own agenda. As Lull described mass media are tools that ruling elites use to perpetuate their power, wealth and status by popularizing their own philosophy, culture and morality. Companies encourage and sometimes will pay celebrities to post about their photo because it will subtle tell audiences that since high powered and well loved celebrities use the product, then every day men and women should want to use it to. It also gives the companies the ability to advertise to audiences everywhere and anywhere. Instagram is always accessible on a smart phone and the internet and many users page through the site frequently throughout the day, making it a far more worthwhile medium for corporate paid
In other words, the perfect market. In the article Hegemony by James Lull, this type of advertising is displayed as “the power of dominance that one social group hold over others.” The vast majority of these ads are coming from celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Lindsay Lohan, Jwow, Nicki Minaj, and Ashley Benson from Pretty Little Liars. All of these female celebrates have pictures on their Instagram that promotion for a company stemming from weight loss teas to teeth whitener. Their posts range from Hillary Duff’s subtle advertisement for a teatox, “Having a spot of @lyfe_tea (British accent) #healthkick #lyfetea” to Jwow’s obvious plug for a waist cincher, “If I can count on anything I know I can count on my @girlycurves_ waist cincher❗️Every mom can use that extra helpThanks @girlycurves_ www.girlycurves.com (They are having a 15% OFF Memorial Day Sale Use Code: Memorial)”. By using celebrities and by showcasing these products in photos as just part of everyday life companies are able to set their own agenda. As Lull described mass media are tools that ruling elites use to perpetuate their power, wealth and status by popularizing their own philosophy, culture and morality. Companies encourage and sometimes will pay celebrities to post about their photo because it will subtle tell audiences that since high powered and well loved celebrities use the product, then every day men and women should want to use it to. It also gives the companies the ability to advertise to audiences everywhere and anywhere. Instagram is always accessible on a smart phone and the internet and many users page through the site frequently throughout the day, making it a far more worthwhile medium for corporate paid