Instagram Influencers and Their Effect on the Purchase Decisions of Chandigarh College Students

Abstract

The study examines how Instagram influencer endorsements are affecting college students in Chandigarh India to buy their products. Instagram and social media, in general, have become a decisive new factor in the current marketing environment that significantly transforms the consumer-brand communication across different age groups, with younger generations influencing this change the most. Instagram influencers have a large influence regarding purchases since usually they are trusted and provide original information. Instagram is the platform of choice of over a billion of active users, and it is possible to develop personal relations between influencers and their followers, so endorsement by them is more likely to persuade than regular advertising. Different factors such as credibility of the influencer, the kind of content that influences the purchase of a product (photos, video as well as stories), and the strategies that the influencing implement, such as affiliate marketing and discount codes, are also discussed in the study. According to results, there is an impressive degree of interactions of college students with Instagram, as approximately 90 percent of them use it on a regular basis, whereas a considerable percentage follows the advice of influencers. The results indicate that the credibility of influencers, the interactional character of Instagram content, and good promotion tactics have great impacts on purchase behavior. The study addresses this research gap because it examines college students specifically in Chandigarh and also provides an idea about the increasing efficiency of the strategies of Instagram influencer marketing in India.