Posting to Belong: Instagram Features Enhance Marketed Goods Used as Conduits to Leverage Group Affiliation

Abstract

Belonging Conduits are resources available in the market (such as products, services, or brands) that people use as a means to favor their affiliation to a group. The conduits are a construct of the belongingness-oriented consumption model, which explains the process that subjects follow when their consumption patterns favor their affiliation to a group. This study aims to examine how young consumers are using the social media platform Instagram to produce content using Belonging Conduits to promote their group affiliation. A qualitative research with a deductive approach was conducted among young Instagram users. Data were collected through interviews, using the mobile instant messaging interview (MIMI) technique. The information was analyzed using structural coding and thematic analysis. The findings confirm that young people use consumer goods as vehicles to favor their belonging. In addition, it becomes clear that participants recognize Instagram as an functional outlet for exhibiting Belonging Conduits. Furthermore, Instagram’s features allow to add additional layers of information to these conduits, particularly music, and to increase the reach of content oriented to favor group affiliation.