Instagram as a mirror of brand identities: A qualitative analysis of Netflix communication strategy on Instagram in the United States

The growing influence of social media platforms in the strategic communication of businesses is an observable trend. The opportunities that social networking sites provide spread through factors such as ease of viral reach, efficiency in terms of costs and chance for reaching niche audiences. Social media marketing along with brands’ presence online offer both companies and consumers an environment where, on one side, the brand can manifest its identity and, on the other, the consumer can engage with the brand in an informal setting, without feeling bombarded with targeted promotional content. Even though certain businesses use social media platforms to solely showcase their products or services, it becomes apparent that there are other alternatives to this strategy that result in higher engagement levels and more loyal and enthusiastic brand community base. Instagram is a distinctive social media platform as its features are mainly focused on visual communication. This allows brands to create a gallery-like experience but also create a strategy that takes into consideration the perks of the platform and how to use them to engage users. As an on-demand streaming service provider, Netflix sells visual content. Instagram turns out to be a convenient place for the company to promote itself. This research explores the Netflix’ use of the Instagram platform on their US account in search of the types of content Netflix publishes and what kind of brand identity it presents. This project is based on a qualitative content analysis of 170 Instagram posts gathered from the Netflix US account. Within the theoretical framework, concepts such as social media marketing, band engagement, brand community building, brand loyalty and brand identity are described and incorporated in analyzing the company’s marketing efforts online. This study established that Netflix combines the visualization platform’s ability to display its brand identity and build a brand community but through using distinctive humorous brand voice, representation of a positive and light attitude, expression of witty opinions and emotions. The findings indicate that the advertised content is mainly focused on shows streaming on Netflix, but strong attention is also paid to the cast of Netflix Originals. This study is scientifically relevant as it acquires understanding of how specific features of Instagram are used to establish brand communities through published content. The project simultaneously contributes to gaining academic knowledge about a media innovator in the digital age, Netflix, and the use of social media marketing on a rapidly growing platform such as Instagram. Furthermore, this research is socially relevant as it offers an external perspective of Netflix communication strategy which can serve the company itself, but also other brands interested in the implementation of Instagram in their marketing.