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For any questions or feedback on this research, please email kbree751@mail.endicott.edu.
I chose to pursue the topic of Social Media & Photography as my previous work experiences introduced me to the world of creative marketing. Both social media marketing and photography have the ability to impact consumer affinity toward a brand, and as a photographer myself, I can appreciate and understand the influence that photographs have in catching someone’s attention or accurately portraying a brand’s vision.
In addition to starting my own photography business, I have experience working as a Media Associate Intern and Growth-Marketing Co-Op where I became familiar with the snapshot aesthetic, a type of photography where images look as if they have been captured by the average consumer, and the Canva aesthetic, a cookie-cutter aesthetic with graphic and/or text-based information overlaid on photographs made through templates on the design tool, Canva. As a frequent user of Canva, I noticed a particular pattern in brands that utilize the templates on the platform, which inspired me to pursue this subject in my research.
Additionally, I have been an active Instagram user since 2012, and since the launch of the app, I have observed the drastic changes the platform has implemented in real-time. My initial intention for joining Instagram was to connect with friends and family. I recall when Instagram first started to allow different dimensions of photos to be posted rather than just a square, and within the last year, the platform has added the “Shop” and “Reels” tabs. Most notably, Instagram now caters to its business accounts and serves as a marketing platform in conjunction with Facebook.
Now, as a business owner myself, I developed different goals on Instagram to promote my photography. Since kickstarting a business account on Instagram, I am more mindful of sponsored advertisements as I understand what it takes to operate a branded account. During my daily scrolling through social media, I noticed both the Canva and snapshot aesthetics in sponsored ads, developing a preference between the two design approaches myself. My personal experience with sponsored ads ultimately led me to research brand affinity for the two aesthetics. Through this research, I aim to provide data-driven recommendations to brands on which aesthetic to utilize in order to aid in their creative marketing and goals for optimization.
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