Entreprenørskab på Instagram - en analyse af samarbejdet mellem og brandingen af en mikroinfluencer og en større veletableret virksomhed, med fokus på den visuelle kommunikation

Abstract

In this thesis, I will examine how entrepreneurship on Instagram is made possible in the form of collaboration and branding between a micro-influencer and a larger, well-established company. Here I will start with my own startup Kreativmamma.dk, where I will explore how I, as a micro-influencer, can create valuable content on Instagram for the company Luksusbaby and Tweens. In the thesis, there will be a focus on visual communication, where especially their less visibly marketed products on Instagram will be highlighted. On Luksusbabys Instagram profile, it appears that products from the product group 'creative play' are presented in four posts out of 130 in the month of April 2024, whereas products from the birthday category were most recently presented in the month of June 2022, which is why I find it relevant to look at this 'gap' in their marketing. Through my master's degree at AAU, it was possible to take the internship in the 9th semester in your own startup, where at AAU Innovate this opportunity has been created, which encourages a focus on the more practice-oriented, where your own company is integrated into the academic approach. I will also include the benefits I have gained through the course, where a so-called business assumptions exercise and a reception analysis guide the business concept. In addition, I see the thesis as a form of preparatory work for a professional collaboration, where it is Luksusbaby that is the subject of my analysis. Based on the analysis, I will create different solutions for Luksusbabys visual communication, where there is a more phatic function, rather than a mainly expressive one. The phatic function is also further in focus as I experience a desire for a more aesthetic expression, which is experienced, among other things, through an interview held with one of Luksusbabys owners. I will also examine my own branding strategies and forms of communication to determine whether there is a basis for a brand- target group- and influencer match between Luksusbaby and me as Kreativmamma. In addition, I will look at what types of influencers they otherwise use in their marketing, to see how I as an influencer might match. In my communication, there is less focus on expressive communication, where self-staging is not a major part of my brand, where there is rather an increased focus on aesthetics in the form of consistency in the use of visual effects. However, I find it relevant to investigate whether an aesthetic and well-composed Instagram profile fails if the person behind does not appear in the communication. Therefore, in a perspective and discussing section, I will examine how similar media entrepreneurs and DIY content creators’ brand themselves on Instagram, in order to be critical in relation to my own branding strategies. Throughout the thesis, I will answer the following problem statement: What opportunities does Instagram offer as a platform for the collaboration and branding of a micro-influencer and a larger, well-established company? How can I, as a micro-influencer in my startup Kreativmamma, create valuable content on Instagram, with a focus on visual communication, marketing less visible products from Luksusbaby and Tween's product range, so that they match both of our brands and values? How do similar media entrepreneurs and DIY Content Creators brand themselves on Instagram?

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Entreprenørskab på Instagram - en analyse af samarbejdet mellem og brandingen af en mikroinfluencer og en større veletableret virksomhed, med fokus på den visuelle kommunikation

[Entrepreneurship on Instagram - an analysis of the collaboration and branding of a micro-influencer and a larger well-established company, focusing on the visual communication]