Mom Influencers and Strategic Communication on Instagram: A study of Constructing Motherhood in Indian online space
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Mothers are the new influencers on Instagram that appeal to the strongest human emotion and make motherhood an efficient tool to market different products. This strategic communication has seen some success and these influencers’ posts have found sponsors. This research aims to study how Indian mother influencers construct motherhood on Instagram. Taking the framework of crystallization in the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) and theory of Trans para-Social Interaction, the researchers examined Instagram for construction of motherhood by mother influencers as neo-agenda setters and how users in their social network are shaping it through their attitudes and beliefs. Objectives included analysing elements of motherhood in the content and presentation of the posts, exploring aspects of commercial promotion and users’ attitude towards content. The study analysed 100 posts uploaded by ten Indian Instagram mother influencers-those with minimum three sponsored posts. Simple random sampling was used to choose first ten accounts with posts appearing in community #indianmomblogger during March 2024. Further, first ten posts from each account were randomly taken for sample. Using mixed methods approach, the researchers conducted content analysis with ‘post’ as the unit of analysis. Quantitative variables about mother, child and commercial aspects of posts were combined with qualitative elements of visual grammar and analysis of users’ sentiments for carrying out the study. The researchers concluded that the motherhood shown in these posts is largely artificial and a pushed one to make profit out of it for which children are the means to an end. The followers look up to them to share their experiences and seek guidance which largely boils down to consumerism.
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