The effect of Instagram phenomens on users' purchase behaviors: A comparison of Turkey and Azerbaijan

Social media, especially Instagram, has become one of the places where each of us spends hours and socializes. As a part of our lives, Instagram is more and more involved in daily routine life for both consumers and businesses. Consumers consider Instagram as a social media tool as a resource in order to research and obtain information about both products or services and brands in every subject. Social media phenomena on Instagram share information about products and services on a daily basis. With this research, it is aimed to examine and reveal the effects of Instagram social media phenomena on the purchasing behavior of university students in Turkey and Azerbaijan. In the first part of the study, the concept of marketing, consumer behavior, brand trust and the transition to digital marketing are emphasized. In the second part, a literature review was conducted on digital marketing tools, especially social media phenomena. Hypotheses and questions were put forward regarding the issues covering the importance of the research. Within the scope of the study, a questionnaire was prepared to determine the effect of social media phenomena on the purchasing behavior of university students in both countries. Since there is a comparison between Turkey and Azerbaijan in this survey study, the data were analyzed with the help of SPSS program. As a result of the analysis, although there were no differences in the duration of social media use of students from the two countries, it was seen that geographical and cultural differences and phenomena had different effects on students' purchasing behavior. It is concluded that social media phenomena have a positive effect on brand trust in both countries.