Business Advertisers’ Decision Making on Instagram Marketing Strategies

The Brief 

A digital advertising platform was exploring how businesses of different sizes make marketing decisions on social media, specifically around Instagram. The study called for participants who not only used Instagram for advertising but held the authority to set strategy and control spend, rather than simply executing campaigns someone else had planned. 

Segmentation by Business Size 

The recruitment covered three business size bands: small, medium, and large. Each band carried its own sourcing logic. Small business owners often handle marketing personally, making role verification straightforward but discovery harder. Large business participants, where two slots were needed, required navigating larger organizational structures to find the right individual rather than just the right company. 

Screening and Quality Controls 

Industry targeting focused on consumer-facing categories including retail, e-commerce, travel, fashion, beauty, and consumer goods, while filtering out healthcare, government, and technology sectors where advertising behavior differs substantially. Candidates from major platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok were excluded to avoid conflict of interest. A backup recruitment track ran in parallel to protect against no-shows, and all five sourced participants were confirmed for camera-on Zoom interviews before being submitted. 

• 5 experts sourced against a target of 4 
• 3 business size bands represented 
• 100% camera-confirmed before fieldwork