Timing and Message Design in Instagram Stories: Evidence from Personal Shopping Practices in Baghdad

Purpose: This study examines how timing and message design strategies in Instagram stories affect consumer engagement within Baghdad’s emerging social and commercial landscape. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory, the research aims to identify the posting practices that maximize visibility, interaction, and user dialogue for personal shopping services.Method: A quantitative observational design was adopted. Data was collected from ۱۴۹ Instagram stories posted on a personal shopping account during work days in Iraq between June ۱st and July ۱۲th, ۲۰۲۵. Story characteristics were systematically varied across weekday, posting time, content type, video format, text presence, and caption length. Engagement outcomes—including accounts reached, accounts engaged, and direct messages—were obtained from Instagram Insights and analyzed using ANOVA, independent-samples t-tests, and regression models.Findings: The results indicate that Stories posted on Thursdays and during daytime to early evening periods (۰۸:۰۰, ۱۲:۰۰, and ۱۸:۰۰) achieved significantly higher reach and engagement, whereas posts published at ۲۲:۰۰ were consistently underperformed. Content type was not a significant predictor of performance; however, long-form videos generated greater reach, and longer captions significantly increased direct message activity. Text-only stories performed comparably to mixed-media stories in terms of reach and engagement, although they did not significantly affect private user dialogue. These findings suggest that timing remains the primary driver of exposure, while message design elements play a more substantial role in shaping conversion-oriented interactions.Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that effective Instagram marketing in Baghdad requires context-specific optimization rather than reliance on generalized global best practices. By linking temporal and content-related effects to users’ gratification-seeking behaviors, this study extends Uses and Gratifications Theory within the social commerce literature and offers practical insights for SMEs and personal shoppers operating in emerging economies.

کلیدواژه ها:

Instagram Stories ، Digital Marketing ، Social Commerce ، Uses and Gratifications Theory ، consumer engagement ، Iraq