ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 1 Destination Brand Communication through the Social Media. What Contents trigger most Reactions of Users? Assumpció Huertas and Estela Mariné- Roig University Rovira i Virgili, Spain [email protected]http://www.urv.cat University of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain [email protected]http://www.udl.cat/
20
Embed
ENTER 2015 Research TrackSlide Number 1 Destination Brand Communication through the Social Media. What…
ENTER 2015 Research TrackSlide Number 3 However, many destinations do not know very well how to manage them in order to reach their target publics, what communications strategies to follow or what information to transmit Background The Social Media have revolutionised communication for tourism and destinations. Opinions and appreciations of other users become largely transmitted and credible. Given the importance of the social media as communication tools for Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), most of them have started to use them.
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 1
Destination Brand Communication through the Social Media. What Contents
However, many destinations do not know very well how to manage them in order to reach their target publics, what communications strategies to follow or what information to transmit
Background The Social Media have revolutionised communication for
tourism and destinations. Opinions and appreciations of other users become largely
transmitted and credible. Given the importance of the social media as communication
tools for Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), most of them have started to use them.
The destination brand identity must be a key aspect in destination communication through the social media. A destination brand generates identification with the territory and distinguishes it from other destinations
BackgroundDestination brands:The social media have become key tools for the communication of destinations’ identities and their brands.The tourists’ experiences and narratives in social media spaces help to construct an online reputation and create destination brands’ image.The active participation of users in the social media increases the emotional attachment to the brand.
Users’ Reactions to contents are key items to measure interactivity in social media and brand communication.
BackgroundReactions and Interactivity:The social media are characterised by their interactivity, as they enable the reactions of users and the establishment of dialogue with them.Advantages of interactivity: greater surfing time and implication of users, greater processing and impact of information, creation of relationships with users and the generation of a better destination brand image.
User reactions in Facebook : - Likes- Comments- Shares
MethodologyDestination brands, understood as identity, comprise two dimensions: a cognitive and an affective; a functional or tangible and an emotional; namely: Attraction Factors and Emotional Values.
Anthem/Flag/National Symbols) Gastronomy (Food/Cuisine, Wine Tourism) Leisure (Urban and cultural leisure/shows, Night life, Shopping); Sun and Beach (Sea/Beach, Sun, Climate/Weather) Business/trade Sports (Hiking, Winter Sports, Water Sports, Adventure Sports, Elite Sports, Other) Technology (Social Media/ICT, Technology, Innovation) Services (Hotel/Accommodation, Transport, Other services) Things to Do Tourist Information/Agenda Non-Tourist information/institutional
We used an adaptation of the “Brand Personality Scale” by Aaker (1997), which has been extended with other attributes and values relevant for the analysis of tourist destinations.
Themes that generate most reactions are usually unique or characteristic attributes of the destinations highly imageable
According to results, DMOs should mainly communicate differential attributes, although generic themes should also be communicated in a lesser proportion.
Lack of congruency between the most mentioned contents and those which trigger most reactions in all destination types
Destinations should consider the communication of themes that generate most reactions among users to achieve more interactivity, engagement, navigation time and positive attitudes
Brand Values that generate most reactions also emphasise uniqueness, originality and traditional values. They are related to leisure and to family values. However, the values transmitted by the different types of destinations are indistinctive.
Communication of distinctive emotional values of the destinations’ identity generates most user reactions, but usually do not coincide with the values most mentioned by destinations
Although destinations need to know which values generate most reactions, we do not think that DMOs should communicate the values that generate most reactions, but those that identify and differentiate their place brand and that are according to their strategies as complex entities.
Conclusions The analysis method was useful to provide information about
the themes and emotional values that trigger most reactions, and can be adapted to other types of destinations.
Research had previously shown that greater interactivity entailed a better brand image for tourist destinations (Munar, 2011). But this study’s results also assess the inverse relationship: that the communication of emotional brand values also entails more reactions and greater interactivity.
Thus, we conclude that their communication is recommendable and necessary for effective and excellent communication of territories through the social media.