User reactions to destination brand contents in social media

Abstract

With the aim of communicating their identities and brands, tourist destinations have started to use social media. However, many do not know very well how to manage them in order to improve their online communication. Several studies have shown that a high level of interactivity generated with users in social media leads to greater engagement and a better brand image. The aim of this study is to analyse the brand contents that generate the most reactions among users and to ascertain if the communication of the brand image and its emotional values also generates reactions. Results show that the most identifying or destination-specific themes/attributes are the ones that trigger the most reactions (interactivity), although very often generic attributes are also communicated. Moreover, this study shows that the communication of emotional brand values also generates reactions, although emotional values are rarely communicated by tourist destinations. The brand values and attributes that trigger the most user reactions do not usually coincide with the most mentioned ones by destinations in their posts.