The impact of destination-brand social media content on consumer online brand-related activities (COBRAs)

Abstract

On social media, the social cues accompanying a destination-brand-related post (likes, comments, shares), the relevance of its content, and the content-source are all determining factors that impact on consumers’ engagement with that brand on social media. The study identifies consumers’ engagement via their levels of participation in consuming, sharing, and creating content (COBRAs) about a destination. A 2x2x2 experiment is performed on a panel-based sample of 632 users who are exposed to different Instagram stimuli about a fictitious tourist attraction. The results provide empirical support for the hypothesis that all factors exert positive effects on tourists’ engagement with destination-brand-related content. Social cues and the content-source are found to function as moderators of content relevance. The importance of these findings lies in identifying differences in tourist engagement generated by the relevance of the content, depending on who posts it and the social endorsement it receives. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.