Rethinking Instagram’s role in national DMOS’ marketing strategies: a longitudinal perspective

Abstract

Purpose – Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) have increased the use of Instagram to potentiate social media-induced tourism. Based on the agenda-setting theory, this research longitudinally analyses DMOs’ marketing strategies on Instagram (2020-2023) to compare them in crisis, post-crisis (short and long term) and return to normalcy periods. For that, the National DMOs of France’s and Spain’s Instagram profiles (the two most visited countries worldwide) were studied. Besides, the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model was used to investigate their followers’ interaction across their customer journey in the four examined years. Methodology/Design/Approach – Through a mixed methodology (quantitative content analysis and thematic analysis), this study comparatively and longitudinally examined the visual and text content of both Instagram profiles and their respective audiences’ interaction. Findings – Both DMOs’ profiles’ institutional agendas coincided in content and tourism products and differed in the format and storytelling narrative. As for the interaction, audiences reacted better to the most promoted content and tourism products and preferred photographs to videos. However, a huge decrease in both audiences’ interaction is observed across the four studied periods. Originality of the research – This research provides insights for DMOs’ planning and development of Instagram marketing strategies in post-crisis stages in the long term.