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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 7

Publication Date: July 25, 2024

DOI:10.14738/assrj.117.17320.

Alghamdi, G., & Abdul Wahid, N. (2024). The Use of Social Media Marketing Activities to Promote a Tourism Destination: A Review.

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(7). 246-259.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

The Use of Social Media Marketing Activities to Promote a

Tourism Destination: A Review

Ghazi Alghamdi

Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

Nabsiah Abdul Wahid

Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

This study reviews the concept of SMMA in tourism context using Al-Ula, in Saudi

Arabia, as an example of a tourism destination. The review focuses on ‘what’ the

concept entails followed by a discussion on whether SMMA components would

provide Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry with opportunities to construct a

destination brand image, enhance its attractiveness, and influence tourists'

intention to visit. A systematic literature review approach is applied for this

purpose. From the review, the SMMA concept is found useful for tourism marketing

and entertainment, informativeness, interactivity, personalization, trendiness, and

perceived institution credibility are identified as SMMA components with

promotional strategy potential. SMMA can benefit Al-Ula by strengthening its brand

image by promoting heritage destination activities to attract tourists' intention to

visit. The entertainment component for instance can offer tourists virtual tours of

Al-Ula’s archaeological sites via engaging videos and interactive experiences. SMMA

concept’s usefulness implies its importance as potential valuable promotional

strategy for destinations to be shaped into favorable brand image to help increase

visibility and engaging tourists towards intention to visit. Tourism operators and

governments should now focus on harnessing the potential of SMMA as key to

successful destination marketing in the 21st century. The study contributes to

academic literature by providing a nuanced understanding of how SMMA can be

strategically employed by tourism operators and governments to foster a favorable

brand image, increase destination visibility, and stimulate tourist interest. It

advocates for a strategic focus on exploiting the full potential of SMMA, positioning

it as a cornerstone for successful destination marketing in the 21st century.

Keywords: social media marketing activities, tourism destination, promotional strategy.

INTRODUCTION

Social Media Marketing Activities (SMMA) refer to specific actions and strategies designed to

engage consumers and drive business objectives on social media platforms [1]. SMMA can

combine various elements such as entertainment, informativeness, interactivity, and

personalization which are believed to offer a nuanced approach to social media marketing

(SMM). Such SMMA elements contribute most to consumer engagement and the overall

effectiveness of a brand's social media presence [2-4] that it is recently becomes a popular focal

point of inquiry within the marketing literature. For instance, Wibowo, Chen [5] investigates

whether the efficacy of SMMA is largely contingent on the nature of the customer experience it

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Alghamdi, G., & Abdul Wahid, N. (2024). The Use of Social Media Marketing Activities to Promote a Tourism Destination: A Review. Advances in

Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(7). 246-259.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.117.17320

evokes. Their study confirmed the assumption-- they found that effective SMMA can steer

customer behavior, especially when it resonates positively with customers, enhancing user’s

overall experience on the platform.

The literature also acknowledges SMMA as part of modern marketing strategies [1]. Ibrahim,

Aljarah [6] meta-analytic examination to discern the overarching influence of SMMAs on

consumer perceptions of brands for instance corroborated with the assertion that SMMA can

enhance brand perception. The study noted how certain activities be more impactful than

others, indicating the need for product brands to curate their SMMA strategically. Ibrahim,

Aljarah [7] study on the interplay amongst SMMA, brand trust, brand loyalty, and the intent to

revisit in the context of coffee shop Facebook pages reported the existence of a sequential

mediation mechanism, suggesting that SMMA can amplify brand trust, which in turn heightens

brand loyalty, to culminate an increased intention for consumers to revisit. Khan [8] probes

whether brands’ activities on social media can significantly influence consumer attitudes and

behaviors. He reports the existence of the SMMA-brand link phenomenon; in particular, type

and nature of SMMA in particular play significant roles in shaping consumer responses with

nuanced effects based on various moderating variables analyzed. Chen and Lin [9] study

reports the importance of creating engaging content and fostering meaningful relationships in

SMMA as these can influence consumer attitudes and behaviors towards the brand, leading to

increased brand awareness and loyalty, and consequently, influencing their purchasing

decisions.

From the review, in essence, the extant literature on SMMA underscores its profound influence

on various facets of consumer behavior and attitudes. In addition, there are several areas of

investigation that have not explored well about the SMMA. Hence, this paper aims at reviewing

the concept of SMMA in tourism context using Al-Ula, in Saudi Arabia, as an example of a

tourism destination. From brand perception to loyalty, the strategically crafted activities of

brands on social media platforms can drive desired outcomes, reinforcing the salience of SMMA

in contemporary marketing strategies. This also indicates that SMMA can be useful strategy to

apply in competitive market environment like tourism [10-12]. SMMA can be effective to help

build on any destination’s brand image, which is essential strategy to attract potential tourists

(e.g., domestic versus foreign, business versus leisure). In the case of Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia, the

world may not know its location and attractiveness unless it gains enough coverage to earn

reputation as tourist destination. In other words, although it may have significant ancient

history that should be a crowd puller, without any strategy to promote its attraction, then it will

remain as an ordinary destination. From a social media marketing perspective, this study

suggests the use of SMMA as a good promotional strategy to market and brand Al-Ula’s image

to elevate the potential tourist experience. In line with this suggestion, the study’s primary

objective is to present a systematic literature review to unravel the multifaceted dynamics of

SMMA, synthesizing insights to formulate innovative, adaptive, and potent strategies that

promote tourism destinations in today's digital age.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Conceptualizing SMMA

To conceptualize SMMA, one needs to start building an understanding on the concept of social

media (SM) and social media marketing (SMM). As the literature observes, the advent of Social

Media (SM) has significantly transformed the way individuals communicate and exchange

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 7, July-2024

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

information, making a profound impact on business practices and consumer behavior [13]. Its

importance lies mainly in SM’s ability for global reach and interactive activities. As Kemp [14]

notes, over half the world’s population are using SM making it a critical marketing tool for

organizations to communicate their value propositions, transcending geographic and temporal

barriers. Consumers now gain communication power over organizations from the two-way

dialogue SM creates for them as they participate actively in content creation and sharing. In

short, through SM, social media marketing (SMM) is built.

SMM utilizes SM platforms to engage audiences, market products and services, and foster

communities around a brand [15]. It is now considered an integral part of the marketing mix in

the contemporary business environment, providing unparalleled opportunities for two-way

communication, consumer engagement, and cultivation of user-generated content. Brands that

leverage on SMM effectively can experience increased brand visibility, improved brand loyalty,

and a positive influence on consumer purchase intentions [16]. As for SMMA, it refers to specific

marketing actions and strategies designed to engage consumers and drive business objectives

on social media platforms [1]. For instance, scholars opine that SMMA that includes

entertainment, informativeness, interactivity, personalization, trendiness, and perceived

institution credibility in its component would offer a nuanced approach to SMM. Reason being

SMMA focuses on elements that contribute most to consumer engagement and the overall

effectiveness of a brand's social media presence [2-4].

From the review of the literature, SMMA is acknowledged as a multidimensional concept and

an offshoot of the broader digital marketing realm. Thus, as explained earlier, SMMA resides

under the broader umbrella of SM and SMM. As SM is the defining trend of the 21st century, its

influences are observed to span across various domains from the individual's psychological

well-being to reshaping global business dynamics. For instance, SM not only interfaces with

personal self-perception, mental health, and lifestyle choices [17]; however, it is also growing

in economic significance as SM found to alter consumer’s consumption patterns and display

tangible monetary benefits, respectively [18].

The real strength of SM materializes when it is harnessed for marketing purpose (SMA) with

specific focus on strategized activities (SMMA). For example, SMMA is found to enhance brand

visibility and loyalty, highlighting the undeniable power of well-curated SMMA strategies in

magnifying brand consciousness [19]. Minculete and Olar [20] study found to emphasize on

SMMA's role as a pivotal subset of digital marketing with a multifaceted nature, elucidating how

it strategically engages with modern consumer touchpoints. SMMA's multifaceted capabilities,

include fostering brand consciousness, loyalty, and trust. Ebrahim [21] study found trust as the

discourse of SMMA. Nurturing trust is a requirement for successful SMMA campaigns to drive

brand equity and loyalty in a digital world that is often teeming with misinformation. Bala and

Verma [22] provide a comprehensive critique of digital marketing, on the transition made from

traditional marketing paradigms to more digitally native strategies which is not limited to a

specific geographical region or industry. Kapoor and Kapoor [23] exploration of the Indian

hotel industry showcases this global shift with a depiction of the journey from elementary e- marketing practices to sophisticated SMMA strategies, signifying the industry-wide acceptance

of SMMA's monumental role. In essence, the literature unambiguously establishes SMMA as a

cornerstone of modern digital marketing.