Social media activity in a festival context: temporal and content analysis
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
ISSN: 0959-6119
Article publication date: 13 February 2017
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the multi-phasic experience of festivals to understand the nature, purpose and degree of social media (SM) use before, during and after festival occurrence and how this may inform better engagement of attendees.
Design/methodology/approach
A census of tweets and posts from four festivals’ Twitter handles and Facebook accounts were coded and analyzed across three time points: one week prior, during and one week after the festival. They were coded on nature (e.g. conversational, promotional, informational), purpose (e.g. information-seeking, friendship/relationship) and presence of links, photos, etc. Tests for platform influences on usage were conducted.
Findings
In total, 1,169 tweets and 483 posts were captured. Two-thirds of SM activity occurred during the festivals, one-third pre-festival and minimal activity post festival. Temporal analyses found that while the purpose and nature of the message content varied across festival time points, this was often dependent on SM platform.
Research limitations/implications
Festivals are not taking advantage of the multi-phase experience model and the utility of SM to maintain contact and encourage visitors to continue processing their experience after the festival. This lost opportunity has implications for re-patronizing behaviour and sponsor relationships.
Originality value
Leung et al. (2013a) call for sector specific research to elucidate SM use in tourism. Festivals provide a unique environment of co-created experience. Findings suggest differential usage of SM across festival time frames and platforms that can be used to guide festival organizations’ SM communication to better engage its patrons.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Support for this research from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada and Ryerson University is gratefully acknowledged.
Citation
MacKay, K., Barbe, D., Van Winkle, C.M. and Halpenny, E. (2017), "Social media activity in a festival context: temporal and content analysis", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 669-689. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2015-0618
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited