Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Small Business Strategy

Publication Date

2021

First Page

64

Last Page

75

Issue Number

4

Volume Number

31

Abstract/ Summary

Nature-based tourism represents a growing sector within the tourism industry, and these interests could help improve the conditions of economically disadvantaged rural communities. The new digital landscape, including Internet and social media usage, represents a critical strategic opportunity to inform, educate and reach these tourism segments. The present research examines the impact of social media advertising on nature-based tourism within rural communities. In this research, we utilize the COBRA (Consumers’ Online Brand-Related Activities) model (Muntinga et al., 2011) of consumer behavior to assess the impact social media advertising plays in generating Pre-Consumption, Consumption, Creation, Contribution, and Engagement in rural business. The results are significant, finding that incorporating digital strategies within rural firms is beneficial. According to our research, the careful placement of a social media advertisement can statistically increase engagement components by more than 50%. In theory, this can increase tourism and economic activity in these rural, economically disadvantaged areas.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Jones, N. B., Miles, P., & Beaulieu, T. (2021). The Value of Social Media Advertising Strategies on Tourist Behavior: A Game-Changer for Small Rural Businesses. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 31(4), 64–75.

DOI

10.53703/001c.29478

Version

publisher's version of the published document

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Additional Files
73844.pdf (77 kB)
Data Set, file 73844
73845.pdf (77 kB)
Data Set, file 73845
Download

Share