The mediation of tourism experiences through storytelling in social media: How DMOs can utilise consumer storytelling in their brand narratives
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Presentation done by Niels Frederik Lund, during ENTER2015 PhD Workshop.
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The mediation of tourism experiences through storytelling in social media: How DMOs can utilise consumer storytelling in their brand narratives
- 1. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 1 The mediation of tourism experiences through storytelling in social media: How DMOs can utilise consumer storytelling in their brand narratives Niels Frederik Lund (Fred) University of Surrey, UK Nielsfrederik.lund@surrey.ac.uk http://www.surrey.ac.uk
- 2. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 2 •The problem •The theoretical underpinning •Research aims and objectives •Methodology • Research philosophy • Research strategy
- 3. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 3 Social media members mediate tourism experiences; they share travel images, stories, reviews and comments Consumers are relying heavily on social media in their information search and decision- making Destination management organisations (DMOs) find it difficult getting the attention of consumers
- 4. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 4 The theoretical underpinning
- 5. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 5 The web is not built around content anymore but rebuilt around people (Adams, 2012) We talk to create social bonds and share information in order to understand the world better Peoples networks influence almost everything we do; what brands we prefer; where we go Tourism is an integrated part of our lives – easily shared on social networks The destination image is especially sensitive of activities on social media
- 6. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 6 Narratives are co- constructed by producers and consumers through interaction, negotiation and embodiment (Chronis, 2005) The products of these narratives are the experiences that tourist encounter and perform Human behaviour is story- based (Shanks, 1999). Tourists organise their experiences in the form of narratives (Escalas, 1998). Thus, tourism is the product of narratives experienced in spaces co-created by tourists at destinations “Tourist experiences are essentially stories about events, places and people” (McCabe and Foster, 2006) Stories transform otherwise indifferent spaces into attractive tourist destinations/attraction
- 7. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 7 The tourism industry is in the business of selling experiences Important that they are great storytellers Focus on narrative staging of tourism places (Chronis, 2012) Storytelling is nowadays immensely important as people are connected on multiple digital platforms where they mediate their experiences (Baker, 2012). People are actively involved in co-constructing narratives about tourism destinations through their shared tourism experiences DMOs commit to open source branding –empowering the consumers and facilitate a co-construction of the brand, which aligns the storytelling of consumers with their preferred narratives
- 8. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 8 Performances Conducting impression management (Grasmuck et al., 2009) Tourism destination gives them a stage to act out their desirable self Their roles and performances play an important role in depicting the destination Performativity Embodied performances construct spaces and realities Frameworks of performativity (Cover, 2012, Van House, 2011) The self is performed through repetition of discursively given norms Mobility Social media and mobile devices are mobility systems (Elliott & Urry, 2011) Mobile devices and social media prevent idleness in moments of stillness Mobility facilitates the sharing of stories – it produces social relations, power and influence perceptions, which generate further mobility Power Social media and already mentioned concepts are ‘technologies of power’ (Foucault, 1991) Mediated tourism experiences draws power to storytellers Alternative versions of the ‘truth’ circulate; they are shared, commercialised, subjugated; they influence discourse and brand narratives
- 9. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 9 Social media are performative spaces of storytelling where performances, storytelling, mobile devices and performativity are identified as power technologies that influence ‘regimes of truths’ Clusters of storytelling agents are fighting to influence discourses and consequently brand narratives as part of their quest for power, mobility and social recognition - at the expense of others Social media provides a fluid mooring that provides a momentary sense of belonging (a quick fix) while presenting liquid transforming identities. Illustrates the paradox of peoples urge for mobility and their need to re-embed DMOs face a complex mediatised world where they have to manoeuvre in politicised spaces of storytelling and create alliances with influential members/groups who can facilitate that their stories remain mobile
- 10. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 10
- 11. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 11 Aims and objectives The aim of this research is to assess the role of storytelling in mediating tourism experiences in order to identify ways for DMOs to build alliances with storytellers to strengthen destination narratives Objectives: 1. To investigate the role of embodied performances of storytelling in mediating personal tourism experiences via social media as well as examining how different types of social media platforms influence the stories shared 2. To investigate the range of different storytellers within social media spaces and the influences they hold in reinforcing and undermining preferred narratives/discourses of DMOs 3. To identify practices and strategies DMOs adopt to strengthen storytelling and associated narratives in social media spaces? 4. To assess the extent to which DMOs can strengthen their destinations’ narrative position on social media by creating alliances with social media storytellers 5. To develop recommendations on how DMOs can better utilise people’s storytelling in social media to promote destination narratives/discourses
- 12. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 12 • Academic: • The study of storytellers mediating tourism experiences in social media is a missing element in existing tourism research. • Tourism research on social media has been approached from a business administration perspective. However, as brands are the result of improvised performances of storytelling in social circles, the study of brands should be seen from a social science perspective. • Applied: • Thesis provides a better understanding of how the brand is shared, renegotiated, fragmented, enforced and undermined by social media storytellers in various platforms • It provides DMOs with better insight into the complex mechanisms of social media and helps re-evaluate strategies
- 13. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 13 Research philosophy and strategy Research philosophy Research strategy Methods of analysis
- 14. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 14 Qualitative approach: • Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011) • There is no reality out there that can be studied and isolated - multiple realities, identities and truths cannot be captured, measured and quantified. Social constructivist methodology: • The world holds multiple realities and reality only exist within people’s minds and everything is open for multiple interpretations • People are performing constructed identities that are continually transformed by the social world (Guba, 1990) • Different identities/roles – different social networks – online/offline
- 15. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 15 Objectives Method of data collection Sources of data collection Sample Method of analysis 1. To investigate the role of embodied performances of storytelling in mediating personal tourism experiences via social media as well as examining how different types of social media sites influence the stories shared. 2. To investigate the range of different storytellers within social media spaces and the influences they hold in reinforcing and undermining preferred narratives/discourses of DMOs. Virtual ethnography Observer as participant role including open- ended semi- structured interviews with participants Social media platforms Tripadvisor reviews, comments, travel tips Travelpod blogs Facebook all-purpose platform A Method to observe a range of different storytellers via different social media platforms. observe how different venues affect storytelling Purposive Non-probability sampling Should fit inclusion and exclusion criteria: The participants chosen should be sharing experiences about case study Denmark From particular source markets: USA, UK and Australia Half of the participants on Tripadvisor or Travel Pod should be active on Facebook Note: VisitDenmark also be regarded as a participant – Open source branding – each member have ‘one’ profile - democratisation Discursive analysis For social media texts How stories construct discourse and position storytellers Thematic analysis for participant interviews; why; intention, impact of audience Confirm interpretations of discourse analysis
- 16. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 16 Objectives Method of data collection Sources of data collection Sample Method of analysis 3) To identify practices and strategies DMOs adopt to strengthen storytelling and associated narratives in social media spaces. 4) To assess the extent to which DMOs can strengthen their destinations’ narrative position on social media by creating alliances with social media storytellers. 5) To develop recommendations on how DMOs can better utilise people’s storytelling in social media to promote destination narratives/discourses Case study Documents, reports Semi-structured interviews with employees Semi-structured Interviews with social media managers DMO: VisitDenmark Purpose: insight into strategies and practices in social media storytelling and creating alliances Justification: VisitDenmark is very active on social media – a convenient choice – several social media storytellers write about Denmark VisitDenmark’s employees in social media department Purpose: to clarify, elaborate- on existing strategies and practices. Some topics addressed while additional questions can be asked. 10 social media managers from other DMOs in Europe Purpose: value for management studies – validity – generalising Thematic analysis Themes and concepts that can enable the identification of strategies and practices
- 17. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 17 This thesis examines a range of different storytellers and their construction of narratives of place Examines how they engage with professionally developed narratives Examines how Social media managers construct these narratives 17
- 18. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 18 • Finding participant who will consent and who are active on several social media platforms • Discourse analysis: asking the right questions, which leads to right nodes and codes, which lead to the right results • Drawing a link between different social media platforms as well as being able to analyse of why some stories are mobilised while other ignored • Answering whether destinations can strengthen their narrative position on social media by creating alliances with social media storytellers 18
- 19. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 19 I am eager to hear your comments!
- 20. ENTER 2015 PhD Workshop Slide Number 20 • Adams, P. (2012) Grouped: How small groups of friends are the key to influence on the social web. Berkeley: New Riders. • Chronis, A. (2005) “Coconstructing Heritage at the Gettysburg Storyscape”, Annals of Tourism Research, 32 (2), pp. 386-406. • Chronis, A. (2012) Tourists as Story-Builders: Narrative Construction at a Heritage Museum, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 29 (5), pp. 444-459. • Cover, R. (2012) “Performing and undoing identity online: Social networking, identity theories and the incompatibility of online profiles and friendship regimes”, Convergence: The international Journal of research into New Media Technologies, 18 (2), 177 – 193. • Escalas, J. E. (1998) Advertising narratives: What are they and how do they work? In Stern, B. (Ed.), Representing consumers: Voices, views, and visions New York: Routledge Press, pp. 267–289. • Foucault, M. (1991) Discipline and Punish: the birth of a prison. London Penguin • Guba, E. C. (1990) The alternative paradigm dialog, In Guba, E. C. (ed.) The paradigm dialog. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Ltd. • Grasmuck, S., Martin, J. and Zhao, S. (2009) “Ethno-racial identity displays on Facebook”, Journal of computer mediated communication, 15, pp. 158 – 188.. • Hine, C. (2000) Virtual ethnography. London: Sage publications ltd. • Kozinets, R. (2010) “The Method of Netnography”, In Kozinets, R. Doing Ethnographic Research Online, pp. 58–73. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Pp. 58-73. • Krämer, N. C. and Winter, S. (2008) “Impression management 2.0, the relationship of self-esteem, extraversion, self-efficacy, and self-presentation within social networking sites”, Journal of Media Psychology 2008, 20(3), pp. 106–116 • Shank, R. C. (1990) Tell me a story: a new look at real and artificial memory. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. • Van House, N. A. (2011) “Feminist HCI meets Facebook: Performativity and social networking sites”, Interacting with computes, 23, pp. 422 – 429.
Editor's Notes
- However, they face a difficult task as people find companies intrusive and inauthentic Research on the topic supports O’Connor’s viewpoint, as it shows that 93% of travellers are influenced by reviews in their travel planning and 80% of people about to make a travel purchase will ask members of their social network for a recommendation first (Digital Tourism Think Tank, 2013). Thus, social networks are seen a trustworthy source (Lange-Faria and Elliot, 2012) Consumers are increasingly connecting in online social networks (OSN) where they, among other things, are actively involved in constructing the destination image through the stories they share. This poses a distinct challenge for the tourism sector, as their products are sold before consumption and thus reliant on positive word-of-mouth in OSN to influence decision-making. Meanwhile destination management organisations (DMOs) are responsible for developing the tourism sector long-term by formulating marketing strategies. However, DMOs face an uphill struggle disseminating their message online, as they are just one voice among millions. It is believed that DMOs need to increase their attention to storytelling in order to penetrate OSN and create bonds with consumers. In addition, they have to induce OSN members to share their stories in order to effectively promote the destination narrative. Thus, the aim of this research is to investigate the role of storytelling in mediating tourism experiences via various social media platforms in order to identify strategies and practices for DMOs to build alliances with storytellers that can strengthen destination narratives. The thesis will also investigate the influences OSN storytellers hold in reinforcing and undermining preferred narratives of DMOs. There will also be an assessment of the extent to which DMOs can strengthen their destinations’ narrative position on social media by creating alliances with OSN storytellers. And managing the perceptions of the destination DMOs find it difficult to engage with consumers, as companies are often regarded as intrusive and inauthentic
- p. VI Paul Adams Business revolve around people Watch movies and go to concerts with friends Ask travel advice; go traveling with friends Online world is simply catching up with our offline world. The web is aligning itself with how things work offline – images of destinations are disseminated – perception are changed Peoples networks influence almost everything we do. What we do, where we go, what brands we prefer (Adams, 2012) Construct identities through stories shared in social networks (online and offline) Destination images are especially sensitive of activities on social media No longer just an informational medium but a technology that nurtures, augments and modifies social interaction and communication (Weinberg, 2009)
- Destinations can be seen as storyscapes, in which the narratives are co-constructed through interaction between the producers and consumers. The products of these narratives are the experiences that tourist encounter and perform (Chronis, 2005), . The same can be said for social media; they are a stage where a narrative structure should be applied in order to mediate an exciting story about the product.
- Mention under bullet point 5: brands are the product of people’s conversations in social networks, both offline and online, rather than marketing strategies create trust and emotional connections through great stories; then promote the brand – facilitate sharing of stories The emergence of digital storytelling stems from the mediatisation of communication. Mediatisation represents the processes through which core elements of a cultural or social activity (e.g. politics, religion and language) assume media form (Couldry, 2008). DMOs focus on digital storytelling which stems from mediatisation communication; social activities assume media form (Couldry, 2008) Thus, consumers exchange stories about their tourism experiences, which then impact on the brand of a destination or company. So the tourism places should revolve around stories As Chronis (2012) suggests, the tourism marketers should focus on the narrative staging of tourism places as the narrative structure is the core organising principle in the presentation of a tourism venue. According to Baker (2012), storytelling is nowadays immensely important as people are connected on multiple digital platforms where they can mediate their experiences. Thus, consumers exchange stories about their tourism experiences, which then impact on the brand of a destination or company. Hence, “due to changing tourist desires, the rise of the experience economy and technological innovations, the demand for stories has dramatically increased over the last few years” Bryon (2012, p. 27). Various media platforms as well as consumer and producers are competing for attention, and the appeal of the story is therefore vital. As Krejci (2012) argues, even though we now have a hyper social and digital world, we still have to focus on the most essential element: the story. This is because stories facilitates a connection between the storyteller and the audience. A story comes with many touch points to the lives of the listeners, which can create an emotional connection with the listener (Woodside, 2010, p. 532). As Simmons (2006) suggest, if someone connects to the storytellers through his or her story, they also feel that at some level that the storytellers is just like them because they think like they do and value the same things. This connection leads to trust which then enables the storyteller to influence and persuade the audience into buying their product.
- Mobility is a resource Power: ’; techniques used in the practical operation of power Power: Social media is a new ‘technology of power’ (Foucault, 1991) alternative versions of the ‘truth’ are circulated. But also commercialised and utilised by marketers (Munar et al., 2013) Performances Social media members use social media spaces to stage performances and conduct impression management (Grasmuck et al., 2009; Kramer and Winter, 2008). Tourism destination gives them a stage to act on where they can portray themselves in a desirable way Performativity: Frameworks of performativity (Cover, 2012, Van House, 2011). The self is performed by the repetition of discursively given norms and categories. However the individual members also co-construct the spaces Mobility: Smartphones and tablets enables the physical and virtual travel to run parallel and interlinked. The tourists to stage their acts of impression management ‘real time’ and post the interpretations of reality while traveling
- Influencing dominant discourses Brands are short term multiple stories – the product of co-constructed theatrical performances on social media; of social relations. Brand creation ought to be studied through a social sciences lens The embodied performances of storytelling are actions that construct identities, change social reality, constitute space and creates the performative It is a place where people construct pseudo-identities in transitory social networks offering a fabricated sense of belonging Social media and its social networks have become a virtual stillness ; a fluid mooring that provides a momentary sense of belonging as well as providing continuous transformation Provides a quick fix.
- As marketing scholars (Fournier and Avery, 2011; Singh and Sonnenburg, 2012) suggest, consumers are constructing the brand through their performances in social media; they are in some ways the actual marketers as they are converging with the producers (and other stakeholders) in the creation of content. Hence, brands are not demarcated coherent entities. Rather they are formed by a plethora of narratives and are products of social conversations; they change with each story (Singh and Sonnenburg, 2012). Hence, brands are multiple and fluid and they are part of individual’s bricolages of self-representation in social media. Furthermore, they present multiple realities and stories and they are transformed with time and in different contexts. Short term brands. The conceptual development draws on four concepts, which are performances, performativity, mobility and power in order to describe the politics and social mechanisms of storytelling within social media. Together these concepts form a theoretical framework, which conceptualises social media as fluid spaces of storytelling where performances, storytelling, mobility and performativity are identified as power technologies that shape ‘regimes of truths’ (Foucault, 1977)
- and these narratives are elements within bricolages of self-representation,
- Instead describe, narrate and understand how people interpret the world and communicate their interpretations and identity to others through observation and interviews. ; the subjective reality can be expressed in various ways depending on the person and the context Qualitative approach: Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011) – they try to get as close to the subject as possible There is no reality out there that can be studied and isolated - multiple realities, identities and truths cannot be captured, measured and quantified. Instead describe, narrate and understand how people interpret the world and communicate their interpretations and identity to others through observation and interviews Interpret the politics of social relationships – authors, receivers, DMOs, - on multiple platforms – stories being distributed, renegotiated, fragmented, exploited and dispersed The ontology of multiple realities also permeates the conceptual framework where identities are regarded as fluid, socially constructed and in continued transformation. Therefore, this research holds a relativist ontology (Guba, 1990). The research philosophy is informed by a qualitative approach, as storytellers will be studied in their natural setting (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011). The research is within a relativist ontology as the stories construct different identities and realities on different social networks. Reality only exists within people’s minds and everything is open for multiple interpretations (Guba, 1990). The epistemology is therefore subjective as reality can be viewed differently depending on the person and the context. Thus, it leads to a constructivist paradigm where no objectivity is possible as it is a construction between the inquirer and the participants. Guba (1990, p. 17) highlights that, “the net that contains the researcher’s epistemological, ontological, and methodological premises may be termed a paradigm”. Paradigms represent belief systems that attach the user to a particular worldview (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011). A construction is a coherent, articulated set of constructs – a pattern or web of constructs and their interconnections – that make sense of some aspect (some chunk) of the constructors surround” (Lincoln and Guba, 2013, p. 47). Thus, it is the constructors the makes the construction; it is their subjective interpretation of reality. Constructions are therefore the end product of individual sense-making; they are therefore fundamentally subjective but they are also shared as many aspects of constructions are shared by other individuals who share similar values or beliefs (Lincoln and Guba, 2013). argued that social media users are actually carrying out a constructivist inquiry every day as part of a hermeneutic methodology where insights and understandings emerge from dialectic negotiations. I as an observer, aim to observe the storytellers and their representations of reality performed through their mediated experiences. Hence, it is the study of multiple identities being constructed through their performances and their roles within social circles. These identities are also being produced by the performative influence of offline and online discourses, conventions and power structures. For each individual there are multiple perceived realities and truths constructed offline and online. However, that is what I believe as a constructor; those are my constructions. I present certain realities and truths based on my socio-cultural background and I represent multiple fleeting identities as I transform with each new experience.
- The venue of inquiry are social media platforms where a netnography will be performed on three specific online platforms (Hine, 2000; Kozinets, 2010). In addition, there will be a case study of a DMO, in this case VisitDenmark. As part of the netnography, specific participants are selected and their storytelling is observed in order to examine how they mediate their tourism experiences. The participants (storytellers) are selected based on the amount of content they write about Denmark. Furthermore, they should be from particular source markets so they have a common cultural background. The aim of the netnography is also to examine whether they mediate their experiences differently across platforms, as the venues might influence their storytelling practises due to their performative power. The selected online platforms are therefore Virtual Tourist, TravelPod and Facebook. The first two platforms are chosen because they focus on travel experiences and their content is easily accessible; many of its users are writing large amounts of content about Denmark. Facebook is chosen because it may show how the performativity of platforms influence storytelling. The strategy is to contact storytellers on Virtual Tourist and TravelPod and then ask them for access to their Facebook profile The ethnographic observations and the consequent data analysis are grounded in the theoretical framework, which provides a foundation for understanding how the storytellers’ performances are produced and influenced by performative spaces, mobilities and power within socialities. For instance, the act of performance is among other things analysed on the basis of how storytellers are staging themselves in their stories and images, while mobilities and power are analysed on the basis of whether the audiences share their stories and respond to them; as well as how they respond. The data is analysed with discourse analysis, which is useful for exploring the ways of constructing social reality, discourses and identities through storytelling and power structures (Phillips and Hardy, 2002). As part of the ethnography, interviews are performed with participants to ensure that the researcher are interpreting their stories accurately. The interviews are analysed using thematic analysis, which is applicable for identifying themes, patterns, and relationships in texts (Boyatzis, 1998). Virtual Tourist, TravelPod and Facebook. The first two platforms are chosen because they focus on travel experiences and their content is easily accessible; many of its users are writing large amounts of content about Denmark. Facebook is chosen because it may show how the performativity of platoforms influence storytelling. The strategy is to contact storytellers on Virtual Tourist and TravelPod and then ask them for access to their Facebook profile. Discourse analysis: A method to study language use and its role in social life and in constructing the world (Potter, 2008). It views language as constructive and constructed and constitutive of the social world (Gill, 2000) Objective is to explore the ways of constructing social reality, discourses and identities through storytelling (Philips and Hardy, 2002). Analyse how the stories position themselves in relation to others, across social media platforms and positioned in relation to tourism discourses presented by DMOs Thematic analysis: Thematic analysis is useful for identifying themes, patterns, relationships in text and interviews (Boyatzis, 1998) Netnography: investigate how storytellers are affected by comments of others; did it make them change perceptions/position. Also, why did they write they way they did; why did they tell stories? What did they want to communicate? Case study: Objective is to turn interview data into themes and concepts that can enable the identification of strategies and practices
- Discourse analysis: A method to study language use and its role in social life and in constructing the world (Potter, 2008). It views language as constructive and constructed and constitutive of the social world (Gill, 2000) Objective is to explore the ways of constructing social reality, discourses and identities through storytelling (Philips and Hardy, 2002). Analyse how the stories position themselves in relation to others, across social media platforms and positioned in relation to tourism discourses presented by DMOs Thematic analysis: Thematic analysis is useful for identifying themes, patterns, relationships in text and interviews (Boyatzis, 1998) Netnography: investigate how storytellers are affected by comments of others; did it make them change perceptions/position. Also, why did they write they way they did; why did they tell stories? What did they want to communicate? Case study: Objective is to turn interview data into themes and concepts that can enable the identification of strategies and practices