From drifters to followers: a CIA-typology for engaging followers of scuba dive operators’ Facebook pages

Marco Scholtz and Martinette Kruger

Current Issues in Tourism, 2020, vol. 23, issue 18, 2283-2301

Abstract: Facebook has become a vital tool for businesses to market themselves and stand out above the competition. This is also true for the high number of dive operators that form an essential part of the marine tourism industry. Dive operators often use Facebook as a means of reaching potential clients as well as forging relationships and a sense of loyalty with their existing clients. However, little to no information is available on divers’ preferences when it comes to Facebook engagement and whether different segments of the diving market resemble different preferences. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop a CIA-typology (Connection seekers, Inclusive seekers, and Attention seekers) based on divers’ preferences for social media page aspects (dissemination, environmental information, personalisation, and distinction) that persuade them to interact and their type of engagement (active engagement and lurking behaviour). This was done through an online questionnaire distributed worldwide through snowball sampling. This study revealed that Facebook followers are heterogeneous and that followers can be segmented according to their engagement preferences. This research can assist dive operators in displaying the correct messages at the most appropriate times to ensure their Facebook followers engage with their posts, thereby maximizing their marketing efforts.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13683500.2019.1615039 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rcitxx:v:23:y:2020:i:18:p:2283-2301

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rcit20

DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2019.1615039

Access Statistics for this article

Current Issues in Tourism is currently edited by Jennifer Tunstall

More articles in Current Issues in Tourism from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().