The Image Of Shanghai As Presented By The Instagram Community

The purpose of this study is to investigate the image of Shanghai as presented by the Instagram community.Instagram has fast become one of the leading social media platforms in the world.Its influence has already been studied by different academic fields and from different points of view.However,when it comes to destination image,Instagram still hasn't been explored as a potential agent in the creation and management of a destination image.This study explores the influence of Instagram in relation to destination image by applying a mixed research methodology,as suggested by Eichter and Ritchie.The mixed method uses content analysis,survey and an interview.First,a content analysis is done on 240 photos featured on the Instagram profiles about Shanghai.The content analysis measures the frequency of the visual attributes featured in the user generated content.The study also measures the engagement rates on the user generated content and tries to show the parallels with the perceived destination image.Second,survey is conducted on 207 Instagram followers,measuring their perceived destination image of Shanghai.Thirds,an interview is used to reinforce the information form the survey.The final result shows that the followers of the curated Instagram profiles have a positive destination image of Shanghai.This perceived image of Shanghai is the same as the projected image of Shanghai by the curated Instagram profiles.These profiles mostly present the urban aspect of Shanghai,emphasizing the architecture and the landmarks.These visual attributes also receive the most engagement.