The social revolution of place marketing: The growing power of users in social media campaigns

Traditionally, place marketing campaigns can be described using a linear model of communication, in which a source is delivering a message to a receiver. However, the unique characteristics of the social media turn web users from passive audience into active participants. Using a qualitative content analysis, the current study examined the type of relations between the core components of the communication process and the growing role of online users. The findings reveal that during the use of social media in place marketing campaigns, the distinction between the components of source, message and receiver fades as users gain more power and take an active role in the creation and distribution of campaign messages.