Myday Influencers: The Power of Organic Social Media Posts in Marketing Off The Beaten Path Destinations
Myday Influencers: The Power of Organic Social Media Posts in Marketing Off The Beaten Path Destinations
Myday Influencers: The Power of Organic Social Media Posts in Marketing Off The Beaten Path Destinations
James Cariaso
January 2021
This research entitled “MYDAY INFLUENCERS: THE POWER OF ORGANIC SOCIAL MEDIA
POSTS IN MARKETING OFF THE BEATEN PATH DESTINATIONS” was prepared and
submitted by Joyce Anne F. Abuacan, Cheenee Mae C. Batistil, James Cariaso, Jhoan Mae J.
Esmenda, and Lorraine Joy L. Rosario. January 2021
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has crippled the tourism sector in levels incomparable to any other
industries that support the world economy. Restarting tourism in the “new normal” demands
careful planning. A recent study has shown that 70% of respondents from the Philippines stated
that they have purchased a product because it was endorsed by an influencer. Although social
media platforms have proven to be very effective channels in promoting destinations, one
bottleneck for this kind of approach still remains-the cost associated with it. Studies across all
digital markets have shown that the average cost to hire a social media influencer is P9,405.86
per 1,000 engagements. This study aims to answer this challenge by defining the level of
influence of unpaid social media posts created by ordinary people we dubbed as “Myday
Influencers”. These influencers are distinguishable from their paid counterparts because they
are not driven by any marketing intentions.
This experimental research used profile sets selected to represent the population of ordinary
social media users. The samples were chosen using random assignment then subjected to visit
a lesser known destination in a specified period of time with the purpose of sharing their
experience through a social media post. The impacts of the posts were measured based on
Average Engagement Rate (AER) and Average Conversion Rate (ACR). A comparative
analysis was employed to measure the cost efficiency of using organic influencers.
According to the results of the study, the profile set with the highest level of influencer impact is
a female who is in the age range of 31-35 years old, college graduate, married and employed.
Interestingly, contrary to common belief, this study’s results have concurred with recent market
researches that hail Instagram as the new leader in influencer marketing and images as the
most effective type of posts. Organic posts also yielded a significant monthly average savings
compared to the cost of paid contents. The research has also uncovered another aspect
regarding second level organic influencers that deserves a separate study.
Keywords: influencer marketing, organic social media post, destination marketing, digital
marketing
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The Covid-19 Pandemic has created immense and long lasting impacts on
almost all the industries that support the world economy. Its unprecedented effects were
felt across all demographics of the society. No other global phenomenon has affected
the modern world like the current pandemic. As advances in the medical field became
the most pressing matter, it is undeniable that economic stability should also be a
A recent market survey among the UNWTO’s Panel of Tourism Experts have
indicated that the Industry is expected to have a very long road to recovery, putting it at
the last sectors to recover. With this kind of insight from the global tourism market, the
Philippines could be one of the most hardly hit countries, considering that some of its
most vulnerable populations are dependent on tourism and its related industries.
destinations in the Province of Palawan is a perfect poster child of the current state of
tourism in the Philippines. The City has seen its rise to fame together with the rest of the
Province in recent years prior to the pandemic. The Province’s inclusion as the Best
Island in the World in a popular travel website boosted its tourism revenues to record
highs. As a host to a UNESCO World Heritage Site- The Underground River, the local
residents of the City have long been recipients of tourism’s multiplier effect and positive
projected by the City at 26% of the working population ( Puerto Princesa City Tourism
While the rest of the world is suffering due to the adverse effects of the
pandemic, social media platforms have established their influence and relevance into
people’s lives as well as business processes more than ever before.The IT sector
recorded all-time high sales which easily puts it as one of the most valuable industries
during the pandemic. All of the other sectors have turned into digitalization in order to
cope up with the current market demands. “The pandemic is a reality check for
businesses that have been reluctant to embrace digital transformation and now find
advisory/strategy,-technology-transformation/covid-19-is-accelerating-the-rise-of-the-
digital-e)
results. Destination marketing is a widely studied topic in this field as the traveler market
grows in number and preference over the years. With the sudden and long-standing
impacts of the pandemic on the Industry, destination marketing professionals see digital
array of strategies one can employ, influential marketing is highly favored due to its
proven effectiveness. A recent study on social media users have shown that a
significant number of purchase decisions made by consumers were done under the
influence of social media content creators. Proving a basic economic concept, this
demand created a steady increase in the cost of hiring social media influencers
In the case of Puerto Princesa City, the idea of opening a wide selection of
destinations, especially ones that are less known or off the beaten track, in order to
strategically disperse travelers and avoid attracting crowds would be a clever strategy
that has the potential to slowly power tourism back on its track.
Considering the value of social media influencers in achieving the goal of reviving
local tourism by promoting alternative destinations for travelers, this study was
conducted to define and measure the level of influence that Myday Influencers (organic
or unpaid) social media users have in marketing off the beaten path destinations in the
This study was conducted to measure the level of influence of organic social
media posts by Myday influencers in marketing off the beaten path destinations in
3. How influential are the different platforms when utilized by Myday influencers?
4. How influential are the different types of posts when utilized by Myday
Influencers?
7. How significance is the difference between the value of organic posts compared
Ho: There is no significant difference between the value of utilizing Myday Influencers
significant number of criticisms due to the fact that minimum health standards,
particularly social distancing were not observed due to the unmanageable crowd that it
attracted. This study aims to help the City Government of Puerto Princesa
specifically the City Tourism Office by providing knowledge and information on:
city;
events management.
2. This study also aims to help the Community-Based Sustainable Tourism (CBST)
successfully market a local destination especially those that are off the beaten
track;
accessible and can be easily used and managed by the local community.
3. For the general public and citizens of Puerto Princesa City, it will improve the
4. For the digital marketing field and the growing number of businesses that need cost
efficient but effective digital marketing strategies, this will provide substantial information
5. For the general fund of knowledge, this study can uncover the untapped powers of
Myday Influencers and their potential to shape the future of social media marketing.
Definition of Terms
organic influencers. They post social media contents based on their experiences without
any marketing or sales intentions. These influencers do not receive any monetary
compensation for the marketing mileage that they can contribute to a destination.
Off the beaten path destinations. These are different kinds of destinations
around the city categorized by their relative distance from the city proper, the absence
of tourist facilities in the area, and the low no. of visitor count per month.
Social Media Marketing. This refers to the use of social media and social
certain location.
This study aims to measure and define the influence of Myday Influencers in
respondents.
The experiment was conducted in Puerto Princesa City. The Myday Influencers
were subjected to visit an off the beaten track destination in the City as chosen by the
obtain data from organic influencers only. Data and other pertinent information with
regards to the paid influencers were obtained through available and up-to-date online
resources.
This study is also limited in its capacity to determine the quality of social media
posts made by the respondents as the researchers desired to obtain the most natural
reaction from the respondents. However, utmost effort was made so that respondents
economic conditions in a certain location and period of time. Even though this study can
not conclusive that this is true in some other parts of the Philippines or in a different
period of time.
CHAPTER II
In this chapter, the literature review will be built to narrow down the scope of
studies that addresses the different ideas, concepts, generalization and conclusions that
will contribute to the knowledge of the studied subject which helps the reader to have a
recent years as different people have addressed this field from different perspectives.
Social media marketing in this period of pandemic has been a very useful tool to
played a huge role in tourism as it began to spread and be one of the trends in today’s
generation. This section illuminates how knowledge expands within this field, composed
with discussions of facts highlighting different measurements of the study related to and
damage globally due to its fatality. The pandemic has expanded across the world by
creating shocks in almost all the industries due to the restrictions, curfews, stay-home
and work-from-home policies, and quarantines. As a result of the health and economic
crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector got severely affected. The
UNWTO has estimated a loss of approximately 1.1 billion international tourist arrivals,
with a loss of US$ 910 to 1.1 trillion export revenues and 100-120 million jobs due to the
wider spread of the novel coronavirus. (S H T, Kumudumali, 2020) says that all
countries in the world discover the challenges in the tourism industry and the strategies
to overcome those challenges in the short- and long-term while minimizing the
economic shocks due to the pandemic. It was also stated that COVID-19 pandemic
definitely brings a negative impact on the tourism industry and the decline of supporting
sectors such as the air travel and hospitality industry in a global context.
Moreover, (Hall et al., 2020) states that crises can be a change trigger,
especially in the event of tourism. (Masco, 2017) mentioned that change can be
selective and/or optional for the tourism stakeholders (e.g. tourists, operators,
destination organisations, policy makers, local communities, employees), the nature and
are affected by, respond to, recover and reflect on crises. Tourists have experienced
themselves, through their loved ones and/or through the shared experiences of others
significant disruptions and health-risks in the travel and bookings plans. The tourists’
experiences and/or exposure to others’ experiences (that are also magnified through
the emotional contagion and information diffusion of the social media) can have a
significant impact on their travel attitudes, intentions and future behaviours. Psychiatric
and experiences of places and services can provide a useful theoretical lens for
understanding the travel behavior and attitudes of tourists that have been exposed to
such as, reducing social contact, avoiding crowded places, or minimizing travel. Social
distancing can significantly impact how people experience and evaluate leisure and
travel activities like hiking, outdoor activities and nature-based tourism or even personal
services like spas, dining, concierge services. Social distancing or better physical
festivals and other tourism settings will influence new standards of psychological
impacts on various tourism stakeholders, some of them for years to stay. Consequently,
the pandemic has created a ‘fertile’ new context whereby tourism researchers can
conduct research with valuable end-user benefits. According to (Marrianna Sigala,
tourism education that has severely affected the pandemic. Apart from the virtualization
of teaching and learning processes, tourism students and graduates have to also
address the halt of industry internships, recruitment and questionable career paths.
Tourism programs and universities are faced with reduced students’ intakes, industry
Obviously, due to COVID-19 billions of people are suffering and at the same time
creates an economic collapse scenario. The country with the most COVID-19 infections
COVID-19 to the tourism industry for affected countries worldwide. (Nahirah Abu
Bakar, April 2020) noted that COVID-19 creates panic among the public that
contributes to lower demand in the tourism industry. This is one of the effects because
according to market equilibrium of supply-demand theory, the price of the tourism sector
Wynman, presented a report (To Recover and Beyond, 2020) showing the demand
toward the familiar, predictable, trusted, and even low risk. Domestic and regional
vacations, extensive research and planning, and the outdoors will reign in the short-
term, with tourism businesses and destinations already adapting accordingly. Proactive
communication will be key to spur demand. Though the longevity of these shifts is still
unknown, the Travel & Tourism sector has a unique opportunity to rethink and refresh
is proposed. According to (Sandra Raquel Castro, January 2017) that these are very
effective tools when it comes to attracting to the destination websites, and that are likely
important for customization, which can be attained through the qualification of users and
through the collected data on their preferences, through social networks and feedback.
On the other hand, (Shankar, R Sabari. Hyderabad, 2018) tells that destination
branding has become a widely researched concept as governments and businesses are
are investigated not only to brand or rebrand places but also to boost local economies.
The influence of destination personality on destination image has also been looked into
the attributes.
However, destinations across the world heavily compete with each other, in order
different needs of different market segments, as well as promote the image and manage
destinations in a way that attracts tourists. In other words, they need to effectively
implement Destination Marketing, (Buhalis & Michopoulou, 2011) define the term
place at two levels. At the micro-level, independent tourist operators, such as hotels and
transportation agencies, which promote the products and services they offer in the
industry and, At the macro-level, governments and other official authorities promote
Therefore, (Loda et al., 2010) states that tourism marketing through the internet
is valued higher than print advertising. Recently studies have concentrated on the fact
that many tourists go via search engines to find travel information and examined click
through rates (Pan, 2015) and since long blogs have been a way of gathering travel
information and being inspired through. Nowadays, different social media platforms are
also a source for travel information and inspiration (Munar and Jacobsen, 2013).
have been becoming visible. (Lukasz Matoga, Araneta Pawlowska, August 2016)
implies that tourists are leaving the old city centers and are deciding to visit places that
are not typical tourist attractions. In such places, alternative forms of city tourism
and buildings.
The report made by (WTTC & Oliver Wyman, 2020) identifies the trends
reshaping the Travel & Tourism sector in the wake of COVID-19 and outlines with the
data gathered that in order to avoid crowds, travelers will increasingly seek out “off-the-
beaten-path” nature and outdoor destinations. In fact, nearly 40% of US travelers stated
that COVID-19 has made them rethink the types of destinations they will select, with
beach destinations (38.2%) and small towns/rural areas (30%) topping the list. Coupled
with the shift to lesser-known destinations, will be a renewed interest in authentic and
travel and cycling holidays. Luis Araujo, CEO of Turismo de Portugal concurred, noting
“those who choose to travel will value the authenticity of the country even more”.
According to Geoffrey Kent, Founder and Co-Chairman of Abercrombie & Kent, the
definition of luxury will change, it will not be so much about “huge bottles of champagne
Social media marketing is a new marketing strategy which almost every business
is adopting to reach their consumers on the virtual networks. If you have an idea and
you want it to reach millions, at a very little cost, then social media is the only way-out.
Entertainment companies were the first to adopt social media as a promotional tool.
Weinberg (2009) has defined social media marketing as the process that empowers
individuals to promote their websites, products, or services through online social
channels and tap into a much larger community that may not have been available via
where organizations use social media websites to build a rush on their company's
official websites. It does not stop here but organizations also inform the potential
customers of happenings in the organization, launch of the new model or product and
In addition, (Jan & Khan, 2014) define social media as an innovative tool that
organizations use for creating a very strong public relation with the customers on the
virtual networks. Maintaining public relations through social media has become easy
because a large number of potential consumers are available on the virtual networks.
And making connections with consumers using social media is only some clicks away.
Today’s customers are more powerful and busy; therefore, companies should be
Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, at any time. Exploiting the opportunities provided by the social
an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relations with
other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or
real-life connections. Billions of people around the world use social media to share
is obviously increasing. Social media marketing is the way for companies to get close to
representatives of tourism business are actively using social media and 70% of
Other benefits of social media marketing, (Benxiang Zeng', 2014) says that it
plays a significant role in many aspects of tourism, especially in information search and
interacting with consumers. Leveraging off social media to market tourism products has
When it comes to paid collaborations between brands and SMIs are commonly
realized in the form of sponsored content (De Veirman et al., 2017). That is, the
influencer creates and publishes a product recommendation post in social media, and in
(YouTube support, 2018) also state, “creators and brands are responsible for
understanding and fully complying with legal obligations to disclose Paid Promotion in
their content”.
The current study throws light on various aspects of influencer marketing that drive
consumer behavior by using the theory of planned behavior and social learning theory
that identify key factors of influencer marketing that impact consumer behavior.
important criterion for consumers, as they followed the specific type of influencers for
are impacted at four levels: increase in brand awareness, subject matter expertise,
the right type of influencer who will offer curated advice, stories, and suggestions to
create engagement with the audience. Influencer marketing has impacted all industries,
including travel and tourism. Many Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) are
lever- aging the influence of online personalities for diverse purposes, including
Research from Crowdtap revealed 64% of 3,000 people surveyed use social
media to find inspiration for shopping (up 51% vs. prior year) This is driven by retailers
targeting consumers with personalized offers and deals on social networks: Nearly half
(46%) of social media users are already using social platforms while thinking about
making a purchase. 40% of users are actively deciding what to buy based on what they
have seen on social media platforms, including reviews and recommendations, and this
between organic and paid social media as; An organic social strategy forgoes a
monetary budget and instead relies on audience interaction and posts to engage with
followers. Any post on a social page with no financial boost is considered an organic
post and will only reach customers through the platform’s ever-changing and often
veiled algorithm. Interacting with other people’s posts, engaging in discussions on other
brand pages and within groups, or responding to posts on brand pages are also
While on the other hand, Paid social has become an essential component of
money behind a post to promote it. This can be done by using funds to boost a specific
social post to generate further reach, or by designing and running optimized ads to
connect with a specific audience to generate leads, clicks or traffic. The main social
sites that accept paid social media are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Each social platform requires its own unique strategy in order to reach followers and
garner interaction, and paid advertising is a large part of those strategies. In that same
vein, each business will have a different audience and voice that is needed to consider
Both organic and paid social media landscapes are constantly evolving. New
networks rise to prominence, new technology increases user participation and real-time
content and existing networks enhance their platform and product (e.g. Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram launching ‘buy’ buttons). Organic reach is also
shrinking as the leading networks ramp up their paid social media channels to monetize
platform investment. If the first era of social was engagement, the new era is acquisition
and conversion. Social commerce has been growing over the last few years, but in
today's climate that growth has rocketed. Many retailers today are seeing social driving
Creating a solid social media strategy is not one-size-fits-all. There are many
components that come into play, including building the brand identity into the process.
Two important tactics involved in any social-driven advertising campaign are paid and
organic social advertising. Each requires different processes and criteria, and
Based on the related literature and studies, the impact of a social media
influencer can be measured using the Average Engagement Rate (AER) and Average
Conversion Rate (ACR) of their contents. In order to arrive at a single figure that will
suggest the content’s influence, the researchers have decided that it will be composed
of 60% ACR and 40% AER as suggested by most digital marketing experts.
The illustration below shows the process on which the central concept of how influencer
Figure 1. Paradigm for influencer marketing of off the beaten path destinations.
Justification of the Study
the impact of social media influencers to their target audience, there is no available
marketing. Thus, justifying the urgent need for this study to be conducted. In terms of
the value of this study in measuring the impact of influencer marketing, it created an
excellent replication for the case of Puerto Princesa City and its off the beaten path
destinations.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter explains various methods that were used in gathering and
analyzing data which are relevant to the study. The methodologies included areas such
sampling procedure, research locale and statistical treatment. The theories which
Research Design
The researchers used experimental research method that will measure the
influence level of organic social media posts by ordinary users in marketing off the
variables are manipulated and applied to one or more dependent variables to measure
their effect on the latter. In this research design, one or more subjects or dependent
The chart shows the methods in collecting the data that the researchers utilized
in this study. First, the researchers wrote questionnaires then underwent the process of
validation and administration of questionnaires. After that, the researchers used random
power of organic posts, the ordinary social media users, which are the respondents, are
Puerto Princesa City. Their posts in their social media accounts which contained videos
and images of Tinagong Falls were all collected and recorded. Gathered data were
computed and analyzed using statistical tools, employing 60% Average Conversion
Rate (ACR) and 40% Average Engagement Rate (AER) to determine their levels of
The following are the research instruments that the researchers used in this
study:
demographic profile of the respondents such as their age, gender, marital status,
employment status, and their educational background. Questions were made in a form
of checklist.
as they can. However, the records of the survey were held with utmost confidentiality.
Mobile Phone - It was used to search and screen captured organic posts made
by the Myday Influencers in their personal social media accounts which are either in
Sample Population
The research study conducted involves 100 samples, which are all ordinary
social media users in the City of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. However, the researchers
used random assignment wherein out of 100, 20 are assigned as a representative of the
sample population. Thus, all gathered data that this study needed came from the 20
respondents.
Sampling Procedure
process by which researchers select individuals from their total sample to participate in
a specific condition or group, such that each participant has a specifiable probability of
Research Locale
The picture below is the Tinagong Falls located at Sitio Talaudyong, Barangay
Bacungan, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan where this experimental study was
conducted. It is in the far flung area of the City. It is a 4 kilometer or 2 hour trek from the
for the study. Frequency count and Percentage distribution were used to determine the
most preferred social platform of organic influencers and the most preferred type of
percentage of observations that exist for each data point or grouping of data points. It is
P = F x 100/N
Where:
P – Percentage
F – Frequency
N – Total number of respondents
T-test
In order to measure the difference in the level of influence and cost between
organic post and paid post, T-test was utilized on the Jamovi software. According to Del
Siegle, the T-test is a type of inferential statistics. It is used to determine whether there
It was determined that the most preferred social media platform of organic
influencers is Facebook since it has the highest frequency 18(90%) out of 20.
Based on the result, most of the organic influencers preferred image as a type of
The graph shows how influential each social media platform is. Instagram has
very high influence, facebook has high influence and youtube has low influence. Among
the three platforms instagram is the most influential, followed by facebook and youtube.
Graph 2.0 Shows the different type of posts
The graph shows how influential the different types of posts are. According to
the result image has very high influence, image and video has high influence whereas
video posts has only average influence. Among the different types of post image is the
most influential, followed by the combination of image and video and last in the video.
Table 2: Presentation of Level of Influence by Demographic Profile
Age
16-20 2.87
21-25 6.40
26-30 4.34
31-35 9.46
36-40 6.57
Gender
Female 6.70
Male 5.20
Marital status
Single 4.25
Married 7.64
Employment status
Employed 9.42
Unemployed 2.49
Educational background
The profile set that displayed the highest level of influence is a 31-35 years old
female, married, college graduate, and employed.
In order to assess the difference in the level of influence between male and
female of the respondents, Independent t-test was utilized. The results revealed no
SD=4.19) and paid post (N=20, M=6.69, SD=3.52) respondents with respect to their
To determine the difference in the value of organic posts compared to the cost of
paid posts , Independent T-test was utilized. The results revealed no significant
difference (p=.519) in the value of organic post (N=20 ,M=1695, SD=1553) compared to
the cost of paid posts (N=20, M=1987, SD=1267) Hence, the null hypothesis was
supported.
To end with, the data have shown a total of 39 second level influencers.
CHAPTER V
Summary of Findings
marketing off the beaten path destinations in Puerto Princesa City. An experimental
media users subjected to visit an off the beaten path destination with the purpose of
sharing their experience through a social media post. The experiment was conducted
Out of the 20 Myday Influencers, 90% used Facebook as the platform and
The study revealed that Instagram posts created the highest level of influence at
8.75 rated as Very High and images as the most influential type of posts that rated Very
High at 6.73.
The demographic profile that recorded the highest level of influence is a female
who is in the age range of 31-35 years old, college graduate, married and employed.
Conclusions
Based on the result and analysis of the data gathered, the following conclusions
were drawn:
between the levels of influence of Myday Influencers and paid influencers. Myday
between the value of using Myday Influencers to the cost of hiring paid
influencers.
Recommendations
Based on the results of this study, the researchers recommend the following:
1. For the City Government of Puerto Princesa and the City Tourism Office, to start
integrating influencer marketing in their tourism marketing plans for the different
strategically choosing Myday Influencers that fit the most influential profile should
be done. Moreover, in the marketing of off the beaten path destinations in the
city, the help of Myday Influencers should also be tapped as they have the
potential to influence local tourists to visit off the beaten path destinations, thus
ordinary visitors to post stories, in the form of images, in their personal social
CBST sites should also engage on measures to ensure a quality experience for all
the visitors as this study was able to uncover that Myday Influencers have the tendency
to influence other visitors to post their own experience-these are the 2nd level
influencers.
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