Table 5 Stakeholders’ identified... | Emerald Publishing

Table 5

Stakeholders’ identified challenges in using SM to brand rural areas

Participant	Challenges in using SM for rural branding	Interviewee response
Interviewee XI	Limited digital skills	“One of the biggest challenges we face is that many local business owners lack the digital skills needed to use SM for branding. We want to assist them in enhancing their skills and start promoting their work better.”
Interviewee VII	Maintaining consistent engagement	“Keeping our audience engaged consistently is tough. They don’t want to see general posts. The interest can fade quickly, especially when fewer local events happen.”
Interviewee I	Competition	“We struggle to compete with other destinations with larger marketing budgets and more resources to promote themselves on SM.”
Interviewee VII	Challenges in content creation	“Creating high-quality content regularly can be overwhelming. We want to showcase our unique offerings, but the resources for professional content creation are limited.”
Interviewee IV	Negative online reviews and feedback	“Negative comments or reviews on SM are disheartening for us and make a negative impact on our business, although we are trying hard to accommodate the needs of everyone.”
Interviewees XII, I, XIV	Lack of collaboration and digital skills	“There’s a lack of collaboration between local stakeholders, which leads to fragmented messaging and missed opportunities for stronger branding.” “Many stakeholder groups don’t have the necessary digital skills to collaborate effectively with others, even for the most basic operations, like sending an email.” “There is a noticeable lack of collaboration between the stakeholder groups” “We are not involved in the decision-making process of the tourism strategy, although our voice is vital in order to give birth to rural areas”
Interviewee XIV	Underdeveloped villages with less interesting content	“Many underdeveloped villages struggle with less interesting content to share. We need more people with digital marketing skills to help bring out the unique stories of these areas.”
Interviewee I	Digital marketing expertise	“There’s a clear need for more local talent skilled in digital marketing. Without it, we can’t compete with other destinations.”

Participant	Challenges in using SM for rural branding	Interviewee response
Interviewee XI	Limited digital skills	“One of the biggest challenges we face is that many local business owners lack the digital skills needed to use SM for branding. We want to assist them in enhancing their skills and start promoting their work better.”
Interviewee VII	Maintaining consistent engagement	“Keeping our audience engaged consistently is tough. They don’t want to see general posts. The interest can fade quickly, especially when fewer local events happen.”
Interviewee I	Competition	“We struggle to compete with other destinations with larger marketing budgets and more resources to promote themselves on SM.”
Interviewee VII	Challenges in content creation	“Creating high-quality content regularly can be overwhelming. We want to showcase our unique offerings, but the resources for professional content creation are limited.”
Interviewee IV	Negative online reviews and feedback	“Negative comments or reviews on SM are disheartening for us and make a negative impact on our business, although we are trying hard to accommodate the needs of everyone.”
Interviewees XII, I, XIV	Lack of collaboration and digital skills	“There’s a lack of collaboration between local stakeholders, which leads to fragmented messaging and missed opportunities for stronger branding.”“Many stakeholder groups don’t have the necessary digital skills to collaborate effectively with others, even for the most basic operations, like sending an email.”“There is a noticeable lack of collaboration between the stakeholder groups”“We are not involved in the decision-making process of the tourism strategy, although our voice is vital in order to give birth to rural areas”
Interviewee XIV	Underdeveloped villages with less interesting content	“Many underdeveloped villages struggle with less interesting content to share. We need more people with digital marketing skills to help bring out the unique stories of these areas.”
Interviewee I	Digital marketing expertise	“There’s a clear need for more local talent skilled in digital marketing. Without it, we can’t compete with other destinations.”

Source(s): Authors’ own work (2024)