is it a Social Media Solution to Promote Sustainable Tourism?

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Instagram: is it a Social Media Solution to Promote Sustainable Tourism?

Aprih Santoso^a*, Ardiani Ika Setyowati^b, Vensy Vydia^c

a, b Faculty of Economic, Universitas Semarang Indonesia

c Faculty of Information Technology and Communication, Universitas Semarang , Indonesia

1 Email First Author*; ²Email Second Author; ³Email Third Author (9pt)

* corresponding author

I. Introduction

With the high use of social media in Indonesia, it has become a new media to market its products or services, including service products in the form of tourism. The use of social media is considered to save costs and is more time efficient in marketing. Social media has become a platform used by the public to share information (Ashrianto & Yustitia,.2020). Recently, what is happening is the emergence of social media Instagram as one of the social media that has visual uses such as uploading photos and videos. In addition, Instagram can also be interpreted as a social networking application for sharing photos, applying digital filters, geotagging, geolocation, and sharing them to various other social networking services. Another feature of Instagram is the “Follow” feature which allows users to follow other users so that uploads from other users will appear on their own page.

Furthermore, every photo or video upload on an Instagram account can be accompanied by an explanation or information about the uploaded photo or video which is called a "Caption". Then it is equipped with a typical “Hahstag” with the account. "Hahstag" is an Instagram feature that is used to make it easier for Instagram users to find the desired image in the search field. Like in Instagram that is in the shape of a heart is a feature used by Instagram users if they like uploads of certain photos or videos (Rouse, 2017).

ARTICLE INFO A B S T R A C T

Article history:

Received 05 Jan 2022 Revised 16 March 2022 Accepted 15 Apr 2022

There is a tourism promotion business phenomenon that is carried out through social media Instagram in the city of Semarang. This phenomenon shows the current realization of tourism promotion activities through Instagram social media, with the aim of research to examine tourism promotion through Instagram social media carried out in Semarang City. This study uses qualitative research with a case study approach by taking tourism research objects in the city of Semarang. Data collection in this study was obtained through interviews, observations, documentation with informants, namely Instagram account admins, Instagram social media users, academics in the tourism sector, and travel agencies that use Instagram social media as a promotional media. The results of the analysis of tourism promotion in Semarang City through Instagram social media are carried out in stages, namely: content creation, platform determination, program planning, program implementation, and monitoring & evaluation. Analysis of the advantages of promotion through Instagram social media, namely promotional media that is not paid, can be used at any time, is easy to use, can be connected to other social media, and has many users. Analysis of the weakness of promotion through Instagram social media is that it must be updated regularly, the authenticity of the product is still in doubt, prone to spamming. Furthermore, the analysis of sharia tourism promotion through Instagram social media has very effective prospects for the future.

Keywords:

Instagram, Content, Platform, Program, Promotion

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All the facilities offered by Instagram have the potential to support and advance various industrial sectors, including the tourism industry. Rukmiyati & Suastini (2016) social media is widely used in finding and digging up various information about tourism places and with the existence of social media, social media users tend to share their information and experiences after traveling. So that the existence of social media Instagram helps provide convenience in accessing information and communication. Furthermore, Fatanti & Suyadnya (2015) stated that Instagram content is useful to support the promotion of a place that is a tourist destination in Indonesia, especially in Bali and Malang.

Tourism is basically an activity in the form of services for products produced by the tourism industry that is able to create a travel experience for tourists. Tourism activities based on culture and nature are one of the benchmarks for improving the welfare of a region in the context of carrying out development while continuing to be guided by the direction of the development concept that has been agreed upon by the government and its stakeholders. The city of Semarang has become one of the main destination cities along with the development of the government system and investment from various parties, as evidenced by the increase in tourist attractions, both natural tourism, artificial tourism, culinary tourism, and cultural tourism. Management of tourist objects that are getting better and neatly arranged, cleanliness in the city is increased, adequate road access, various culinary tourism events, as well as the many choices of hotels as tourist accommodation. The important role of Instagram in popularizing tourist destinations has attracted many researchers to conduct research and analysis (Handayani & Adelvia, 2020).

The Instagram account @semarangpemkot is the official account of the Semarang City government which is used as a promotional media and share information about tourism destinations in the city of Semarang. The information provided by this account is about tourist attractions in the city of Semarang, events that take place in the city of Semarang, hangout spots in the city of Semarang, the famous souvenir center in the city of Semarang, culinary places, recreational destinations that are currently popular in Semarang. Semarang City, places for taking photos, art and cultural tourism in the city of Semarang. The Instagram account @semarangpemkot now has 124,000 followers and 5,446 uploads (as of July 13, 2021). Not only the official @semarangpemkot account, there are various Instagram accounts that promote Semarang tourism: such as

@wisatasemarang which has 626,000 followers and 4,700 uploads (July 13 2021), the

@visitsemarang account with 91,500 followers and 1,063 uploads (July 13 2021), the account

@visitsemarang with 91,500 followers and 1,063 uploads (July 13 2021), @exploresemarang with 259,000 followers and 1799 uploads (as of July 13, 2021). The followers of these accounts are very active in providing comments, it can be seen from the large number of comments containing invitations (@mentions to their friends, testimonials, recommendation requests, to requests for reviews of certain tourist attractions. With this phenomenon, it shows that the enthusiasm of Instagram users about tourist information The city of Semarang is very high. It is very important for the government and the existing community to continue to share information about tourism in the city of Semarang in order to increase the number of visitors who come to the city of Semarang. This is what encourages and attracts researchers to investigate. to find out how to develop tourism potential through social media, especially Instagram social media in promoting tourism potential in Semarang City.

Online and social media marketing are online activities and programs that design to engage customers or prospects and directly or indirectly raise awareness, improve image, or elicit sales of products and services (Kotler & Amstrong, 2018). Social media is a marketing communication activity that uses electronic media (online) to attract consumers or companies in various forms (images, writings, etc.) to increase awareness, corporate image, and to increase sales. Indika &

Jovita (2017) say that electronic WOM and advertising through social media help marketers to attract consumers at lower prices and in a faster time, coupled with consumer reviews that help attract consumers. Social media is a technology network that is used to create news through internet users and communicate and disseminate information, while social media marketing is a type of internet marketing model to achieve marketing goals by participating in the scope of social media networks (Indika & Jovita (2017). The delivery of marketing communications through social media is assessed through (Indika & Jovita (2017) : 1. Context is “how we frame our stories”, namely the way how someone forms a story through the use of language and message content. 2.

Communication is "the practice of sharing our sharing stories as well as listening, responding, and

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growing," namely how to share stories to make someone hear, respond, and grow so that people feel comfortable and the message is conveyed to the intended person. 3. Collaboration is “working together to make things better and more efficient and effective”. The collaboration in question is cooperation between accounts or companies with social media users which aims to make things better, more efficient, and more effective. 4. Connection is "the relationship we forge and maintain"

that is how to maintain and continue to develop the relationship that has been done.

Kotler & Amstrong (2018) states that promotion as "Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it", meaning that promotion is an activity that communicates the benefits of a product and persuades target consumers to buy the product. After looking at the definitions above, it can be concluded that promotion is an activity to communicate or inform the benefits of a product and service to consumers to encourage and persuade consumers to buy these products and services. Wijaya & Ariyanti (2018) stated that the more promotional activities carried out by the company, the consumers will be more interested and influenced so that eventually consumers will buy the products produced and offered by the company. The success and implementation of the right promotional program will have a positive impact in facilitating the spread of a product or service to achieve the company's targeted market share.

Social networking sites as web-based services that allow individuals to build public or semi- public profiles in a limited system, display other users related to them, and browse and observe the list of connections they have and lists made by other users. in the system. Social networking sites are considered as self-extensions in cyberspace and the relationships that exist in them are also extensions of real relationships. Instagram is an application that is used to share photos and videos.

According to wearesocial.com, Instagram is included in the 10 most popular social media applications used in Indonesia (Ayutiani & Putri, 2018). Instagram has the following features (Syahreza & Tanjung, 2018): Followers/Followers, Uploading photos, Camera, Photo Filters, Arroba, Photo Labels, Competitions, Social activity publications, Organizational publications, Geotangging, Social Networking, Likes, Popular , Instagram Rules, Photo tagging with flags and Instagram Stories,

Kotler & Amstrong (2018), online and social media marketing are online activities and programs that design to engage customers or prospects and directly or indirectly raise awareness, improve image, or elicit sales of products and services. Social media is a marketing communication activity that uses electronic media (online) to attract consumers or companies in various forms (images, writings, etc.) to increase awareness, corporate image, and to increase sales. Promoting tourism through Instagram is also supported by the #hashtag and location stories features that make it easier for other users to find tourism places that are being promoted (Virtarini & Ngatno, 2020).

Previous research that has a similar theme to this research, the first one comes from Ayang Fitrianti, Kharisma Ayu Febriana, & Firdaus Azwar Ersyad. For the research problem studied in this study, the study program Cino Fajrin is one of Semarang's local celebrities with a strong Semarangan character using Instagram media. while the problems studied in this study in the city of Semarang are, can tourism promotion through Instagram social media be carried out? The study used to examine and analyze the results of the research is a study of personal branding, brand, Instagram, endorser, and social media, while the study used by researchers is a study of tourism promotion strategies through Instagram Social Media in Semarang City.

Other previous studies, Ni Made Sri Rukmiyati & Ni Made Suastini. For the research problems examined in the study, namely how is the impact of social media on tourist behavior in seeking information before traveling, the impact of social media on tourist behavior during travel and the impact of social media on tourist behavior in sharing information after traveling, while the problem studied in this study in the city of Semarang is not the impact but can tourism promotion through Instagram social media be carried out? Respondents and the object of study used to review and analyze the results of the study were youth travelers in Bali, while the current researchers are tourism stakeholders in Semarang City.

The third previous research by Edwin Adrianta Surijah, Cokorda Tesya Kirana, Ni Putu Julian Dian Wahyuni, Putu Chrisna Yudi, & Ni Komang Budi Astini. For the research problem

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studied in the study, namely how the interaction of Instagram users with the content uploaded by the account on Bali tourism, while the problem studied in the city of Semarang is whether tourism promotion through Instagram social media can be done? The research method used is a qualitative approach to content analysis conducted on ten social media accounts with the most followers and the last hundred uploads of each account, while the researchers used a case study approach.

In addition, Witanti Prihatiningsih, for the research problem examined in this study, namely What are the motives for using Instagram social media among teenagers in Jakarta? while the problem being researched in the city of Semarang is, can tourism promotion through Instagram social media be carried out? Respondents and research objects are 5 teenagers in Jakarta, while the current researchers are tourism stakeholders in the city of Semarang.

This study aims to get an in-depth picture of tourism promotion through Instagram social media in Semarang City, describe the advantages and disadvantages of promotion through Instagram social media, and analyze the prospects of tourism marketing through Instagram social media in Semarang City.

II. Method

The research design is a qualitative research, chosen because it can describe in depth about the behavior of research subjects, complex interactions about how promotional activities through Instagram social media, and explore how promotion through Instagram social media has prospects in the future. This research approach method uses a case study approach where researchers carefully investigate a program, event, activity, process, or group of individuals. The single case analyzed is how to develop a tourism destination in the city of Semarang by promoting it through social media Instagram. The time of the research was carried out in January – May 2021.

Informants are sources of data that are observed/observed and are asked for information through interviews/discussions/documentation who really know the problems being studied. The selection of respondents (informants) is done through purposive means, namely the informants are people who are able to provide information in accordance with the research objectives. The selected informants are people who have the following criteria: a) Have knowledge and experience about tourism promotion through social media Instagram b) Able to tell well and correctly about tourism promotion through social media Instagram c) Able to assist researchers in the process of data collection d) Have sufficient time to be asked for information. Informants in the study consisted of community members, community admins, the department of culture and tourism, and Instagram users in the city of Semarang.

Data collection in qualitative research relies on triangulation of data generated from three methods: interviews, participant observation, and review of organizational records (Sugiyono, 2018), namely: 1) Interview Interview aims to record opinions, feelings, emotions, and things others relate to individuals in the organization. By conducting interviews, researchers can obtain more data so that researchers can understand the culture through the language and expressions of the interviewees and can clarify things that are not known. Data obtained from interviews are generally in the form of statements that describe personal experiences, knowledge, opinions and feelings. 2) Participant Observation Participant observation is done by observing directly the behavior of individuals and their interactions in the research setting. Researchers are directly involved in the daily life of the subjects studied. The data collected during the observation is a description of the program, behavior, feelings, and knowledge. The form of data is a record of all events or behaviors that are considered important by researchers. 3) Document Records Organizational archives and records are unique evidence in case studies, which are not found in interviews and observations.

This source is a source of data used to support data from observations and interviews.

Organizational records provide data about the historical context of the organizational setting under study. The data sources are administrative notes, correspondence, memos, agendas and other relevant documents.

The procedure for analyzing qualitative data consists of three streams of activities that occur simultaneously, namely: data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions or verification.

In qualitative research, the main principle of the analysis technique is to process and analyze the collected data into a systematic, orderly, structured, and meaningful way. Guidelines for data

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analysis start from simultaneous data collection, interpretation of data and narrative reports, carrying out analysis processes based on data reduction, grouping data into categories, patterns, themes, interpreting information using schemas, describing categories, roles according to informants and most importantly in matrix form. to see the relationship of information categories, make coding procedures to facilitate grouping information into categories, themes so that certain patterns can appear, make categories and themes formed as the basis for producing descriptions of research results

III. Result

The right promotion will create opportunities so that what is being carried out remains on the right track to achieve a success. Currently, communication is one of the promotional strategies used as a bridge between sellers and buyers, including in the tourism sector, therefore communication is used as a major concern in business. As a result of technological developments, it can affect the way business people communicate, one of which is in terms of communicating. Social media Instagram is one of the communication media and one of the promotional strategies that need to be owned to be a bridge between business people and prospective buyers so that communication can be easily established quickly and efficiently.

By using social media Instagram, users no longer need to think about where the location of the person to be contacted and the time when contacted. By utilizing Instagram social media, you can make one of the creative product and service promotion strategies so that messages that will be sent to other parties will arrive in seconds. The results of the study (Giannindra, 2019) concluded that Instagram can be used as a media for promoting tourism in the city of Bandung. This result is also supported by Fauziah et al (2018) which also shows that promotion through Instagram as a social media tends to have many users so that it is considered effective to be used as a new media for marketing promotions.

Media content is all forms of content or content in a media in the world of technology that exists today such as blogs, wikis, discussion forums, chats, podcasting, digital image pins, videos, video files, advertisements to various other forms of media content that are formed. through the creation of users of online systems or services which is often done through a social media site. In social media, Instagram itself focuses on visuals, namely photos or videos. In carrying out promotions through Instagram social media, especially in the tourism sector, interesting photos and videos are the most important part here.

Researchers conducted interviews with:

1. Mr. Ali as the admin of the @wisatasemarang Instagram account in relation to the activities carried out by @wisatasemarang followers, in this case the posts posted by

@wisatasemarang. Respondents explained that I did not take photos and videos directly on my account due to time constraints, the photos and videos were regrammed or tagged with followers.

2. Mr. Arif as admin of the Instagram account @semarangpemkot in relation to the activities carried out by followers of @semarangpemkot. Respondents stated that usually we look for stock photos that are already available at the image bank of Semarang City and sometimes we also get these photos from a photographer competition in Semarang which is held by the Semarang City Government.”

3. Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @ disbudparkotasemarang in relation to the activities carried out by followers @ disbudparkotasemarang, respondents stated that we hire several photographers every time an event will be held in Semarang and from bloggers we have collaborated with before.

4. Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang said that most of the photos uploaded on Instagram are from reposts of customers who have used our bureau's services and we usually make our own image editor to display promos from the bureau.

Based on the description above, it can be concluded that the way to create content can be in several ways, including getting content from the tourism image of Semarang City, collaborating with several photographers and bloggers, and reposting or hashtags from other Instagram users. This

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is in accordance with the results of research by Sanawiri & Iqbal (2018), content marketing is not just an ordinary post, but is specifically designed to interact, relate, and give the impression to users to find out more about something. Saraswati & Hastasari (2020) stated that to make content on social media look attractive, customers are voluntary in accessing at will, which means customers choose to consume content whenever and wherever they want it.

All forms of activities in the real world are now switching platforms to digital media, ranging from just communicating, learning, seeking information to buying and selling processes can also be done through social media (Maryolein et al, 2019). Platform is a hardware architecture / foundation / standard of how a system on which applications / programs can run, or it can also be said that Platform is the basis of technology on which other technologies or processes are made. In platform promotion activities, it is certainly considered important to determine plans or promotional activities to be carried out.

Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with:

@wisatasemarang. Respondents explained that previously in 2010 I used twitter and facebook to promote tourism in the city of Semarang, but after a few years twiiter and facebook had decreased, immediately Instagram users jumped quickly. So, for now, I'm more focused on using Instagram for promotion.

2. Mr. Budi as the admin of the @semarangpemkot Instagram account in relation to the activities carried out by @semarangpemkot followers. Respondents stated that from the municipal government itself, we actually use all types of social media for promotions such as websites, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and others.

3. Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @ disbudparkotasemarang in relation to the activities carried out by followers @ disbudparkotasemarang stated that to follow the developments of the current era, promotion through social media is very important. Right now, our main focus is still developing promotions via the website, Instagram, fb, and twitter, because the majority of Semarang people use these accounts.

4. Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang said that after a survey of customers, most of them used Instagram social media. In modern times like this, promotion through Instagram is necessary so that our promotional reach is wider.

The results of the above statement imply that in determining a promotion platform, it is necessary to conduct a survey first about any social media that has a high enough potential to attract public interest.

Based on the description above, it can be concluded that Instagram social media is considered to have a high enough potential to be used as a medium in promotional activities. Instagram social media is a media that focuses on visuals, especially photos and videos, it can be said that Instagram social media is effectively used in promoting tourism in the city of Semarang. This is in line with Atiko et al (2016), social media is a media platform that focuses on the existence of users who facilitate them in their activities and collaboration. Therefore, social media can be seen as an online medium (facilitator) that strengthens the relationship between users as well as a social bond

After determining the platform to be used and having prepared the content carefully, the program plan must be well organized. Program plans need to be made so that the desired goals can be achieved. In this research is to make a program plan that will be implemented through Instagram social media.

Following are the results of in-depth interviews with the respondents:

@wisatasemarang. Respondents explained that yes, if you want to pursue a career online, you can't miss any information, if you miss it, we'll finish it. Many Instagram accounts fail in promotion. So, as much as possible, we must always update with current information.

The purpose of this statement is that in carrying out promotional activities through online

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media, one must follow the development of information on the current situation. Sharing the latest information can attract people's attention and attract interest in visiting. It can be interpreted that the pattern of updates is an important part of promoting through Instagram social media.

2. Mr. Budi as the admin of the @semarangpemkot Instagram account, he said that occasionally we also hold quizzes on Instagram, yes, even though the prizes are not big, but at least they can attract people to follow our account.” In attracting public attention, creating awareness is also considered effective in promotional activities with the aim of creating interaction.

3. Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @ disbudparkotasemarang in relation to the activities carried out by followers @ disbudparkotasemarang stated that there is no special strategy for making captions, the most important thing is to use polite and interesting language so that followers can comment, the more comments or likes right from the same we can know how many people have seen our post. The purpose of this statement is that in every photo post or video caption that contains good and interesting promotional language, so that what you want to convey to the public can be well received and not cause confusion.

A good caption is able to cause interaction between fellow followers and the interaction of followers with the Instagram account admin. Instagram is a social media that focuses on visuals, but the creation of photo and video content must be accompanied by a caption or description of the photo or video.

4. Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang said that “Our content updates always match the timeline of the current situation, especially when the holiday season arrives or we update at least every 2 days.

Based on the description above, it can be concluded that planning a promotional program through Instagram social media must pay attention to several things including paying attention to the pattern of content updates, creating awareness, paying attention to writing good captions, and establishing interactions with followers are also needed in promotion through Instagram social media. This is in line with Atiko et al (2016), which states that this can be done by optimizing social media, including: there must be management support, media qualifications, user orientation, information sources, and activities on social media that must be routinely carried out by perpetrators.

business and pay attention to strategies in posting information in order to get a good response from users (Noprianto, 2018).

The programs that have been executed and planned are directly implemented through the selected social media. The following programs are implemented in promotions through Instagram ocial media. The researcher conducted an in-depth interview with Mr. Budi as the admin of the

@semarangpemkot Instagram account and he said that once in a while we also hold quizzes on Instagram, even though the prizes are not big but at least it can attract people's interest to follow our account. In creating awareness, the promotional strategy carried out is by making quizzes with prizes for followers with the aim of creating interactions, making various activities with several bloggers and Instagram influencers both from within and outside the country. Apart from being a cooperative activity in promoting Semarang City tourism, the entire community of Semarang City in particular and Indonesian society in general.

This is in line with Walid (2018), which states that success in building promotion awareness is very dependent on how far consumers understand that the promotion is designed to meet their needs.

The researcher conducted an in-depth interview with Mr. Ali as the admin of the

@wisatasemarang Instagram account and he said that “The pattern of updating content on Instagram accounts is done by adjusting the timeline. The timeline contains the date for content updates, photos, and videos that have been determined, the time to upload content, to the time to repost photos or videos from followers chosen by the admin. The amount of content that must be uploaded to an Instagram account is 2 to 3 photos in a day with a predetermined time according to the timeline, while videos must be uploaded at least once a week. In addition to adjusting to the timeline that has been prepared, the admin also uploads content spontaneously."

The researcher conducted an in-depth interview with Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang and she said that “our content updates always match the timeline of the current situation,

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especially when the holiday season arrives or at least we update every 2 days. User-generated content comes from internet users who voluntarily contribute useful or entertaining data, information or media, usually on the Web — for example, restaurant ratings, wikis, and videos (Amalia & Sudiwijaya, 2019).

The researcher conducted an in-depth interview with Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @ disbudparkotasemarang and he said "there is no special strategy for making captions, the most important thing is to use polite and interesting language so that followers can comment on them, the more comments or likes, right? we can know how many people have seen our posts.”

Writing captions in Instagram accounts does not use a special strategy. In writing captions, the most important thing is to use good promotional language. This is expected to be able to create engagement with followers such as interaction with how followers respond to each uploaded content. The promotional language that is able to create engagement with the intended follower is writing captions by providing interesting facts about the uploaded content, and writing captions in the form of questions which are considered very effective in creating interaction with followers because the comment column will immediately be busy with responses from followers. Caption also means the overflow or outpouring of someone's heart what is depicted in their heart to pour in the writing which will then get a response from others or known as comments (Hartini et al, 2017).

A follower is someone who intentionally follows an account on social media. Follo (Ayuningtyas

& Lailiyah, 2019). The researcher conducted an in-depth interview with Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @ disbudparkotasemarang he said "there is no special strategy for making captions, the most important thing is to use polite and interesting language so that followers can comment on them, the more comments or likes from us, right? You can know how many people have seen our posts.” Instagram social media users are considered a little different from other social media users. The interactions that occur on Instagram actually occur between the followers themselves. If the admin makes a caption in the form of a question or fact, in the comments column, users will appear mentioning other users' usernames. There they will interact with each other discussing the uploaded photo or video so that the admin feels helped because there is no need to answer questions from followers. Admins certainly continue to interact even though they have been helped by followers. The types of questions that are usually answered by admins are further information about an activity that has been posted, there are followers who suggest their place of origin to be promoted or several parties who invite cooperation.

1. Mr. Ali as the admin of the @wisatasemarang Instagram account said that every day we always check our posts, whether it's comments, likes, followers. From there we can see how the community responds. From the results of the interview, it can be interpreted that monitoring is carried out every day.

2. Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @disbudparkotasemarang he said that the comments included in every post we always read, which contain input we collect and we evaluate.

3. Mr. Budi as the admin of the @semarangpemkot Instagram account, he said that from the many comments that came in, we filtered some of the comments we made as input for us.

4. Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang said that we always answer questions that come in the comments column if they are related to our bureau.

The results of the in-depth interviews above can be concluded by researchers that monitoring is carried out every day by admins who manage Instagram social media accounts. Through comments or messages that come in every photo and video post, it will be filtered to be answered and evaluated. Evaluation can be done every one day, one week, one month, quarterly, six months, and yearly.

The results of the in-depth interview above show that the tourism promotion carried out is not different from the theory of the stages that must be carried out as a marketing strategy through social media (Atiko et al. 2016), including:

1. Monitoring, Social media monitoring is a process that must be done continuously.

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2. Respond, Responding speed is very important, so respond to comments or questions that may appear on social media.

3. Research, Field surveys need to be carried out to find out what people are interested in now.

4. Campaign Versus On-going Strategy, Social media marketing work can be divided into two types: on-going strategy and campaign. On-going strategy is an activity that is done regularly. A campaign is a kind of social media marketing that we have that can be done in various ways, namely by sharing viral videos, contests related to product launches that aim to attract, inform, and remind so as to bring in many website visitors or followers. on social media. Campaign activities must be adapted to the ongoing strategy and have clear goals and schedules.

5. Integration, Almost every section on social media can integrate with at least one other section and users of one social media become users of other social media.

6. Call to Action (CTA). is an invitation made to site visitors to take certain actions that can benefit the business.

The findings above can also be synchronized with the opinion (Kotler & Amstrong (2018), promotion is all activities intended to convey or inform a product to the target market to provide information about its features, uses, and most importantly its existence to encourage people to act.

So, it can be concluded that promotions are activities or business approaches used to achieve the target, namely to be able to convey or inform a product to the target market that can encourage people to take action.

The impact of the power of social media is not only felt by individuals, but also by companies (Natarina & Bangun, 2019). This is what needs to be done in achieving their targets through tourism promotion activities using Instagram, namely to determine activities or business approaches to achieve satisfactory performance, namely creating awareness and increasing the number of tourists in Semarang City by conveying or informing the product to the market. goals about their privileges to encourage people to act.

The results of this study support previous research by Atiko et al (2016) who conducted a study entitled "Analysis of Tourism Promotion Strategies Through Social Media by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia (Descriptive Study on Instagram Account @Indtravel)" where the results of the research are the preparation of promotional strategies using social media Instagram carried out by the Ministry of Tourism has several stages that can make it easier for the Ministry of Tourism to achieve its goals. The steps taken are: content creation, platform determination, program planning, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation. In line with Xu & Pratt (2018), their research suggests that the emergence of social media influencers has a positive impact on tourist destinations where when social media influencers are in line with consumers, they will make a positive contribution to visiting (tourist locations).

Tourism promotion through Instagram social media has a strategic concept in promoting it, this is in accordance with Suwarsono's opinion in his book "Strategic Management: concepts and analytical tools", strategy is a tool to achieve goals, be it organizational or company goals, then the strategy has several characteristics between others: a. Unified (unifed): that unites all parts of the organization or company. b. Comprehensive: which includes all aspects of an organization or company. c. Integral (integrated): ie all strategies will be suitable or appropriate from all levels (corporate, business, and functional).

Tourism promotion is an effort to introduce tourist areas to potential consumers. Promotions carried out can utilize online media and conventional media, especially Instagram. The advantages and disadvantages are:

The Advantages of Tourism Promotion Through Instagram Social Media The following are the results of in-depth interviews with respondents:

1. Mr. Ali as the admin of the @wisatasemarang Instagram account said that to use Instagram, just download it from the play store, it's free. It's not as complicated as using a website that has to rent a domain and incur various fees..

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2. Mr. Fery as an Academic (student of tourism marketing management at STIPARI Semarang) and he said that Instagram's social media tourism promotion has the advantage that Instagram is very easy to use in terms of promotion, people can use it anytime and the cost is affordable or very cheap.

3. The results of the in-depth interview above implied that to use Instagram there is no need to pay and can cut promotional costs, you only need to download via the Play Store or Google Play or you can also open the site. Unlike if you use a website as a marketing medium, of course you have to rent a domain first with various costs, this is one of the attractions that Instagram social media has.

4. Mrs. Ganis as an active Instagram user since 2014 said that nowadays everyone has used Instagram, Instagram can be accessed anywhere and anytime, the important thing is that the cellphone has an internet connection.

5. Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang said that after a survey of customers, most of them used Instagram social media. In modern times like this, promotion through Instagram is necessary so that our promotional reach is wider.

6. Mr. Budi as the admin of the @semarangpemkot Instagram account, he said that almost all the people of Semarang City can access this Instagram social media, people who want to vacation can first check on Instagram for the places they will visit.

7. Mrs. Hanik as an active Instagram user since 2013 said that with Instagram it is very helpful, so we can look for a place of reference before going on vacation, so we can have a view of the place we are going through photos and videos that we have searched on Instagram.

The statement above shows that Instagram social media has quite a high number of users in Semarang City, this happens because Instagram social media can be owned by everyone. Instagram makes it easy for its users by offering Instagram as a medium that quickly attracts people to use it.

Instagram makes it easy for users to post photos or videos, find photos and videos somewhere, follow, comment, share stories, give likes, to search for hashtags can be done easily. In terms of promotion, Instagram is a promotional media that is easy to use with the advantage of providing connections with several other social media.

Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @ disbudparkotasemarang said that using Instagram promotion is better, so for example, if we want to upload 1 photo or video via Instagram, we can connect it to our Facebook account or Twitter account. So it doesn't take much time either.

The results of the research obtained from the interview above can be concluded that the advantages of promotion through Instagram social media include: a. Media promotion that is not paid. b. Media that can be used at any time c. Media that is easy to use d. Media that can be connected to other social media e. Media that has many users.

The following are the results of interviews with respondents:

1. Mr. Fery as Akadmisi (Lecturer of tourism marketing management at STIPARI Semarang) he said that the photos uploaded were sometimes not in accordance with the conditions in the field, and this sometimes made people disappointed after visiting the location, and of course it had a negative impact on tourist attractions This is because it is difficult to visit again in the future.

2. Mas Indra/Angga as an active Instagram user since 2013 said that the photos seen on Instagram are sometimes not in accordance with the actual reality, not as good as the ones in the photo, and we should have a look before visiting.

3. Mr. Cacuk as the admin of the Instagram account @ disbudparkotasemarang he said that our weakness in promoting tourism using Instagram is actually not too much, sometimes the problem is not too updated and sometimes we miss the latest information.

4. Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang said that there were many spam comments that could enter the Instagram comments column.

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The results of the research obtained from the results of the informants' statements above can be concluded that in carrying out promotions through Instagram social media there are also weaknesses, including: 1. Must update regularly 2. The authenticity of the product is still in doubt 3.

Prone to spamming, the convenience provided by Instagram in terms of these interact, making this social media prone to spamming. Usually a lot of spamming seen in the comments section.

However, you can get around this by imposing private on your Instagram account so that not just anyone can comment on the account owner's post.

The results of the in-depth interviews above are in line with what was revealed by Sugiarto (2018) that marketing through Instagram has advantages, namely: including: easy to understand, 24- hour broadcast time, ease of use, easy to convey new things, also supported by (Sari & Basit, 2020) which states that the advantages of Instagram features by posting photos, live videos, comments, direct massages can be easily used by followers in communicating either to account owners or admins or to fellow Instagram account followers.

Weaknesses, namely: 1) Consumers are still hesitant in ordering goods via the internet because of concerns and security. 2) For some types of products, consumers feel worried about whether the goods seen on the monitor are really what they want. The results of the in-depth interviews above are in line with those revealed by Nainggolan et al (2018) that the ease provided by Instagram in terms of interacting makes this social media very prone to spamming. Generally, a lot of spamming is seen in the comments section. However, it can be circumvented by using / enforcing private on our account so that not just anyone can comment on the post. And, Absence of content filter. With the convenience provided by Instagram, anyone can have an Instagram account. This of course makes Instagram very easy for people who want to spread bad content.

The development of social media makes the potential for information dissemination even greater.

Almost all aspects of human life such as lifestyle, social interaction, education and other aspects cannot be separated from social media (Muhlisian & Putri, 2019). Dissemination of information through social media can provide advantages or disadvantages depending on how it is used. By using social media appropriately, it has the potential to increase tourism interest for internet users who read and follow social media. The right use of social media includes the process of persuasion and establishing emotional closeness so that it can increase the confidence of the followers of the account in the information provided.

1. Mas Indra Angga as an active user of Instagram since 2013 said that I as a citizen have been greatly helped by information through social media, this is very positive to do in this day and age. Of course, if people want to travel, they can choose or look around the location before going on a trip.

2. Mr. Budi as the admin of the Instagram account @semarangpemkot he stated that I see promotion through Instagram social media very effective in this day and age, of course the Government must be serious and have more strategies in terms of this promotion, so that the City of Semarang does not lag behind other cities. other cities, such as Jakarta, Bandung, Djogjakarta, Malang and other cities whose tourism is more advanced, besides that we from the government will collaborate with tourism lovers to promote it.”

3. Mrs. Desi as an employee of Duta Tour Semarang said that Instagram is a very effective medium because nowadays almost everyone uses Instagram, almost everyone in their spare time opens Instagram anywhere and anytime.

4. Mr. Fery as an academic (lecturer of tourism marketing management at STIPARI Semarang) and he said that in this modern era, of course, if you want to continue to grow, you must follow the development of society. The tourism sector in the city of Semarang is currently experiencing very significant developments. Of course, promotions must be carried out more intensively, promotions through online media such as Instagram are very effective considering that people's interests are now more likely to like things that are based online.

The results of interviews conducted can be concluded that promotion through social media Instragram is very effective in the future. This is in line with Indika & Jovita (2017) who argue that

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the more intensive promotional activities are carried out by the company, the more interested and influenced consumers will be, so that eventually consumers will buy the products produced and offered by the company/government. Helpiastuti (2017) states that the business world has developed so much, since the business world knows the Internet. One thing that started to become a kind of mushroom was marketing with social media channels and what recently started to become gossip was Instagram.

Instagram is now not only present as an alternative in socializing with the virtual world, but can also be a new alternative in launching a business. Although Facebook is still the largest social media with the largest activation in the world, Instagram is able to offer more than just that. The factors that make Instagram a marketing medium can be seen from two dimensions, namely the social dimension and the creative dimension.

The dimensions of social media include, social media has an appeal, can be owned by everyone, social media can attract attention. The dimensions of creativity include creativity in creating new alternatives in the world of promotion, taking interesting photos, using photo effects on Instagram, creativity in writing captions as attractive as possible, and making photos have character so that they can be easily remembered. This is in line with the opinion of Kotler & Amstrong (2018) which states that in general promotional activities must be based on the following objectives: 1) Modification. 2) Notify Activities. 3) Persuade. 4) Remind.

IV. Conclusion

Tourism promotion in Semarang City through Instagram social media is carried out in stages, namely: content creation, platform determination, program planning, program implementation, and monitoring & evaluation. The advantages of promotion through Instagram social media are promotional media that are not paid, can be used at any time, are easy to use, can be connected to other social media, and have many users. The weakness of promotion through Instagram social media is that it must be updated regularly, the authenticity of the product is still in doubt, prone to spamming. Furthermore, the analysis of sharia tourism promotion through Instagram social media has very effective prospects for the future

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