The use of social media in city branding and its contribution to brand image: Case of İzmir

Nowadays, with globalization, competition is not only experienced between businesses but also between countries and cities. In this context, it is necessary for cities as well as commercial enterprises to seek the ways to gain advantage by going into the branding effort. City branding, which is a more comprehensive and complex process than businesses, has many important factors such as history, culture, natural wealth, education, economy, human resources, infrastructure, technology, human rights, law. For this reason cities' branding works, should be systematically carried out with joint work of city managers and stakeholders, short and long term strategic planning. Otherwise, it will not be possible for cities to attract investors and tourists, to increase exports, to retain qualified human resources, and to become a center of attraction within the surrounding cities. In recent years, the social media phenomenon that penetrate the every field and shows itself in every field has great importance for city brands as well as for trademarks. In this context, social media is seen as an important tool in introducing distinctive and powerful features, introducing them to people in remote regions, reflecting brand identity and creating a positive city brand image. For these reasons, the purpose of the thesis is to determine the role of social media accounts on the perception of city image of city dwellers and domestic tourists. Within this context, it was tried to determine whether or not the city image perception differs between those follow and do not follow the social media account.