The role of Instagram in marketing the gastronomy culture specific to Gaziantep province

Gaziantep has the distinction of being one of our prominent provinces with its cultural structure, historical texture and famous history. In addition to all these, it is our city that strongly reflects the cuisine culture. Gaziantep has proved that Gaziantep gastronomy and local dishes are important by being included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and has gained a unique interest and love. Along with all these, with the rapid development of social media, the role of social media has become very important in marketing the gastronomy culture specific to destinations. Therefore, the aim of the research is to determine the role of Instagram in marketing the gastronomic culture of Gaziantep, one of the world's gastronomy cities of Instagram, which is one of the most preferred social media channels, and to reveal the changes in the demographic characteristics of the elements they attach importance to in the culinary cultures. The survey technique was used to collect the study data, and the scale used in the questionnaire was created using previous studies. 384 people were included in the study and the data obtained from the participants were subjected to statistical analysis. As a result of the study, it was determined that a significant majority of the participants lived outside Gaziantep and social media played an active role in gaining knowledge about Gaziantep Cuisine. As a result of the study, one of the factors that the participants attach most importance to on Instagram is the postings about Gaziantep cuisine, while the second-degree important factor is the behavior they show on Instagram based on their experiences. Based on the data obtained as a result of the study, suggestions were made for restaurant businesses to use social media marketing, which is one of the most important marketing tools today.