Social Media Strategies and Effects for Nation Branding: An Analysis of Facebook Use by Major Embassies in Korea

Abstract

Social media platforms are widely used for today’s nation branding because they easily transcend national borders and build amicable relations with foreign publics. Given the importance of the topic, this paper tried to examine how different countries use social media for their nation branding in Korea. For that purpose, 1,903 Facebook postings posted by ten major embassies in Seoul in 2017 were analyzed. Results show different embassies resort to different nation branding elements to promote their nations, with different message strategies. For example, the U.S. focuses on politics, Japan on culture, the U.K. on education, Germany on history, Switzerland on technology and India on economy. User reactions, measured by the numbers of likes, shares and comments on Facebook, were more positive for soft-power elements, such as culture, than for hard-power elements, such as politics and economy. Users also reacted more favorably to promotional messages than to informational ones, although embassies use the latter more. Academic and professional implications for nation branding and social media strategies are discussed in conclusion.