The Sustainable Development of Social Media Contents: An Analysis of Concrete and Abstract Information on Cultural and Creative Institutions with “Artist” and “Ordinary People” Positioning

• Main Author: Yulin Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: cultural and creative industries; social media content exploration; abstract and concrete information; behavioral and emotional participation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/15/4131

The sustainability of social media is a common subject of study. With the emergence of cultural and creative industries, many studies have begun to explore the advantages and disadvantages of the integration of social media with cultural and creative industries. However, there remains a lack of research on the sustainability of cultural and creative social media. Therefore, the present study uses the example of a non-profit cultural and creative organization as its case. The use of social media content discovery technology explains the sustainable use of cultural and creative social media and how participation and interaction with cultural and creative brands are promoted from the perspective of artists or ordinary people. In addition, the analysis of concrete and abstract information explores how content orientation and brand perception impact emotions and behavior. We use social media content discovery technology to analyze 9529 image posts. The results show that for abstract themes, for example, art or design, people can be more easily guided by information with the help of images, which stimulate positive emotions, resulting in more actual engagement behavior, including posting and sharing. With respect to emotional responses, images with smiles are found to have a significant effect in guiding positive emotions, which are expressed through actions, such as active participation and feedback. By examining the meaning of the information in the images, we find that images with abstract themes have a good connection with the brand image. Although the information is less easily shown, it can guide significant outcomes that are positively correlated with the information. Therefore, strengthening brand image and content themes can effectively consolidate trust in brand content and the sustainable development of cultural and creative social media.