ABSTRACT
Social media should be categorized by purpose rather than the names of the individual sites as these will change. The sites used for research must be ones whose information is valid and reliable. There are ethical issues when using online postings on social media that must be considered. Social media research can be used to keep track of fast changing visitor preferences. Social media allows the exchange of written information, photos and videos directly between people, which is then shared with a wider community. In most social media research, the people generating the data are not aware that they are participating in research. Social media sites continue to change as new sites with better features are developed. As a result, there are always new sites that are popular with users. Sometimes social media research is a first step in developing another research methodology. Tourism organizations post content onto social media to attract the attention of targeted potential visitors.
