The role of social communities in tourism: creation and support of a territorial brand

This article examines the essence and importance of social media marketing for the promotion of tourist services in an online environment. The purpose of the study is to identify promising ways to boost the target audience by communities in social networks adapted for tourism. A systematic and situational approach, as well as classification, formal and logical analysis and desk research are the main research methods. Based on a literature review on the approaches to understanding the types of social communities and the importance of the correct positioning of advertisements in the formation of loyalty to the territorial branding of customers, the authors present their definition of "community in a social network", give a classification of existing communities, and reveal the features of each type. The practical value of the research lies in the development of ways to use the advantages of each type of social community for the development of tourism in local territories. The authors provide practical tools for identifying and aggregating the target audience in popular social networks in Russia. The main paths of further research are a comparative analysis of the best practices of using social communities in tourism, in order to effectively interact with the target audience and develop recommendations for a content plan of a marketing strategy for promoting a territorial brand and tourist products of a specific local recreation.