Social Media and Smart Cities: Cultural Proximity as a Key to Digital Engagement

Smart cities increasingly use social media as an urban marketing tool for tourism promotion and stakeholder engagement. However, how cities adapt their digital strategies and adopt social media to engage intra-national (national) and inter-national (foreign) users remains under-explored. This study examines the role of social media responsiveness in shaping engagement with these distinct publics, considering cultural proximity as a key factor influencing digital interactions. Using a longitudinal panel of 18 Italian cities (2010-2024), we assess the diversification of social media adoption through the Herfindahl index, while controlling for urban and economic characteristics. The results show that greater social media responsiveness is associated with greater engagement of both user groups, although the dynamics of engagement vary. Intranational users tend to interact more with city content, while international users face additional linguistic and cultural barriers, despite the role of digital platforms in facilitating global reach. Integrating insights from smart city marketing, destination branding and digital governance, this study provides theoretical contributions and practical applications on how cities can optimise digital communication strategies to improve tourism flows, strengthen relationships with stakeholders and reinforce urban attractiveness. Several recommendations for managers and politicians in the sector can be drawn from this to optimise digital strategies in terms of tourist attractiveness and stakeholder involvement to encourage the participation of the various parties involved.