<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze social media-based tourism marketing strategies and their role in increasing tourist attraction at Umbul Sidomukti, a natural tourism destination located in Bandungan District, Semarang Regency, Central Java. Social media has become one of the primary information channels used by prospective visitors before deciding to visit a destination, yet the marketing strategy applied by tourism destination managers, including Umbul Sidomukti, has not been fully optimized to build destination attractiveness and visit intention. This research employs a descriptive qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with destination management, observation of official social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok), and documentation study. Data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman, covering data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing, and were validated through source and technique triangulation. The results show that Umbul Sidomukti has implemented several social media marketing strategies, namely visual content creation, interaction with followers, collaboration with local influencers, and promotion through photo and video-based user-generated content. These strategies are found to positively contribute to destination image, visitor engagement, and tourist visiting interest, although constraints remain in content consistency, human resource capability in digital marketing, and performance measurement of social media activities. This research offers a novel contribution by formulating a contextual social media marketing strategy model for nature-based tourism destinations in highland areas, which can serve as a reference for further research and for destination managers in optimizing social media as a marketing communication tool.]]>
