Using Virtual Flow to Drive Physical Flow: How Small City Leverage Huge Flow:Process-Mechanism Analysis Using Zibo as a Sample

Physical flow is an important resource for city development, while virtual flow provides a new track different from traditional needs. How can small cities without geographical advantages and rich historical and cultural heritage leverage large flow? Existing research has not yet revealed the black box behind the operation of the internet celebrity city. The paper uses the “process-mechanism” paradigm to perspective the Zibo sample, focusing on the virtual flow changing the link between the government, market, and public, and analyzing the mechanism behind Zibo’s flow effect. Research has shown that developing into a flow city requires three stages, flow absorption, monetization, and precipitation. The benign relationship between the government and the market lays the foundation for the development of flow cities; The interaction between the government, residents, and netizens determines the upper limit of the city’s flow effect. There is always a gradual decline in the city’s online attention, but this does not mean the failure of internet celebrity cities. Ordinary cities should have a rational view of the decreasing popularity of the city, maintain emotional resonance with the people, achieve continuous flow, and establish a good impression of the city in the public mind as the reserve.