Critical Analysis of Social Media Marketing in the Attention Economy

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of social media marketing, with a particular focus on The Body Shop as a case study. It delves into the concept of the online attention economy, exploring how companies leverage social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to market their goods and services. The essay discusses the importance of authentic content, interaction with customers, and the use of rational choice theory in designing effective marketing campaigns. It also examines the pros and cons of social media marketing, including the potential for both positive and negative emotional responses, and the need for ethical considerations and social responsibility. The essay highlights the significance of brand identity, parasocial relationships, and the importance of creating a positive customer experience. Finally, it touches upon ethical and social marketing theories, emphasizing the need for companies to cater to the needs and sentiments of their target customers and engage in CSR activities.

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Social media platform in the current scenario had become one of the major channels for
marketing the goods and services by any industry. Thus efforts must be made by all the
companies to make sure that in order to flourish in the long run they are marketing their products
through the different forms of special media like facebook, twitter, Instagram and other kinds of
online social media services. The online attention economy is a new term that is coming up in the
modern day scenario. The term online attention economy mainly refers to the process of deriving
the economy by appealing to the world of internet and the world of the digital shopping
mediums. Thus it is the duty of the companies to stay true in all their endeavors to make an
appeal to the tastes and the preferences of the customers. It is the responsibility of the industries
to use only the original or the authentic information and the images in the online social media so
that they can make sure that the customers are not being misguided or mislead in any way. The
Body Shop is one such Canadian Cosmetic and beauty that company that can be considered as
one of the most useful examples of a company that has been able to use the social media sites for
increasing their overall profit maximization. Companies like Body Shop’s and United Airlines.
They derive the attention of their customers online by providing them a variety of products
irrespective of their social and economic background. Thus these brands have been able to make
a strong impact on the viewers and their emotions.
Ashley and Tuten (2015) have stated that it is very important for the companies to create
original and authentic content on the web or on the social media marketing campaigns so that
they can gain the trust of the customers for a long time. The customers will go by the web
content or the writings that are enlisted on the website of the organization. Thus it is the duty of
the companies to contact with the best SEO experts and make sure that they are able to use the
crisp, detailed and yet the customer friendly content on the respective websites. The Body Shop

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Company in Canada has developed a good online presence by attracting the attempt of the
customers by using the entire original and the authentic type of content. There are some pros and
cons of using the social media marketing system in order to attract the attention of the customers
Interaction
This is one of the greatest advantages that is enjoyed by the customers in case of the
social media marketing system. Allcott and Gentzkow (2017) have suggested that one of the
main motives of advertising tough the social media platforms like the facebook twitter and other
such platforms in order to enter into a deep and horizontal communication system with the
customers. The horizontal communication can be started when the companies make sure to
involve the viewers in all their decision making process. The organization like Body Shop have
to keep in mind that they are designing them online advertisement campaigns for the benefit of
their customers and to convey all their latest products to their customers. Thus they have to make
ensure that the customers are being allowed to take part in the decision making process. The
horizontal communication can be established by the Body Shop by creating individual customer
portals or complaints Chabot system where the customers can talk about their doubts and their
complaints regarding the quality of their products.
The company has to arrange for some customer survey system where they will be
circulating forms for taking the views and the opinions of their customers regarding the
launching of some new advertisement campaigns. It is they who help in help the organization in
setting the right kind of content for making the right kind of appeal to the right customers. A two
way and open ended communication system must be developed in order to help the customers
take active parts in the decision making process.

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Stephen (2016) has argued in the same context that this can also be troublesome at times
as the customers will; be asking questions on a regular basis. Apart from this some of the
inappropriate content on the advertisement of the companies might hurt the emotions or the
sentiments of the customers. It is for this reason that the advertising companies like The Body
Shop have to maintain clarity and a friendly universal tone in their social media advertising
campaign so that they can make a universal appeal to all their customers. At the same time, they
have to aim at bringing all the customers together by making products that will be advertised
irrespective of the racial, social or the cultural background of the customers. Universal appeal
must be present so that customer belong from all the different social, cultural and racial
backgrounds are able to shop from the company without hurting their own emotions or their
sentiments. This can be done by bringing all the customers together at the same place.
The RTC or the rational choice theory must be used by the companies so that they can
design that content on the social media sites that will be helping to achieve some rational
outcomes rather than hurting the emotions or the sentiments of the prospective customers. Thus
the content of the company on the social media campaign must be such that they are able to feel
some logical, happy and good feelings among the customers in other words the customers are
likely to share their customer service or the product experience to their known contacts. Thus the
company will be able to increase get some number of customers only when the customers are
feeling satisfied with the products. Apart from this, in the case of social media marketing, the
first thing that the customers get to see is the content or the images that are being displayed on
the websites. A good example can be launching a body cream that will be directed towards
women empowerment and not only towards the lightening of the dark skin completion of the
customers

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For example, the negative emotions of the readers or the individuals have been
discovered in a much better and prominent way than in comparison to the negative emotions.
The New York Times is one of the most popular newspapers that cover the news of a large and
very wide area of topics like crime, sports, weather and many others. Thus this newspaper has
been used several times in order to understand the emotions and the sentiments that are often
aroused within the individuals due to the different things that they witness in the newspapers.
Similarly, the social media sites are a very powerful tool to evoke different kinds of emotions.
The famous brand of cosmetic called DOVE has come under a huge scamp in the past poor using
racial and undesirable posts in their campaigns.
There was an advert which featured a black skinned woman turning into a white-skinned
woman after they are washing their bodies and their face s with the body cream. Wang (2018)
has suggested that it is important to create colorful and hooking content on the social media site
for attracting the attention of the customers. Beauty is traits that will naturally attract customers
and users who are regular to social media sites. However, Fuchs (2015) has argued in the same
context that these adverts on the social sites give rise to the racial discrimination among
customers. Thus they tend to break the self-confidence of the viewers who are not of a very fair
complexion. This is also misleading for the customers as the adverts are not really authentic in
nature. The cosmetic companies must try to build the confidence of their users rather than
creating racial discriminations among them. Hollebeek, Conduit, and Brodie, (2016) has stated
that social media users have also said that Dive brand has been accused of racial discriminations
in their advertisement campaigns even in the year 2011. Thus these posts on social media will

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only help in attracting the negative attention of the customers and the viewers will be filled with
emotions like anger and sadness.
A parasocial relationship must be the motif of the brands. The brands like the Body
Shop must aim at finding some tactics that will help in creating a kind of attention or a
connection between the viewers and the brands. The Body Shop company must formulate and
design their social media advertisements or updates in such a way that they are able to make the
viewers or the audiences feel a personal connection and happiness while they are about to make
their purchases from the brand. In order to do that they have to design their advertisements in a
way that will help in bringing the customers together at one single platform irrespective of their
social, moral, economic and racial backgrounds. Some good examples can be the famous
cosmetic company that is the Body Shop Company. A para-social relationship is based on the
kind of happiness or the feel good factors that are created within the buyers or the viewers. In
order to survive in the long run it is the responsibility and the duties of the brands to make sure
that their customers are getting a good and a memorable experience. There are many different
ways of developing a loyalty within the customers. This is usually done by brands like the Body
Shop’s and BODY SHOP by providing some free offers or some kinds of discounts during the
happy hours. It is during these happy hours that the customers can make some kinds of bulk
purchases. These discount offers are given to all the customers irrespective of their racial or
socio economic backgrounds.
Ethical and social marketing theory
The companies aiming for the social media marketing have to be careful about the ego
and the sentiments of their customers, In order to survive in the current scenario, they have to

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cater to the needs and demands of all their targeted customers. Thus it is their duty to make sure
that they are identifying the class of their customers properly. The Body Shop company will
naturally appeal to teenagers like the college goers, working men and women and also the
business class. In other words, the adult ego stage and the parent ego stage of their customers
have already been built. Thus the customers will be able to carry on the critical analysis of the
products or the advertising content that they are seeing on the social media platforms. They must
also be careful about the strokes and the drivers. In other words, they have to work over the
inculcation of the positive drivers so that they can evoke the feelings of happiness and
amusement within their customers. The Body shop can develop some advertising campaigns on
social media that is hinted towards women empowerment or for developing the self-confidence
and the identity irrespective of the racial or the socioeconomic status.
In order to carry on ethical marketing, the company has to focus on some CSR activities
as well. They can feature some advertisements or documentaries of the hardships faced by poor
unprivileged chidden. The money which will be accumulated from each purchase of these
products will straight go to charity purposes. Though this will initially give rise to the emotion of
sadness or negative emotion among customers but knowing that they will be able to help in
charity purposes they might increase their purchases. This will also help the customers to be
influenced by the drivers of positive emotions and they will increase their purchases.
Thus it is recommended that the Body Shop must develop a good customer forum,
helpline or webpage while they are trying to develop any new kinds of social media campaigns.

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This will be helping them to make their customers know that their opinions are much valuable
for their brands.
The customers must be able to give their opinions, feedbacks, newer ideas and any kinds of
suggestions about the deletion or addition of any particular parts of the social media campaign.
There must be strict disclaimers given before featuring any particular kinds of social media
advertisements of any cream, soap, dress or any other kinds of products. They must make it clear
to the audiences or the viewers that they are not trying to hurt the emotions or the sentiments of
any of the viewers.
Their purpose is based on strictly professional grounds and none of the social media
campaigns are meant to hurt the emotions or the personal grounds of any of the audiences. They
must make sure that the audiences are not being misguided or mislead in any way. They must
narrate the positive and the negative impacts of using any particular products.Apart from this, the
company must control the number of times the advertisements are being repeated on social
media sites like facebook, twitter, and other such platforms. Effective communication must be
developed. This can be achieved by developing a horizontal form of a communication system
where the viewers can interact with the companies in a proper way. This will also be very helpful
in driving the attention of the viewers towards the economy.
Thus it can be concluded that in order to attract the attention of customers and make a
successful social media economy the company has to strike a proper balance between marketing
and ethics, In other words, they have to make sure that none of the other marketing campaigns
are hurting the sentiments or the emotions of any of their customers. Thus they have to design
their campaigns in such a way that the customers are able to experience some good and

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everlasting moments that will help in imbibing a feeling of loyalty in them. All the industries
have to use the online platforms in order to make sure that they are drawing the attention of a
mass number of customers. However the companies like The Body Shop have to abide by all the
ethical measures to make sure that they are being able to drive maximum number of audiences in
an ethical manner. Thus they have to use the content or the images in such a way that are not
hurting the emotions or the sentiments of any of their audiences. They have to take the opinions
and the views of their viewers on particular basis. The feedback system must be initiated on a
regular basis so that the views can describe about their opinions and their feedbacks regarding
their emotions over the advertisements.

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References
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Marketing, 32(1), 15-27.
Berger, J., & Milkman, K. L. (2012). What makes online content viral?. Journal of marketing
research, 49(2), 192-205.
Fuchs, C. (2015). Culture and economy in the age of social media. Routledge.
Hackley, C., & Hackley, A. R. (2019). Advertising at the threshold: Paratextual promotion in the
era of media convergence. Marketing Theory, 19(2), 195-215.
Hollebeek, L. D., Conduit, J., & Brodie, R. J. (2016). Strategic drivers, anticipated and
unanticipated outcomes of customer engagement.
Stephen, A. T. (2016). The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer
behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, 17-21.
Wang, S. (2018). Empowering Women through Advertising: A Content Analysis Study
on'Femvertising'Campaigns. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.