Visibility and vulnerability in online marketing practices

Daniel Carter and Elizabeth K. Eger

Journal of Cultural Economy, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 373-387

Abstract: Due to their perceived role in making content visible, engagement metrics are core concerns for people and businesses that generate revenue on social media platforms. While scholars have focused on the ways that social media users manipulate their own visibility, we investigate not only how social media users’ understandings of metrics shape the content they produce but also how this content influences the communication of users who interact with it. Based on a logistic regression analysis of 985 Facebook posts made to a group that distributes information about free products, we find that tactics commonly thought to increase engagement metrics also increased the probability that users would reveal personal information, identities and experiences, including detailed descriptions of debt, unemployment and homelessness. We argue that the information systems, compensation structures, and cultural norms currently surrounding online communication award visibility to those who make others visible in ways that potentially increase vulnerability.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/17530350.2021.1879212

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