p–ISSN: 2723 - 6609 e-ISSN: 2745-5254

Vol. 4, No. 10 October 2023 http://jist.publikasiindonesia.id/

Doi: 10.59141/jist.v4i10.772 1869

COMMODIFICATION OF RELIGION’S VALUE ON INSTAGRAM

CONTENT-STUDY CASE: SAFI INDONESIA

3

*Correspondence

than two billions of Muslims worldwide (Fatah, Shofaussamawati, & Khusniyah, 2022).

Indonesia has 231 millions of Muslims, it considered as the most in the world, followed

by Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Due to Indonesia’s ministry 86,9% citizen of

Indonesia’s are Muslim (Haryani, 2019). It means that religion values on product may

affects the consumer behaviour and religion values help brand penetrating their market.

Karl Marx, a well know critical theory father, had predicted religion would influence

behavior on buying and selling (Setya, Gelgel, & Pradipta, 2020). Religion itself is one

of human rights, a ‘being’, that believed as a spirit or creature of what happens in human’s

life (Kamim, 2017). Religion is something that affect human’s behavior and actions, and

segmented market has emerged along with segmented product and services that claimed

Islamic values such as cosmetics, skincare, or event any home living stuffs like

refrigerator. They implied halal and Islamic values on their advertising that pictured

Rizqiani Dian Lestari, Ayu Sulistya Putri Sugeng, Fajar Harits

Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 10, October 2023 1870

middle class Muslim (Suhadi & Muslim, 2022). Writer consider that, not only halal

certification that has a tangible and physical affection on consumer decision, but also

something intangible including symbol and values must be one of the factors that implied

a buying and selling activities. This writing tries to picture it with Mosco’s statement

about commodification, spatialize, and structuration that construct certain economic,

political and communication condition. Moreover, this writing will analyze the contents

in real social life that lead us to further summary about certain actions. This writing will

elaborate the phenomenon by observing the social media of the Safi’s brand, the writers

chose Instagram since it has 307 thousand followers and posted 935 content on its feeds

(Istighfarin & Yuliani, 2020), matter fact on other social media like TikTok Safi’s page

only followed by 25 thousand accounts and lesser posts comparing to their Instagram

Account [10]. Therefore, the writers tend to examine the Instagram account because it

caused effect on more people. The writers will try to see the Commodification, Spatialize

and structuration through the Instagram content’s Sign, Signifier and Signified object

with Semiotics Theory by Pierce Sanders.

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Economy Politic and Communications will be one of the theory that help us gather more

insights to this phenomenon. Mosco’s point of view towards Economy Political and

Communication is standing on critical points. Mosco sees Commodification, Spatialize

and structuration is the three major points in Economic, Politic and Communications. In

this case, how Religion’s value, being commodified, how religion’s follower being

Theories and insight:

semiotic analysis, the second element is the object or the signified, and the third element

is the interpreter which also becomes the medium of the first and the second element [11].

The Signified or object is something that five human senses can feels, sees or hears with

the five human being’s senses ; the sign is something that also related to some values that

will be brought by the constructor and the interpretant is a subjective being with point of

view or we can call it as human.

Vincent Mosco is one of the popular theorist In Economy, Political and Communication

constructor’s interest, whether it is about money and fees or political interest through

communication style. Mosco is criticizing the reality that economy political

communication is being controlled by some people who has the capital. This point of

view is a constructivism paradigm, which sees something is being constructed.

Everything is what you made of it, and who’s the man behind it? The constructor who

has capital? The certain political or economic interests’ which is being taken by some

stakeholders? This writing will only be focused on how commodification implies buying

and selling activity towards certain products. Mosco’s on an interview stated that to

examine the process of commodification we have to look after the three distinct agents,

the first one is the capitalist who’s an expert on capitalizing certain things, the second one

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Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 10, October 2023 1872

something that acceptable by market and brings certain amount of profit. The actor that

commodified the message and value of course will gain more capital (Ballesteros, Luján,

& Pedro, 2010). Due to Karl Marx statement: certain things owned by social agent with

some capitalism of production will be seen as commodity, or bunch of something to be

sold in order to gain some interests, Vincent Mosco stated on his writing on 1996) [14].

Results and Discussion

have their own research institution that developed skincare and beauty products with

“halal” and “natural concept. Safi goes to Indonesia’s market officially since it grand

launching event on Kota Kasablanka which held on 2018. With halal claim, Safi products

accepted by Indonesia’s market since most of Indonesians are Muslim. “Safi even took

two years to developed and researched about the product that will be launched in every

time”, they claimed, besides the Halal, Natural they also bring that Safi’s Products are

well teste and researched before their launching. Safi is a cruelty free brand, that never

been used animals as the tester of the products (Ali, 2011).

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Rizqiani Dian Lestari, Ayu Sulistya Putri Sugeng, Fajar Harits

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effort from their content on Social Media Instagram. By adding hashtag

#halalnaturalteruji means they claimed that the products are halal, natural and its provenly

tested. Besides that, the models or talent that they took to be representation are mostly

Muslim girl wearing hijab. The sign were the hijab, the caption, the hashtag and the

Rizqiani Dian Lestari, Ayu Sulistya Putri Sugeng, Fajar Harits

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interpreting influencers and model, and so on. Then how about the Spatialize? In

Economic, Political and communication, Spatialization actor is not the capital owner as

this case, Safi Brand, is being elaborate as the Commodification main actor. Yet the

Spatialize is merely bringing up by the political elite, Parry Geriant (1969) has defined

elite as “small minorities who play an exceptionally influential part in the affairs of

society in specific fields” (Adila, 2011). In this case, Religion’s actors have also played

Constructivism can be interpreted as looking at a science that is not limited by explaining

facts, rules and concepts that need to be understood in a standard way, but we as humans

need to build that knowledge. From this, we as humans should be able to build and analyze

knowledge through research studies, or through experiences that have been passed. With

things like that, humans will slowly compile the knowledge they have learned [19].

be able to develop in life so that they can coexist with one another. We also often see how

religious values apply to everyday life. Religious values can be divided into written

religious values and unwritten religious values. Basically, this religious value always has

CONCLUDING REMARKS

retrieved an explained we can conclude that the brand delivers message about halal

products that they sell to the Muslim audiences to convert their product values to become

sales and profit. The halal itself is a certain policy and belief that Muslim try to implement

on the daily life basis, to avoid hell, a place that will be used to cursed Muslim who make

sins. From the concept of Islamic belief, leads the Muslim to seek halal-ness in

everything, including what eat, consume and wear. Therefore, the market is exist and it

invites brand to serve halal products. Again, it will be converted to sales and profit from

the capital owner, because making products and values from branding, etc do needs

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concept that the capital owner try to reach to gain “benefit” that only felt by small amount

of interest’s stakeholders. In this case of course the investors and business actor behind a

brand of product. What they did is for the sake of helping other believer? Maybe they can

claimed that statement. But again, in the commodification of something, they try to

construct certain condition as they wished, to gain as much as possible benefit for them.

analyzing semiotics based on Peirce's theory. The research method used was qualitative

by observing Safi Indonesia's Instagram content. Observations show that Indonesian Safi

brands have used religious symbols to shape market views and increase sales. Products

with halal certification are highly desirable by Muslim consumers in Indonesia, and this

has become an important factor in influencing consumer decisions. The use of qualitative

data analysis, particularly in the form of Safi's Instagram observations, provides concrete

examples of how brands leverage religious values to influence market perception. The

use of social media, especially Instagram, for marketing strategies also reflects how

consumer behavior can be influenced through visual symbols and messages.