Writing as a cardinal tool of communication reinvented itself as a tool of persuasion with the birth of the advertising and marketing industry. Copywriting, which is an art in itself of ideating advertising copies makes creative use of words to project a first impression of a product or service. An advertising ‘copy’ reflects the features, benefits, and price of the commodity, enticing potential consumers into a process of economic exchange. Along with sharing information about the commodity, it creates a fear of missing out on having it. As American retired marketing executive Mary Wells Lawrence once said: “The best advertising should make you nervous about what you’re not buying”. Driven by the goal of capital acquisition (both economic and social), businesses hinge upon witty and clear advertising copies to convert potential clients into customers. If not, then at least create a lasting impression upon its target audience.
Contemporary times saw the rise of social media to fulfil the intrinsic human need to communicate and share information. This led to a shift in the field of marketing and advertising into its digital form. The rippling effects across copywriting saw it evolve from the creation of persuasive lines to the ideation of graphical images as well. Using algorithmic guidelines of the search engines, contents were optimised to reach out faster and directly to the targeted consumers. This created a demand for a working knowledge of search engine optimisation (SEO) for copywriters as well. They were now involved in creating e-mail marketing copies, newsletters, online brochures or even web page content. These modified practices of content writing or copywriting were due to the rising competition in the market and the quantification of the quality of content produced.
In this process of quantification, numbers rationalise decision-making while governing individuals and their practices within the field. Max Weber (1978) posited that governance by numbers has been a significant step in progressing towards a modern capitalistic society. Such a cold, rational and governing gaze of numbers over the bodily practices of copywriters warrants a sociological inquiry into its effects on words and wordsmiths. The significance of numbers in their primal form could also be found in taken-for-granted spaces of lived realities of writers. For instance, the word limit on this particular commentary and the deadline to submit it has a commanding influence on my act of writing. The digital space however expands this capacity and relevance of numbers into the realm of social media metrics. Social capital (Bourdieu, 1986) has garnered newer meaning in terms of online engagement with the content produced. Whether it is an individual content creator for his/her/their social media profile or a professional copywriter in an advertising and marketing firm, having higher metrics of engagement and online interaction translates to greater virtual presence.
Reminiscing my experience in the field of digital marketing as a copywriter and an elementary graphic designer in 2021, I recall being tasked by a digital news media organization to create content based on trivial and lesser-known facts and myths from Northeast India. The need to get higher interactions online (based on likes, comments, shares, and subscriptions to the profile) through my content shaped the way I ideated, articulated, and designed it. Ranging from history and cultural facts to interesting anecdotes, I produced interactive content from the region that could harness greater engagements online. The better the content, the higher the interaction. I remember vividly the grim ‘corporate confrontation’ I once had with the senior management of the digital marketing firm I worked in when one of the contents got less traction online compared to the previous posts. The gaze of numbers rendered certain events that brought a change in my modus operandi. I had discussions with my team manager regarding the type of content to avoid and the ones to focus on. We tried to study our audience and the nature of content that would attract regular and high engagement. Such self-regulation of our practices under the gaze of metrics reeks of Foucauldian panopticism.
Graphical rendition of the ‘Eye of Sauron’ from The Lord of the Rings, emanating the gaze of metrics.
(Illustrations by: Aashirwad Chakravarty)
K. Sushanta Singh, working in brand advertisements and marketing for Vantage Circle, a Global Employment Engagement Platform based in Guwahati, Assam (India) says:
Our social media pages are like the company’s digital face. The copywriters, graphic designers and SEO experts work in coherence to ensure high engagements regularly and favourable numbers in terms of interactions and visits. Our digital marketing team is always self-scrutinizing and updating their knowledge and skillset to publish relevant and engaging content that is not only informative and aesthetic but also attracts followers, reaching out to a wider audience on various platforms.
Reflecting upon numbers as a source of self-regulation and governance against the backdrop of Michel Foucault’s (1991) idea of a panopticon, numbers categorized as metrics communicate with the subject, i.e., the copywriter and content producer, establishing a power-ordained relationship. Contrary to the classical panopticon based on the designs of Jeremy Bentham (1787), the numerocratic panopticon (Hamann, 2020) eludes a physical set-up into the virtual realm of metrics and algorithms. The social media space acts as a fabric upon which one can toss out the content, just like skimming a stone on a lake. This would then reach out to potential consumers based on the data behind that content. Algorithms based on keywords influence the act of copywriting, as optimized content would travel efficiently to a wider pool of audiences. Hrishikesh Sharma, an SEO expert who used to work for a product development firm in Guwahati signifies the importance of optimisation of content:
A copywriter must not just write attractive lines, but also optimise the content according to the demands and relevance in search engines. There are different keywords, with various frequencies of usage, that one must learn while writing content. The algorithm is such that certain keywords are picked up faster. A copywriter must be attuned to the dos and don’ts when it comes to SEO. Without the knowledge of search engine optimisation, one cannot expect to get online traction on the content produced.
Content writing or copywriting is like virtual angling. But one must know the types of fish in the river and the kind of bait required. The ‘current’ keywords and algorithms do the rest, and your content is dropped on the screens of potential consumers. Attuning oneself to the algorithmic set-up for greater engagements represents the latent yet significant influence of numbers on the bodily practices of copywriters. Copywriting once again finds itself impounded by a blanket of numbers that has created a regulatory motive, justifying its logic of practice.
Tracing another distinction from its classical form, the panopticon of numbers positions the subject at the centre rather than the periphery of surveillance. Contrary to the classical form, where the subjects were observed from a central tower, in this numerocratic form, the observed can see, compare, and discipline each other and oneself based on metrics. Internet as a metaphorical glass house renders quantified scrutinization of the content and its producer. In the field of digital marketing, such scrutiny is not just from the potential consumers, but also from the competitors. It is therefore imperative for copywriters to ideate and produce optimal content periodically, conforming to the social currents.
Paushali Priya Dutta, my former manager in the digital marketing firm who is currently working as the digital marketing head for a private University in Assam comments:
Digital marketing is like your love interest. Copywriting is just a tool to communicate. You would present yourself in the best possible way, say and do the right things and also communicate with her regularly. The way you behave, perform, and act would be judged not just by her, but also by the competition around you. This competition would keep you on your toes, isn’t it? Similarly, good, and regular content are the basic ingredients of the recipe for success in this game.
The game, however, might have undergone further transformation providing agency to copywriters and content creators within the numerocratic panopticon. Paid marketing enables copywriters and marketing firms to reach out to the target consumers and ignite the process of capital acquisition inorganically. Symbolic and social capital in the field of digital marketing has gained newer avenues of acquisition with the introduction of marketing bots. Businesses use them to display higher subscriptions and engagements to gain more social media capital and brand appeal. This changes the power dynamics of the cultural producers and consumers as content writers now challenge the panopticism of numbers that fosters self-regulation in the practice of copywriting. They can use the chink in the armour to achieve the desired end – the acquisition of social media capital.
Nonetheless, the digital cultural industry enables the panoptic space of metrics to create doxic experiences in the practice of copywriting, justifying the power relations that emerge between the producers and consumers of content. The virtual reputation and social media capital resonate through online metrics of engagement. Acquisition of such capital creates dispositions in the field of marketing that reduce the writers to subjects of power. Bridging the gap between the logic of the practice of copywriting and the numeric system as a power dispositif opens up newer avenues to make sense of our society.
References
1. Bentham, J., (1787), Panopticon in The Panopticon Writings edited by M. Bozovic (London: Verso, 1995), pp. 29-95.
2. Bourdieu, P., (1986), The Forms of Capital. Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, Westport, CT: Greenwood, pp. 241–58.
3. Hamann, J., (2020), Governance by Numbers: A Panopticon Reversed?, Politics and Governance, 8(2), 68-71. DOI: 10.17645/pag.v8i2.2991
4. Wells Lawrence, M., (n.d.), The Best Advertising Should Make You Nervous About What You’re Not Buying [Quote]. Retrieved from https://thecopybrothers.com/blog/copywriting-quotes/
5. Weber, M. (1978). Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
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Aashirwad Chakravarty is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Cotton University, Assam (India) and a freelance copywriter. He is currently teaching Sociology at the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam. His research interests lie in food and culture, the Sociology of numbers and the Sociology of sports.