LINGUISTIC STRATEGIES IN DIGITAL ADVERTISING: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF SKINCARE PRODUCT BRANDING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstrak

The rapid growth of the digital beauty industry has transformed skincare advertising on social media into a powerful discursive space where language not only promotes products but also shapes beauty standards, consumer identities, and emotional experiences. This study aims to analyze linguistic strategies employed in digital skincare advertisements on Instagram and TikTok and to examine how these strategies influence users’ perceptions, self-evaluation, and meaning-making processes. This research employed a qualitative approach using a critical case study design integrated with Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 12 active social media users aged 18–35, digital observation of skincare advertising content, and document analysis of promotional materials, including captions, slogans, testimonials, and comment sections. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis supported by Fairclough’s three-dimensional CDA framework, encompassing textual analysis, discursive practice, and social practice. The findings reveal three major themes: the internalization of beauty standards as symbolic pressure, ambivalence between empowerment and self-anxiety, and negotiation of meaning in digital discourse consumption. The study demonstrates that skincare advertising discourse extends beyond commercial persuasion, functioning as a mechanism of identity construction, emotional regulation, and ideological normalization in digital environments. Participants were found to actively negotiate advertising messages while remaining partially influenced by dominant beauty discourse. Theoretically, this study contributes to Critical Discourse Analysis by foregrounding lived experience, emotional ambivalence, and audience agency in digital beauty culture. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of digital media literacy, ethical advertising regulation, and critical awareness toward persuasive discourse in contemporary social media environments.