Examining what people tweet in relation to halal cosmetics-related topics

Abstract

Twitter is one of the many communications means connecting groups of users with similar interests. This study analyses tweets related to halal cosmetics in order to gain insights about halal cosmetics chatter on Twitter. The researchers extracted Twitter data related to halal cosmetics (2008 to 2018) using English and Bahasa Malaysia keywords and examined a sample of 19,449 tweets. They found that halal cosmetics began to gain popularity in 2014 and, in terms of geo-location, the highest number of tweets pertaining to halal cosmetics came from Indonesia, followed by Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, they found that only 17 percent of the users revealed their geo-location. This study examines the content of tweets related to halal cosmetics with the aim to help increase knowledge about issues individuals are discussing when social networking with others about halal cosmetics. Specifically, the study analyses the text of the tweets, categorises them as information, promotions or advice, and examines the halal cosmetics brands/products that are most tweeted. The researchers found that most of the tweets were either providing information or promoting a particular product or event. The study also identified the top twenty-five brands tweeted. The findings could help the halal cosmetics players to strategize their future marketing plans.

Keywords

• halal cosmetics
• twitter
• text analysis
• indonesia
• malaysia