Digital Anti-riba Campaign: Netnographic Study from Xbank Indonesia Digital Community

As technological advancements continue, the forms and practices of riba have evolved since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), presenting new challenges for Muslims. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of digital anti-riba campaigns. Furthermore, it also assessed audience engagement with the content offered by the “xbank.Indonesia” digital community on Instagram. The study used netnographic methods and the data was collected from 128 Instagram posts over six months and filtered to 68 relevant posts. The analysis employed WordArt.com for word cloud visualization and Hypeauditor.com for engagement metrics, revealing an average of 4,265 likes and 217 comments per themed post. However, the engagement rate was relatively low at 0.66%, indicating limited interaction between xbank.Indonesia and its audience. The study highlighted the importance to leverage digital platforms in order to educate on Islamic financial principles, particularly to address issues, such as riba. Despite the campaign's success to raise awareness about riba and promote halal income sources, the low engagement rate suggests improvement. It is crucial to increase audience interaction and provide more easily understandable content. The current study contributed valuable insights into the role of digital communities to promote Islamic financial education through social media. By exploring the potential of social media to disseminate knowledge about riba and its implications, this study underscored the need for more interactive and engaging content strategies to maximize the impact of such campaigns. Overall, the findings offered practical recommendations to improve digital anti-riba campaigns and enhance their educational impact.