Skip to main content
Social Sci LibreTexts

11.3: Self-Branding

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
  • Page ID
    247280
    • Victoria Newsom and Desiree Ann Montenegro
    • Olympic College and Cerritos College

    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    ( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

    \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

    \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

    \(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)

    In today’s job markets, employers are learning about job candidates from a variety of sources, especially highly visible sources such as Facebook and LinkedIn. In fact, many employers now report a high level of suspicion of job candidates who do not have a digital footprint (Bills, De Stasio, & Gërxhani, 2017; Chamorro-Premuzic, Akhtar, Winsborough, & Sherman, 2017; Elias, Honda, Kimmel, & Chun, 2016; Lowenthal, Dunlap, & Stitson, 2016). Simply having a presence online is not enough to get you a job. Just as it is important to control the messages that communicators send out to their audiences, it’s important for job seekers to communicate and control their digital selves effectively, especially while they are on the job market. This requires a combination of an awareness of our communicated identities, interpersonal communication skills, such as impression management, and media savvy.

    Impression management is a combination of input and output. This means perceiving what you want people to see or think of you and performing those attributes associated with that perception in order to manipulate and predict desired perception and responses. In addition, you are also engaged in constant managing monitoring the self so that you project the image of yourself that you want people to see in particular times, places, and mediums (Goffman, 1969).

    An image of social networking personal branding overlap. The dotted area is the public, cyan is professional, orange is personal-social, and magenta is limited and censored.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): "1 of 2: Your Socially Networked (& Digitally Savvy) Personal Brand" by Joe Pemberton is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

    With the advent of digital media, a much more formalized process of achieving this has been created called personal branding. Entire industries have sprung up around this concept, drawing both on older practices associated with corporate headhunting, advertising, and marketing trends in digital media. Overall, carefully constructed communication is the key to personal branding success.

    Personal branding involves creating a carefully controlled set of messages defining who you are, and targeting those messages at particular audiences. These audiences include potential employers, potential romantic partners, and potential friends and associates, like fellow members of your kids' school PTA (Scott & Kim, 2015). It's incredibly important that we work to control the way that we allow our identities to be communicated to the world.

    Take a look at this video for a more in-depth discussion of the power of Personal Branding: (click on the image to play the video)

    An image of How Social Media influence are the young Consumers online. YouTube 72% of GenZ 13-16; Facebook 65% of Millennials; Instagram 62% of GenZ 17-21.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): "How Social Media influence young Consumers? YouTube 72% of GenZ 13-16; Facebook 65% of Millennials; Instagram 62% of GenZ 17-21. @MikeQuindazzi via @antgrasso #DigitalMarketing #SocialMedia #Marketing v/@agrassoblog" by Paula Piccard is marked with CC0 1.0.

    Now, with these techniques in mind, let's take a look at a real life example of a person who, through social media outlets, are able to brand and market themselves effectively: a social media influencer.

    An image of a fashion social media influencer posing for a picture on railroad tracks location unknown.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): "Social Media Influencer" by kevgoh is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
    An image of a lifestyle social media influencer posing for a picture on a Mountain location unknown.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): "Social Media Influencers on a Mountain" by Trey Ratcliff is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

    References

    Bills, D. B., Di Stasio, V., & Gërxhani, K. (2017). The demand side of hiring: employers in the labor market. Annual Review of Sociology, 43, 291-310.

    Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Akhtar, R., Winsborough, D., & Sherman, R. A. (2017). The datafication of talent: how technology is advancing the science of human potential at work. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 18, 13-16.

    Elias, T., Honda, L. P., Kimmel, M., & Chun, J. (2016). A mixed methods examination of 21st century hiring processes, social networking sites, and implicit bias. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 5(1), 189-228.

    Lowenthal, P. R., Dunlap, J. C., & Stitson, P. (2016). Creating an intentional web presence: Strategies for every educational technology professional. TechTrends, 60(4), 320-329.

    Scott, K., & Kim, J. (2015). ePortfolios: The method of choice for validation. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39(8), 784-787.

    This page titled 11.3: Self-Branding is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Victoria Newsom and Desiree Ann Montenegro via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.