Personal Branding: the Contribution of Social Media to Student "Brand Me"

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social media may contribute to personal branding. The project was based on a case-study and a survey of 294 students before and after being exposed to a bank of online material... [ view full abstract ]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social media may contribute to personal branding. The project was based on a case-study and a survey of 294 students before and after being exposed to a bank of online material promoting the responsible use of social media. The project found that after being exposed to the online materials the students were much more aware of their digital footprint and the need for care when uploading material about themselves and others in order to ensure that they were contributing positively to personal brand equity. The main limitation of the study is that it is based on a case-study and results which may not be entirely replicable. The paper has value to students everywhere in addition to the Course Managers and Placement Managers responsible for preparing them for positions in industry as well as academic researchers interested in the concept of personal branding.