Tan Poh Ling, *Chew Yuin-Y, Judith Nesamalar Tharumaraj

Abstract:

The notion of self-branding has drawn myriad academic responses over the last decade. A personal brand allows you to control your own narrative and can help you stand out from competition. Today, the new digital media environment has empowered women to market themselves as brands. Although there is a growing interest from both academic and practical perspectives in exploring the impact of social media on individuals’ self-branding, there remains a lack of empirical research that systematically investigates the methodologies on how an individual employs or constructs and reinforces their branded identity through social media platforms, especially on Instagram. Through content analysis, this study analysed posts from the top 10 female Malaysian social media influencers’ Instagram accounts according to a systematic coding scheme. The selected influencers articulate a form of entrepreneurial femininity that draws upon post-feminist sensibilities and the contemporary logic of self-branding.

Keywords: Self-branding, social media, postfeminism, Instagram, self-presentation, social media influencer