Moreover, this study can contribute to managers' deeper understanding of not only personal branding, but also personal branding professionals. This research may also provide a contribution to marketers, as it may make them aware of the potential of collaborating with individuals with successful personal brands. As this study will explore in more detail, individuals with personal brands should not be underestimated, as the reach and following of some exceeds even that of major corporate brands. Therefore, managers should be aware of the potential of social media in their career field. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay There are various reasons why this topic deserves further research and study. Even with the increasing digital dominance in society, there is still a lack of specific studies and empirical findings on personal branding and social media (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; Hsu and Tsou, 2011). There is a gap in the literature to study the effects of social media on self-marketing variables (Laroche, Habibi, and Richard, 2012). Most studies carried out so far on social networks do not cover the phenomenon of personal branding. The scope of most research conducted on this topic mainly focuses on branding and marketing in general and does not take individuals into consideration. Branding is no longer just about products or celebrities. People from all walks of life are taking charge of their personal and professional image through social media. Therefore, research and study on this topic is long overdue and extremely relevant at present (Karaduman, 2013). In order to study and conduct a critical review of the literature, an in-depth systematic analysis of literature relevant to social media, marketing and branding will be explored. Additionally, this literature will be critically evaluated to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the key literature as well as its scope as well as its limitations. Current literature sources will be included in comprehensive form. Several key themes will be analyzed in the following literature review. Important and relevant journal articles will be evaluated to assess how social media helps people from diverse backgrounds build their personal brands and to what extent this can be profitable. The correlation between social media strategies, personal branding and marketing will be examined in depth. Contextually, this research will also examine whether or not people have benefited from using social media strategies on a personal and professional level. This will also achieve the objectives of this research by investigating whether social media users have successfully established their personal brand without incurring additional expenses. For years, marketing and branding have played a key role in building loyalty-based relationships with consumers, leading to long-term business success (Tuskej, Golop, & Podnar, 2013). Since the late 1990s, personal marketing and personal branding have become prominent topics in self-help books and websites (Shepherd, 2005; Lair, Sullivan, & Cheney, 2005). ; Chen, 2013). Peters (1997) was one of the pioneers of the topic of personal branding, mentioning it in his article entitled “The BrandCalled You.” Self-marketing can overtly tend toward self-commodification and requires careful analysis (Lair, Sullivan, & Cheney, 2012). Labrecque, Markos and Milne (2011) observed how individuals engage in self-marketing in a Web 2.0 context. According to research by Brandfog (2013), this is the best time for new age leadership reinvention and revolution. Young professionals are now evolving to become more visible, connected and accessible than ever. The competitive nature of the world has now similarly evolved, leading customers and stakeholders to expect brands to connect professionals. Therefore, young professionals are relying on social media to market their talents, their personality and what makes them unique. All young professionals bring their knowledge, abilities and leadership style to the workplace. As Bates (2011) indicates, most of them possess unique qualities and abilities. This indicates that each person can be considered a brand. However, having a good personal brand is not enough to guarantee professional success. Good self-marketing is necessary to guarantee the success of your personal branding. Self-marketing using traditional methods can vary depending on the results sought. As the team at CreativeBloq (2015) suggests, “scaling up costs” allows for more creative strategies to be executed. Subsequently, costs can reach several hundred for “crazy” ideas. For example, the team estimates £150 for making posters, £365 for hiring a cyclist from alternative-advertising.co.uk, £350 for hiring an airship for a day or two and £150 for two helium canisters. More ambitious efforts could cost even more. Successful self-marketing also requires strategic planning for proper execution. Social media has been the subject of numerous research projects, but only recently has personal branding begun to attract scholarly interest (Barware and Meehan, 2010; Holt, 2016; Gensler and al. Nevertheless, the research conducted so far and the existing literature are not extensive and raise some concerns that need to be addressed. Experts say that personal branding is a three-step process that has been abbreviated by. Arruda (2005, cited in Shepherd, 2005, p. 590) as “extract, express and exude”. This involves a) exploring a person's unique value or what makes an individual different from others; b) develop a strategy to communicate the unique value; and c) implement a strategy that allows the personal brand to reach the intended audience (Arruda, 2005; Roffler, 2002, cited in Shepherd, 2005). Additionally, according to Arruda (2009) as well as traditional branding theories, communication is key. element which implies that brand communication is essential to create brand awareness. Brand communication is often considered the main ingredient for lasting brand loyalty and essential for staying top of mind. As Ellwood (2000, p. 11) explains, brand communication can be likened to a flag in the sense that it is implemented by “greeting consumers, making the product known and differentiating it from others competitors”. King (1984) reiterates, “[b]rands succeed because they offer consumers added values ​​that are communicated through advertising” (cited in de Chernatony, 1998, p. 123). Therefore, the collective consensus on branding in general or personal is that communication is key. In conclusion,As an individual, the best way to create lines of communication with as many people as possible is to use social media. Building a personal brand is generally an in-depth and ongoing process and involves the process of showcasing one's positive qualities, skills, and achievements. With more and more people around the world using social media, social media has inevitably become a vital hub of vast personal data and a brilliant tool for image building (Okanovic). Creating and maintaining a personal image online is a very effective way of self-presentation to any target group. Career-focused social media sites like LinkedIn come to mind when building a personal brand online for professional purposes. However, Leder (Leder) claims that personal image can be developed through LinkedIn and other social networking sites as well as Facebook. Studies on the effect of social media on Serbian students have indicated the importance of having a personal brand on Facebook (Miller, 2017). A study by Kostic, Stankovic and Damnjanovic highlights the many reasons to use social media platforms in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for education and professional benefits. Employees at major chains like Delta Air Lines have learned that their online behavior that does not align with their company values ​​could cost them their jobs (David, 2018). Online activity on any social media platform, not just typically professional ones, is considered an extension of one's personal brand. The results of this study can be considered to have made a remarkable contribution to the existing literature relating to social media, self-marketing and personal branding. Since studies on the aforementioned topics are relatively new and ongoing, this review makes a cumulative inference. A review of the literature leaves no doubt about the benefits of using social media as a career lever. This study reveals the potential of using social media as a platform to present and build a personal image, which could add to the scope of a young professional's career. The results of this study demonstrate the prodigious options and opportunities for self-promotion offered by social media, which could benefit young professionals of almost any career path. The study found a strong correlation between social media, personal image and self-promotion costs. A positive correlation was found between social media strategies and self-marketing. Likewise, using online marketing tools helps reduce self-marketing costs compared to more traditional marketing methods. A social media presence, supported by well-planned and well-executed strategies, can help create value and even result in monetary gain for professionals. The research is based on the research question: “Can social media improve personal branding while reducing self-marketing costs for professionals?” young professionals? To successfully answer this question, existing relevant literature on social media, self-marketing, and personal branding will be reviewed. Subsequently, relevant data will be collected in order to discover new perspectives on the effects of social media on online image among young professionals. By implementing these methods, this thesis can be classified as an exploratory studyoffering an open and curious approach to the question. research (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009). Furthermore, the theories presented in the second part of this study are intended to constitute the foundation for understanding the phenomenon; however, they do not constitute a springboard for this research. Instead of research objectives and exploratory purpose, this study seeks to reveal aspects of personal branding that can be considered key elements of success. Furthermore, based on these understandings, a new theoretical framework will be created. Consequently, an inductive approach will be adopted (Bryman & Bell, 2007). A clear direction of the research approach is particularly important because the main criterion of the study is to understand the extent of the effect of social media in the process of building self-image, especially in the sphere professional. (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008, cited in Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). A qualitative strategy is considered an applicable course of action for this research as it meets the goal of discerning the phenomenon holistically and, therefore, constructing an appropriate summary. through data collection and analysis (Bryman & Bell, 2007). As discussed previously, literature and research on the correlation between social media and self-promotion is scarce, primarily in the study of personal branding content. To this end, a qualitative strategy is considered appropriate as it offers a wider range in terms of data collection and analysis for a theory to shine through (Bryman & Bell, 2015). Additionally, a qualitative strategy includes words and therefore requires abundant descriptions (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Finally, the process of content analysis is chosen because it is generally considered an appropriate method for examining “hard-to-access social groups” (Bryman & Bell, 2015, p. 313). Prominent YouTubers are an example of this, as many of them have reached celebrity status and are not easily accessible. Furthermore, as scholars want to get an honest description of how social media personalities built their brands through their own creativity and content, the content analysis method seems appropriate. This is partly because this method is considered a non-reactive method (Bryman & Bell, 2015). This implies that by taking a non-reactive approach, it is assumed that it is less likely that study subjects will behave differently because they are aware of being studied. Before the main study, with preliminary research, 15 young professionals, aged 21 to 40, who already participate in a social media platform will be selected. These participants will form a random group mixed by gender, nationality, age, profession, etc. The selection process of the 15 young professionals will be done by visiting various social media platforms. Once the candidates are chosen, the people who are in contact with them through their presence on social networks will also be noted. 10 connections per candidate will be selected at random. Thus, a total of 150 people will be identified for the first phase of the research. Another phase of the study will focus on YouTube as the primary social media platform. For this study, generic purposive sampling as called by Bryman and Bell (2015) will be applied for the selection and analysis process. “The research question should provide an indication of which units should be sampled” (Bryman & Bell, 2015, p. 433). Taking into account the previous statement and the research question, candidates for this study will be “successful” according to,, 66(1), 53-59.