Self branding, 'micro celebrity' and the rise of Social Media Influencers
ABSTRACT The notion of self branding has drawn myriad academic responses over the last decade. First popularised in a provocative piece published in Fast Company, self branding has been criticised by some on theoretical, practical and ethical grounds, while others have endorsed and propelled the idea. This article considers how and why the concept of self branding has become so prevalent. We contend that it parallels the growth of digital technology (particularly social media) embedded in the current political climate: neoliberal individualism. Another objective here is to imbue the concept of self branding with a marketing perspective and show how the 'celebrities' of self branding manifest at a marketing media nexus distinct to the opening decades of the twenty first century. Building on literature from mostly media and cultural studies, this critique sees self branding as a distortion of key branding principles that has obvious implications for its practitioners and advocates. The article shows that, despite inherent tensions and problematic ironies, self branding persists through the rise of Social Media Influencers; we consider three of these whose fame and following was achieved via the practices and phenomena under consideration.