Personal branding strategies of influential Youtubers and perceptions of Thai millennials toward them

Abstract

Personal branding—how individuals establish and communicate their unique traits and skills to facilitate their life goals—has become a topic of interest for many scholars and practitioners alike. One of the most widely used channels through which personal branding is executed is YouTube. There are several YouTubers, as we speak, who strive to promote their channel—their personal brand—by establishing their online identity and communicating such identity to their target audience. The studies have shown that the main target audience on YouTube, whose rising influence boosts the popularity of online video content viewing, is the millennials, especially Thai millennials as Thailand is now one of the top 10 countries with highest YouTube watch time. Despite the potential on YouTube, there are only a handful of influential YouTubers whose personal brands are successfully promoted.

With the use of methodological triangulation of in-depth interviews, content analysis, and online questionnaires, this thesis study has uncovered the personal branding strategies of influential YouTubers with successful personal brands and the perceptions of their target audience (Thai millennials who are their regular viewers and/or subscribers) toward them. It has fulfilled the research objectives of determining how influential YouTubers establish their personal brand, communicate their personal brand, and develop and maintain relationships with their target audience, as well as how Thai millennials perceive them and their personal brand.