Crafting Digital Identities: A Case Study of Gen Z Personal Branding on Tiktok

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-573-7_15How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Personal Branding; Tiktok; Generation Z Influencers; Social Media Strategy; Digital Identity; Content Creation

Abstract

Personal branding has emerged as a critical communication strategy for Generation Z influencers on TikTok, where digital identities directly translate into social capital and career opportunities. This study examines how emerging TikTok influencers construct and maintain personal brands within the platform’s algorithm-driven environment. The research investigates Nathanael Abednego’s personal branding strategy, analyzing his content design, audience engagement tactics, and adaptation to evolving platform trends. Grounded in Goffman’s self-presentation theory and computer-mediated communication frameworks, this study applies Frischmann’s twelve-step personal branding model, which encompasses skill set development, discoverability enhancement, identity formation, first impression management, aura creation, and brand experience cultivation. A qualitative single-case study methodology was employed, using digital ethnographic approaches, including semi-structured interviews with three key informants, six months of systematic content analysis across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and participant observation of community interactions. Data analysis followed both inductive and deductive coding procedures, organized according to Frischmann’s theoretical framework. Results demonstrate that Abednego successfully operationalizes eleven of Frischmann’s twelve branding principles, particularly excelling in skill demonstration, audience engagement, and adaptive evolution strategies. His approach emphasizes collaborative content production, analytics-driven decision-making, and selective trend adoption while maintaining an authentic self-presentation. The findings validate the relevance of established personal branding frameworks for Generation Z digital creators while highlighting the need to integrate collaborative practices and algorithmic literacy into existing theoretical models for social media contexts.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yessica Permata Sari
AU  - Theresia Lavietha Vivrie Lolita
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/30
TI  - Crafting Digital Identities: A Case Study of Gen Z Personal Branding on Tiktok
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Communication and New Media Studies (COMNEWS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 137
EP  - 146
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-573-7_15
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-573-7_15
ID  - Sari2026
ER  -