PERSONAL BRANDING STRATEGIES OF ACTORS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37231/apj.2026.9.2.885Abstract
Abstract: Social media enables actors to build personal brands, yet digital visibility alone offers an incomplete account of professional marketability. This systematic review synthesises research on the personal branding of celebrities and other human brands to examine branding practices, personal–professional boundaries and sustainability risks, and to draw implications for Malaysian actors. Following PRISMA 2020, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched in November 2025 for studies published between 2019 and 2025, supplemented by manual searching. Of 360 records identified, 80 full-text articles were assessed and 16 met the eligibility criteria. Reporting quality was appraised, and the findings were synthesised thematically. Four themes emerged: (i) authenticity and creative content; (ii) impression management and reputation control; (iii) engagement, visibility and credibility; and (iv) ethical challenges and career sustainability. Purposeful content, audience involvement and selective self-disclosure emerged as key practices, although their effects on perceived authenticity and promotional outcomes varied across contexts. Popularity, consumer responses and professional opportunities appeared as distinct outcomes, while commercialisation, privacy pressures and digital labour could offset the benefits of branding. The review proposes a conceptual framework linking branding practices to audience mechanisms and professional evaluation, shaped by contextual conditions and sustainability risks. Integrating impression management, source credibility and parasocial perspectives, it offers recommendations for actors and talent managers. As local evidence is limited to one qualitative study of a mixed celebrity sample, the proposed relationships require empirical testing in Malaysia using professional outcome measures and longitudinal assessments of well-being.
Keywords: Malaysian Actors; Marketability; Personal Branding; Social Media; Systematic Literature Review
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