TITLE:
Beyond the Screen: Moroccan Women Crafting Digital Empowerment through Personal Branding in Social Media
AUTHORS:
Chaimae El Idrissi Amiri, Tayeb Ghourdou
KEYWORDS:
Personal Branding, Social Media, Empowerment, Female Identity, Financial Independence
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.3,
March
25,
2024
ABSTRACT: This article investigates the concept of personal
branding via digital platforms and its influence on Moroccan women’s
empowerment. By leveraging social networks, Moroccan women have cultivated a
distinct digital identity, which helped them
establish lucrative online businesses, leading to financial autonomy.
Employing a feminist approach, we analyzed data collected from a sample of five prominent Moroccan bloggers and
influencers, whose effective personal branding in social media drives
them to “stand out from the crowd”, transgress into the male-dominated
digital world, overcome the pre-determined gender stereotypes, and set
up a self-made career. The research explores how these women have created and marketed their personal brands, examining the strategies and processes that have
contributed to their online success. Through a qualitative content
analysis and a quantitative assessment of the reception and prospects of female
blogging in Morocco, the study uncovers the empowering effects of personal
branding on women’s confidence, visibility, and economic independence. The
findings emphasised the transformative potential of personal branding to
enhance women’s self-esteem, challenge societal norms, and create new
possibilities for gender equality within the online sphere. Ultimately, the
study contributes to gender studies literature by examining personal branding
through a gender-centric lens and highlighting its benefits for women’s
personal, social, and economic well-being.