Digital Natives and Political Engagement: Exploring the Role of Personal Branding and Social Media Marketing in Generation Z's Voting Behavior

Abstract

This study investigates how personal branding and social media marketing jointly shape Generation Z’s voting behavior in an emerging democracy, with particular attention to the cognitive–affective mechanisms underlying candidate-centered political evaluation. While prior studies have examined youth political participation and digital campaigning, limited research explains how personal branding and social media marketing interact to influence voter perceptions and electoral decisions among digital-native voters. Drawing on political personalization, impression management, and digital political marketing theories, this study develops and tests a structural model linking personal branding, social media marketing, voter perceptions, and voting behavior. Using a quantitative explanatory survey of 400 Generation Z voters in Tangerang Raya, Indonesia, covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed to examine both direct and mediated relationships among the constructs. The findings indicate that social media marketing exerts a strong and direct influence on both voter perceptions and voting behavior, underscoring the mobilizing role of interactive and visually driven political communication. In contrast, personal branding primarily affects voting behavior indirectly through perception formation, positioning perception as a key mediating mechanism through which authenticity and engagement translate into electoral support. These results suggest that Generation Z voters process personalized political messages through intertwined cognitive and affective evaluations rather than purely instrumental considerations. By integrating personal branding and social media marketing within a single explanatory framework, this study extends personalization theory to emerging democratic contexts and offers strategic insights for designing digital first political campaigns targeting Generation Z.