DETERMINANTS OF PERSONAL BRANDING EFFECTIVENESS ON TIKTOK: EVIDENCE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

This paper examines what shapes college students' engagement with, and ongoing intention to use, short-form video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Data were gathered from 250 students at the International School, Thai Nguyen University, through a stratified convenience sampling approach, and the proposed model incorporates seven independent variables. The study applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesized relationships. Results show that four of the seven proposed paths reach statistical significance: Algorithmic Personalization (β = 0.283, p < 0.001), Engagement (β = 0.372, p < 0.001), Authenticity (β = 0.118, p < 0.05), and Content Niche (β = 0.090, p < 0.05) each positively predict continuous usage intention. Conversely, Content Quality (β = -0.009), Posting Consistency (β = -0.042), and Content Creativity (β = 0.066) do not show meaningful effects (p > 0.05). The findings carry practical implications for creators and platform designers seeking to reach university-age audiences in developing media markets