After the Covid-19 pandemic, the transformation of the digital world is getting more substantial—more and more cyber immigrants of various ages. Social media is no longer exclusive to young people. For young people, social media is more than just a tool to chat with friends. Besides that, social media is also a platform to show off. Unfortunately, many young people have not made good use of it. This situation causes the trend/identity they carry to be not good. On this basis, the Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (FIS UNY) took the initiative to hold a national webinar for teaching practitioners on campus, with the title "How To Branding Yourself in the Digital Era: Branding Impact and Digital Marketing Era 4.0" recently. This national webinar presented two well-known speakers, namely Dr. Rulli Nasrullah, M.Si, communication and social media consultant, and Nugroho Nurcahyo, S.H, the managing editor of Harian Jogja, guided by the Head of Public Relations, Media and Promotion Division, Inter Affairs Unit UUIK FIS UNY, Danu Eko Agustinova, M.Pd.
On this occasion, Rulli conveyed how social media is currently very attached and forms a person's perception of him. "Nowadays, people don't need costly equipment to create content, just a smartphone, and everyone can reveal their identity to the world on social media," said Rulli. While Popon noted, "Internet users in the last ten years have also increased significantly, even with a population of around 250 million. However, mobile (smartphone) users have reached around 300 million," added Nugroho, who is familiarly called Mas Popon.
This webinar got great enthusiasm from UNY students, who were the main targets of the national webinar. One participant asked about social media and insecurity. According to Rulli, "There is no need to feel insecure on social media. The important thing is, to be honest on social media. It can make us accepted on social media." Rulli said,
In the next term, other participants asked about some young people nowadays who choose not to socialize on media. Mas Popon responded to this with his experience working in cyber media. According to him, it is unique if there are young people who do not have social media. It is a plus when he can survive amid the trend and he can determine his attitude. So you don't have to be afraid if you don't have social media.
At the end of the event, Mas Popon advised the participants to create a positive digital footprint and bring benefits. Meanwhile, Rulli reminded the participants, "Remember that social media is only a tool. However, it is an extraordinary tool. It can build our branding and destroy it," said Rulli.
