Lesson 3: Building a personal brand with a relatable and down-to-earth slogan.

As pioneers in disseminating legal information and combating cybercrime through their personal social media accounts, these police officers have successfully built their personal brands starting from simple, approachable greetings and titles.

Phan Hoang Su is a verified social media account on both Facebook and TikTok. He has 449,000 followers on Facebook and 708,000 followers on TikTok. "Hello everyone!" is the opening greeting in all of Captain Phan Hoang Su's videos . He never imagined that this simple, polite greeting would become his personal brand slogan on social media.

Not only is he recognized by his greeting, but the online community also recognizes Phan Hoang Su by the name "Head of Department" and even his... dark lips. Not only online, but in real life, "strangers" often call him "Head of Department." In mid-May, at the "For Peace in the Villages" festival organized by the Public Security Communication Department in Van Ho commune, Son La province, many local men recognized him and came to shake his hand. "A true Western Vietnamese, traveling thousands of kilometers to the Northwest, and the villagers recognized me and called me by name. It was so heartwarming," Su shared.

What contributed to Phan Hoang Su's successful personal brand building on social media? Perhaps it's the 3,500 posts and videos he persistently uploaded and his dedicated responses to millions of comments. I revisited his video warning about scams, which garnered 21.8 million views on TikTok and 16.5 million views on Facebook, to find the answer.

The video begins with Captain Phan Hoang Su's familiar greeting: "Hello everyone! A new scam scenario has emerged today. I'm sure many of you will receive calls like this. This is a trick impersonating a delivery driver, but this scenario is new. It mentions issues we've previously handled deliveries for. Please listen carefully; the clip is a bit long because it contains two audio recordings. The scenario is sophisticated and elaborately staged, with the scammers assigning roles to lure people in. Please listen carefully..." The video then continues with two audio recordings in which the scammers, posing as delivery drivers and customer service representatives, threaten people with deductions from their accounts, 3.6-4 million VND per month, and entice them to message a specific Facebook account. At the end of the video, Captain Phan Hoang Su reminds everyone to remember: "There is no such thing as a delivery driver automatically deducting money."

This video was posted by Sử at the end of 2025 and continues to gain engagement to this day. What makes this video, which is over 5 minutes long, breaking the standard length of social media platforms, still go viral? The answer is authenticity and usefulness. Authenticity here isn't just because the story was posted by "Uncle Policeman," but also because of two audio recordings made by citizens of conversations between themselves and two scammers posing as delivery drivers and customer service representatives. How did he obtain "real-life" evidence of this newly emerging scam? Sử's answer is, "People trust me and call me for advice." His personal phone number, posted on his social media account, has become a hotline. Many, many people have called him for advice. And it's from these real situations that people have encountered that he has shared on his personal page. These vivid and engaging examples have a significant impact in providing people with more information and knowledge to avoid being exploited by scammers.

Phan Hoang Su's authentic social media accounts, complete with personal information, phone number, and opinions, build trust within the community.

Following Phan Hoang Su's social media account, I clearly see his unwavering commitment to combating high-tech crime. All his shared content focuses on this core issue, but presented in a way that is easy to understand, follow, and share. His sincere statement, "Please share so more people know," is what encourages people to click the share button...

"Cybercriminals are currently using various tactics: impersonating 'People's Committee officials' to verify land ownership certificates; impersonating delivery drivers; booking airline tickets, hotels... to steal deposit money; and especially creating 'multi-level marketing scams' to trick people into investing (this is very difficult to identify)," Phan Hoang Su said.

In fact, in the era of the 4.0 revolution, along with the development of technology, high-tech crime is also increasing. It takes on all forms and is constantly evolving. Housewives, women in remote areas, and even women in rural communities are often targeted and easily fall into their traps. Witnessing people losing money, losing trust, and feeling lost and confused, the young captain became even more determined to do a better job of preventing and combating this type of crime.

The author (second from the right) with Captain Phan Hoang Su at the People's Police Newspaper booth at the "For the Peace of the Villages" event held in Van Ho commune, Son La province in mid-May 2025. This was an opportunity for him to exchange professional knowledge with media workers and interact directly with people in the highlands.

As a criminal investigator working at a local police unit, he frequently interacts with the public, so he understands the risks of crime that people face both in real life and online. He created a personal channel to raise awareness and prevent crime in 2020. However, initially, he didn't fully understand the community guidelines of the platforms, lacked experience in creating videos, and interacting online, so his account was shut down.

"When it collapses, I rebuild," Sử shared. With such perseverance, from 2024 to the present, Sử's social media accounts, as mentioned above, have amassed a large following and become a highly reputable communication channel for combating high-tech crime.

Surprisingly, despite having verified social media accounts and a large following, Captain Phan Hoang Su has not enabled monetization. For digital content creators, enabling monetization on social media platforms is a natural goal. Why is this criminal police officer remaining... uninvolved?

"I prioritize goal number one, sister." Sử's number one goal is the duty of a police officer – preventing and combating crime, for the peace of life. It's possible that when he "turns on" the monetization feature, the platform will automatically deposit money into his bank account. But it's also possible that his social media account could have its interaction suppressed, or that those high-tech criminals he fights against every day could find his "Achilles' heel" to sabotage it...

"I am Nghia, Deputy Chief of Police of Tan An Commune."

At 8 AM on Sunday, May 31st, a Facebook account named Nguyen Kim Nghia posted the following status update: “Uncle Nghia, the children's police will be in plain clothes this morning to monitor summer vacation groups showing signs of using phones, watching TV, swimming in rivers and streams... I've already announced it, if you don't listen, I'll put you on air... Hello, hello...!” Within 30 minutes, it received over 500 likes and countless supportive comments. A user named Tran Loan commented: “ Even swimming in ponds and lakes, Uncle! Please arrest and lock them all up for the parents! Thank you very much, Uncle .”

Major Nguyen Kim Nghia, Deputy Head of Tan An Commune Police, Nghe An Province , directly interacted with parents right in front of the school gate.

Nguyen Kim Nghia is the Facebook account of Major Nguyen Kim Nghia, Deputy Head of the Tan An Commune Police Station, Nghe An Province. The account currently has 190,000 followers and has posted 1,300 articles, some of which have garnered 20 million views. This account has become a social media phenomenon due to its "live broadcast" videos of correcting and educating unruly students; reminding, encouraging, and handling violations of public order and theft prevention; and supporting and assisting the elderly, the disabled, and others.

In every field situation, the first thing he says when interacting with the people, after the standard police salute, is always: "I am Nghia, Deputy Head of Tan An Commune Police." This way of introducing himself, using the pronouns "I" or "me" depending on the situation, affirms his legitimacy while being friendly, and his Nghe An accent has made a good impression. It has become a slogan, associated with the personal brand of Nguyen Kim Nghia's online account and Major Nguyen Kim Nghia in real life.

Sharing his experience in pioneering the personalization of online communication, Major Nghia said that he created his account using his birth name decades ago just for fun. After July 1st, 2025, when the two-tiered local government system was implemented and the Tan An Commune Police were established based on the merger of three communes: Huong Son, Nghia Phuc, and Tan An (formerly) in the former Tan Ky district, he intentionally developed his online presence in this direction. He frankly stated to the Party Committee and the Police Command that he takes responsibility for using his social media account to post images and videos of his activities while performing his duties. The title, "I am Nghia, Deputy Head of Tan An Commune Police," clearly demonstrates his sense of responsibility for this action.

In the video, the Deputy Head of the Tan An Commune Police reminds and educates residents not to leave straw or dry rice on the road, as this poses a safety hazard to road users.

As a social media user, I stumbled upon his viral videos and was intrigued by how he disciplined unruly students, so I followed him. Students who are addicted to video games, watching TV, playing billiards, driving vehicles inappropriately for their age, smoking, and gathering in groups are not uncommon in both rural and urban areas. Don't think these are just harmless childish antics, because without early guidance, these children can easily be drawn into gambling, addiction, and other vices.

Based on the situation in Tan An commune, Nghia has developed the "Following in the Footsteps of Children to School" model with the cooperation of three parties: Parents - Schools - Police. Parents are responsible for educating and supervising their children within the family; schools manage the children inside the school gates; and the police are responsible for monitoring and supervising the children outside the school.

Thirty students, classified as misbehaving, were placed in a model with close supervision from three parties, especially Officer Nghia. Videos showing Officer Nghia being both strict and compassionate in guiding the students demonstrate his dedication as well as the good cooperation between the school and families. The nickname "child police officer" given to Nghia by netizens originated from this.

“The ‘Following the Children to School’ program has yielded good results so far; most of the children have behaved well, and teachers and parents have expressed their gratitude to the commune police,” Nghia shared. However, he still has many concerns as there are still a few problematic children. He believes that these children need closer supervision to prevent them from falling into bad habits and becoming spoiled…

Police officer Nghia is always close to the "summer vacation group" in all situations.

Major Nghia's concerns, especially regarding problematic students, stem from his many years of experience in the police force. Statistics show that the rate of young people committing crimes is consistently high. If these issues are detected and addressed while they are still in school, and continued with special attention even after graduation, it would not only help many young people "change their fortunes" and bring peace to many families, but also make crime prevention efforts by the police more effective.

Major Nguyen Kim Nghia's social media account also serves as a channel for identifying and connecting philanthropists to help elderly people living alone and people with disabilities in Tan An commune.

On Nguyen Kim Nghia's account, videos recording the activities of the Tan An commune police reminding people about encroaching on sidewalks to sell goods; drying straw and rice on the road; singing karaoke loudly at night; stopping to pick up children within the designated lane markings... accurately reflect the current state of life. The way the Tan An commune police persuade, remind, and guide people to comply with the law is both compassionate and reasonable. And it is this simple, sincere approach that has earned "Uncle Policeman" Nguyen Kim Nghia increasing trust and affection from the people, both in real life and online.

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Cao Hong

Source: https://cand.vn/bai-3-xay-dung-thuong-hieu-ca-nhan-bang-slogan-gan-gui-binh-di-post812518.html