The power of self-promotion
How to do it without overdoing it!
For freelancers and contractors, it can be tough to ‘toot your own horn’ when you’re busy working or looking for work. And we don’t always find it that easy (or comfortable!) to promote ourselves. But you're not doing yourself any favours by keeping quiet - after all, if you’re not willing to sing your praises, who will?
Following on from my blog on ‘Creating your best CV’, I thought I would share with you some ideas and tips on self-marketing:
Know your values and be valuable!
Before you begin promoting yourself, you need to have a clear idea of the kind of reputation you want to build. As soon as you become active across media, online content, and social posts, you’ll develop an identity for yourself that your future employers will consider whenever they do business with you.
Make sure you know what you want people to associate your name with. Knowing your values will help you to choose the right image and tone of voice for your personal brand.
When it comes to self-promotion, you’ll need to make sure that you’re clear about what you’re offering. While no-one likes being “sold” to, everyone wants to have their problems solved. Look for a way that your services can make the world a better place. And make sure that whatever you do, you’re always authentic, don’t try to be someone you’re not.
Connect with thought leaders
While platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter have undoubtedly made it easier to connect with industry leaders in our space, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider networking in other areas too. There are plenty of specialist forums and websites specifically designed for communication groups, so seek out places where you might be able to showcase your expertise outside of social media.
Don’t just “act” the expert – be one
Self-promotion is all about showing people that you’re the best at what you do. That means going above and beyond to demonstrate your position as an industry expert. Taking the opportunity to speak about your areas of expertise at a conference or event could be a great way to improve your chances of success. Promote yourself as an expert in our field by offering your opinion, creating your own blog and writing guest posts to market yourself as an authority online. Just make sure that anything you share with your network is well-researched!
Consider having a “pitch”
Since self-promotion is all about learning how to sell yourself, it makes sense that you’d have your own pitch. You should include in your self-promotion strategy a good understanding of your “USP”, or what makes you special. What do you offer that others in your space don’t? How can you articulate that in a creative way?
You want to be able to pitch yourself to potential clients and employers showing your unique identity. You can do that in many different ways, e.g. presentations, evidence of your work, data on the impact of that work.
If you feel awkward about marketing yourself in this way, try imagining that you’re selling a product rather than yourself. Or that you’re doing it for a friend or colleague, how would you advise them to get their powerful and personal message across?
Keep in touch
Finally, always stay in touch. Meeting new people is important in self-promotion, but once you’ve met someone new, you must be willing to maintain the relationship for it to be truly beneficial.
Keep up with your former clients or colleagues to let them know you’re still here. Take the time to respond to their posts and messages on social networking sites. If you show that you’re keeping them in mind, they’re much more likely to do the same for you.
Do get in touch if you’d like to speak with me about any aspect of self-promotion.
Published by Tanya
