8 Great Tips on Self Promotion and Self Branding

Photo Courtesy: Tulane Public Relations

Are you starting a new business? Do you want to become more popular on social media? Do you want to impress a client and bag a contract? Do you want your neighbor to buy Tupperware from you instead of anyone else? To do all these things and more, self promotion and branding are critical. Here are a few tips you can use to brand and sell yourself effectively.

1. Always hand out a business card

Your business card is like your passport to enter other people’s mind space. You may have ranted about yourself and your services to someone important, but that person may forget you the minute you are out of sight. Remember to leave a physical representation of yourself in the form of a business card so that you become easy to recall and contact.

2. Have an interactive social media presence

Just having a profile or an account on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster or Pinterest is not enough. You need to be an active and substantial contributor on these portals. Don’t spam your followers on social media with promotional material all the time. Allow your interactions to make other people follow you, respond to you or remember you.

3. Connect people to generate goodwill

Self promotion is the best when it happens organically and naturally. By connecting two people in your network, you will be helping them find useful resources. More importantly, you will build a natural platform for them to be grateful to you and talk about you in your absence, which is the best form of self branding and self promotion.

4. Make a resume that stands out

Not everyone can afford to create colorful and whacky resumes because of professional limitations, but you can definitely put effort in creating a resume that stands out. Your resume is like your identity on paper. Create a new format, play around with your own introduction or tweak the tone. Change it up in a way it grabs the attention of the reader in a positive way.

5. Link your work or online resume in your email signature

Email signatures are effective spaces for self promotion because they are subtle and not too in-your-face. If an acquaintance or stranger wants to get in touch with you, he/she should be able to get access to you through your contact details or your email signature. Leaving a hyperlink to your online resume, portfolio or social media page can work as an added bonus.

6. Create and manage a website, webpage or a blog

Use this tip on self promotion and self branding with care. If you don’t have much to say, making a website, webpage or blog with your name may discredit your reputation. Only if you have abundant material about your work or content that can add regularly, give it an online presence in the form of a dedicated website which you can share with others.

7. Pace self promotional activities

Use your discretion in promoting yourself verbally or through other promotional mediums. For example, if you are seen handing out business cards to everyone at an evening soiree, you may come across as too business minded. Pace yourself, don’t come across as an outright seller.

8. Promote your specialized skills

Telling someone that you are a teacher who specializes in teaching math to autistic children is a much better way of promoting yourself than saying that you are a math teacher. The idea here is to increase your recall value in other people’s minds by selling your specialized skills, if any. People are more likely to remember something unique about you rather than generic information.