The Art of Online Self Promotion
Posted in Marketing & PR, Social Networking
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By Amanda Quraishi
Being an independent business owner online means that you wear many hats, including being your own PR and Marketing departments. Even if you’re freelancing or selling through a retail site like Etsy you will benefit from knowing how to promote yourself on the Internet. But competition for attention is fierce, and it’s highly probably that your efforts will be lost in the non-stop steam of communications and marketing campaigns we are all subject to on a daily basis.
Self-promotion doesn’t come easy to everyone. Many business owners struggle with their own sense of modesty, or the inability to gauge what is appropriate self-promotion. It’s important to remember that no one is thinking about you as much as YOU are. With the speed that information is exchanged online, much of what is tweeted, commented and posted gets lost in the shuffle.
For example, you may have tweeted about a brand new product first thing in the morning, but unless all of your followers were sitting waiting for your tweet at that moment, it’s gone within a minute or two. When using social media—especially if you have a large community—you must repeat yourself consistently if you want to be recognized.
Obviously spamming your online contacts or repeating the same thing over and over like a broken record is counter-productive. (e.g., you might get someone’s attention, but only because you’re annoying them.) The best policy is to come up with a system for promoting yourself regularly, consistently in various online communities, including your own blog. Then stick to it.
When you are promoting yourself or your products and services, use language that is assertive and confident without being boastful. Remember, people online only know what you tell them about yourself and your business. This can work for or against you. While it does let you craft your message, it also means that you have to maintain a sense of detachment about yourself and business. View your communications through the eyes of your audience. Understand the challenges they have understanding of who you are and what you do, and fill in those holes with your marketing and social media.
The other key element to promoting yourself and your business online is to leverage your contacts within different communities, including your own geographic location. Combine your online and offline efforts to create the biggest impact. Work within online communities that cater to your industry, and look for ways to cross promote your business with other, complimentary businesses. Creative thinking can go a long way to helping your stand out from the pack.
You make every effort to ensure your work is top notch, so not work just as hard to ensure people know about it?
Amanda Quraishi is a writer, blogger and activist living in Austin, Texas. She works as the Social Media Manager at UpSpring Baby, a company making innovating products for moms and babies. For more information on Amanda, visit Amanda Quraishi.com
