Self-marketing is becoming increasingly more popular, not to mention more important, and it’s all for good reason. Self-marketing has seen a great deal of disruption in the last 20-years. What was once incredibly difficult to do is now easier than ever, as long as you have access to social media apps via a smartphone.
Building your personal image or reputation can help you advance your career, add credibility to something that you are selling, and build a following. But what exactly is self-marketing and how can you get involved? We’ll dive into that below.
What is Self Marketing
Before diving into the mechanics of self-marketing, let’s review exactly what self-marketing is. Self-marketing is simply the process or art of self-promotion. People can promote themselves in a variety of ways, and self-promotion is beneficial within all industries. Instead of promoting a specific product to sell or a commodity to offer, you are promoting your image and credibility.
What is an Example of Self Marketing
A common example of self-marketing could be a realtor promoting themselves on a billboard. The real estate agent is not selling a specific house on the billboard. Instead, the realtor may have an image of themself with statistics about their real estate transactions.
For example, the realtor may include the following:
- The number of sales in the previous year
- The average time a house stayed on the market under their listing
- The number of repeat customers they have
The real estate agent may take it one step further and put ads in the paper, generate YouTube ads, and market themselves all over social media. Getting their image in front of people is what they are trying to do. Therefore, when someone needs to buy or sell a home, they remember seeing all of these billboards and Instagram postings and giving this agent a call.
How to Self-Market
Building your personal brand awareness is ever-evolving. It seems like every year a new social media platform is coming out. Staying up-to-date with technology advancements, and recent trends will only help you with marketing yourself.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to self-marketing. You need to do a combination of everything, find what works, and hone in on those tactics. Common approaches include these four approaches to self-marketing:
- Leverage social media. One of the best parts of social media is the fact that you can market yourself for free. It doesn’t cost money to post on Instagram, nor does it cost money to post on LinkedIn. Developing a consistent social media posting schedule is a great way to get your image in front of your audience.
- Create a podcast. A podcast is another way where you can spread your word, or your brand, to a large audience.
- Pay for YouTube ads. You can tap into the YouTube algorithm and display your ad to specific viewers. If you are a personal trainer, your message can appear on videos where people searched for the best weight loss exercises or how to lose 20 pounds quickly.
- Focus on traditional print marketing. Despite how digital the world is becoming, print marketing, such as; a billboard, newspaper ad, or flier, still generates attention to whatever is being marketed or advertised.
It’s a Numbers Game
Like many things, self-marketing is a numbers game. The larger the audience is that you can reach, the better. Similar to massive companies running an ad through a commercial during the Superbowl.
These large companies know that there are millions of people watching that ad, and they want to steal their attention for about 20 to 30 seconds. While a single ad may not generate an immediate transaction, it might subconsciously leave a lasting impression on people, which could lead to many transactions down the line.
You Do Not Need a Physical Product
One of the best things about self-marketing is the fact that you do not need a physical product to sell. People self-market themselves for a variety of reasons.
For example, perhaps you are self-marketing your knowledge to show a specific employer or industry you are an expert in your field. Although you are not selling a specific product, you may find yourself in a more desirable career, or a higher paying career, based on the self-marketing you did.
Self-marketing is also a great way to network. In today’s modern world, a strong network is an expensive commodity to have! The stronger your network is, the easier it may be for you to find employment, or land your dream job.
Be Mindful of Overdoing It
Something you need to be very mindful of is overdoing the self-marketing approach. It’s all too easy to post on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn. More content is not always better.
You want to produce content that people want to see, and content that people will pay attention to. Be thoughtful and strategic with your approach. You can still cast a wide net to reach many people, but that net doesn’t need to be cast every few hours or every day.
Self-Marketing Isn’t the Future – It’s Already Here
Self-marketing isn’t a concept of the future. It’s already here, and it’s needed. The world is becoming far too competitive to not engage in some type of self-marketing technique.
Whether you are looking to build credibility for your business, attract new customers, or stand out for new employment opportunities, self-marketing is something that we should all be mindful of and doing. Self-marketing doesn’t need to feel burdensome. You don’t even need to get fancy.
Long-term consistency far outweighs short-term intensity. Be consistent with your approach, and the results will speak for themselves.