Self-Promotion - It’s all about FOCUS

Your work speaks for itself.

Unfortunately, no it does not.

I tell my clients, 

“You must speak for your work, because your work doesn’t speak for itself.”  

At some point, we all need to do some self-promotion, whether we’re selling our services, gunning for a promotion, or interviewing for a new job. 

Did you know that when the word “brag” first started showing up in old poetry, it meant to shine and shimmer with pride?  (Thanks to my friend Lisa Bragg, author of “Bragging Rights” for that one!) I think it’s a lovely way to describe self-promotion. 

Over the past several months I’ve had a few conversations about this topic, including with my friend Lisa Bragg, and when I participated on a #SCHMOOZE panel hosted by Shelly Lombard with some amazing women. 

(That’s me - on screen.)

Our moderator, Ife Babatunde, talked about the need to celebrate our professional wins and letting our peers know about them.  Yes!

Many - perhaps most - of us feel awkward talking about ourselves and our accomplishments.  We worry that we come across as arrogant. Here's an insight that might help: 

If you're worried about sounding arrogant then you probably don't. 

It's those folks for whom it doesn't even cross their mind that sound arrogant!

Does that help?

When I spoke with Lisa Bragg on a past episode of the Talk About Talk podcast, I asked her about the difference between bragging and self-promotion.  She defines bragging, not in a negative way, but as the ability to talk about our successes and how we feel about them.  

Self-promotion, then, is the execution of it - of how you tell others about your successes.  It’s the amplification of your successes in a strategic, thoughtful way. 

When you approach it this way, you can be sure you are NOT coming across as arrogant.

Where’s the best place to self-promote? 

How about right here, on LinkedIn?

If you’re lucky enough to work for a company that shares news about their team’s promotions or accomplishments, congratulations!  You can share those posts and add your own thanks to the people who helped you along the way.

Effective Self-Promotion

Let’s look at 5 ways you can FOCUS your comments and self-promote effectively:

1. FOCUS THE SPOTLIGHT

Eve Newman Balick, a law career coach and consultant from Grenier Consulting Group, suggests that instead of stressing about shining the spotlight on yourself, think about stepping into the spotlight. It’s a less forced way to approach self-promotion. It’s thoughtful and strategic!

If that still feels too much, try this suggestion from Lisa Bragg:  shine a light on someone else. Enlist a friend and have them amplify WITH you. Have her shine the light on you and, in return, you shine the light on her. Get in there and like and comment on their post. Tell others why they should notice your friend. 

2. FOCUS ON YOUR UNIQUE STRENGTHS

When you work on your personal brand, you learn to articulate your unique strengths. You identify skills and ways that you can add value based on your specific passion/expertise/experience in specific areas. 

It’s not that you’re good at everything! That would be arrogant.  Rather, you have taken the time to articulate your specific strengths. Focus there, and make sure you maintain a growth mindset.

3. FOCUS ON OTHERS 

• Focus on your audience's goals - When you focus on the relevance and benefit of your message for your AUDIENCE, the icky-ness of self-promotion disappears. Kait LeDonne says, "Align your goals with theirs; that's where the magic happens." 
• Focus on other's comments - Try the 3 magic words: “People tell me…”  As in “People tell me I’m a strong people leader,” or “People tell me I’ve got lots of positive energy.” This strategy gets lots of positive feedback from the folks I coach.  It’s immediately actionable. “People tell me” is so effective, because it sounds less arrogant when it’s coming from a third party; you’re sharing what other people say about you. It also sounds more credible. It’s almost like a third-party testimonial. Ask yourself right now, what’s something positive that people say about you? Can you share that with the world? 

4. FOCUS ON YOUR LEARNINGS

Instead of focusing on your accomplishments or your awards. Caitlyn Kumi, of MissEmpowerHer, says curating, distilling, and openly sharing the LEARNINGS from your wins is a sure-fire way to help others and self-promote. 

Your expertise clearly shows through and your willingness to share knowledge boosts your profile as a thought-leader. LOVE THIS!

5. FOCUS ON REALITY!  

Remember, your work does not speak for itself, you must speak for your work. And if you're worried about sounding arrogant you probably don’t.

Got all that?  Or are you still stuck?

Here are 3 tips to get you started on what to say in a LinkedIn post:

• Be straightforward - Tell us what you’ve done.  “I am proud to say that I’ve been promoted to VP of Procurement for Company XYZ” or “I recently closed a $2M account…”  etc.  
• Be grateful - Say thank you to some important people who helped you.  Tag them!
• Be thoughtful - Why is it important that you share this info?  How will it benefit you?  What do you want your network to know?

Once you’ve crafted the right message, go ahead and hit “Post”.

Then, spend some time reading and responding to comments you receive from your connections. 

Absorb the accolades and allow yourself to feel proud. 

You deserve it.

Homework

Your homework is to use at least one of the ”FOCUS” strategies above and self-promote. It could be in person, it could be in an email, or it could be right here on LinkedIn. 

Not sure what to say or how to phrase it?  Message me and I’ll help you. You can message me on LinkedIn or send me a message through the Talk About Talk website.

Have a great week!

Talk soon,

Andrea

Dr. Andrea Wojnicki is a Harvard-educated executive communication coach. She founded "Talk About Talk" to help ambitious executives communicate with confidence and clarity by focusing on topics such as personal branding, overcoming imposter syndrome, listening, demonstrating leadership, and formal presentation skills.  Andrea provides 1:1 coaching, workshops, keynote speeches, and online courses. She also shares her thought leadership as a columnist at Inc. magazine and she hosts the Talk About Talk podcast, with over 150 episodes and counting.