Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Self Promotion

I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful wedding at The Manoir last weekend.

I was fortunate to be asked to be "Best Man" at the event. Of course, I had to give a speech which was quite nerve-racking but it went down a storm.

Speaking at such an event is a great way of getting introduced to people. Everyone came to me after I had spoken to congratulate me and tell me how much they enjoyed what I had to say. Would they have been so eager to speak to me if I had been a mere mortal at the event?

So lot's of strangers spoke to me and the usual conversation ensued: "How do you do?"; "Nice weather, isn't it?"; "What do you do for a living?".

Normal run of the mill stuff you might think and you'd be right. However, I did get some interesting questions:
  • How do you get business and how do you promote yourself?
  • How do you keep on top of your reputation?
  • Would you be my friend on Facebook?

I guess the answer to these questions differ depending on the business that you are in, but for me, getting business and self-promotion is all about the following:
  • Reputational enhancement through constant delivery
  • Ensuring the right people are made aware of the delivery success
  • Promotion through social networking (LinkedIn, Twitter, Website, Blog, etc.) and being careful what I say on each medium
  • Standing up in front of people and speaking - getting noticed

Indeed, giving a Best Man's speech, while important for the recently married couple in question, is another means of self-promotion I guess - unless you make a mess of it!

So how do I keep on top of my reputation? Time... might just take a few minutes each day to post to Twitter; maybe 15 minutes to write a blog entry (like this?); and just a few moments each month to check that my website is still relevant.

It doesn't take much and there really is no excuse for people allowing their reputation to waver!

As for being a friend on Facebook? Again, it might be reputationally damaging for me to be friends with certain people - I don't do too many randoms! Gain my trust first please.

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