Several years ago, I expressed interest in joining a Board of Directors for a major professional organization. I had been volunteering for this organization for a number of years, had risen through some ranks of leadership, and honestly felt I had earned the right to be on this Board. After all, I had the talent, skill sets, experience, and passion to be a productive member of this Board – I’d be a great member of the team! It seemed like a slam dunk, yet when the slate of nominees was announced, my name wasn’t on the list. Disappointed, I sat down with the Chairperson of the Board at a conference a few months later to see if there was something holding me back. Was it experience? Nope. Was it talent or passion or dedication to the organization? Certainly not. The reason: no one knew who I was. 

According to her, I had absolutely earned the right to be on this Board of Directors, but the people on the nominating committee didn’t have a clear picture of my accomplishments and achievements. A few of them knew my name, but that was it. The Board Chairperson told me “you need to promote yourself so people will know how great you are!” So, with her help and motivation, I was able to meet some key people, and I began sharing what I had achieved in the past, and was able to talk about my passion for the organization and my desire to be an even bigger part of it. It worked! I joined the Board of Directors two years later, and I’m still heavily involved with that organization.

In Personal Branding 101, we found out who we are. In Personal Branding 201, we determined our roadmap to help us reach our goals and dreams. Personal Branding 301 is all about promoting yourself efficiently and effectively so you create an aura of success around you, something that lets people know who you are, what you’ve accomplished in life, and how your past successes have earned you the right to achieve even greater success in the future.

Self-promotion can be challenging. We all want to feel proud of our accomplishments, and we want to share that pride with our friends and family. But when it comes to sharing that pride publicly, it is important to walk that fine line between humble self-promotion and excessive bragging. 

With a few simple techniques, we can all promote ourselves in a way that shares our strengths and achievements without sounding like “one of those people” we all know.

Create your online persona
We all have one or more online accounts in various social media and professional sites. Your online persona should be consistent from site to site so people have a clear, consistent idea of who you are. Sure, it’s okay to show your fun side – employers and organizations hire people with personalities as well as talent. But be careful – not everyone wants to see the exact location of your latest tattoo, and it’s not always best practice to talk about how “crazy” last night was.

Network
Don’t rely on the internet alone to get you a job. Get involved in organizations and activities where you can be seen, meet new contacts, and develop relationships. These relationships will provide you with opportunities to promote your personal brand, so use them to their fullest advantage.

Let someone else do the bragging for you
We’ve all seen postings on social media sites where someone has congratulated a friend or colleague for an achievement, a promotion, or an award. You’ve probably congratulated someone yourself, so you know how it’s done. And those people are now positioned to congratulate you in return. Use your network to gain the endorsements and testimonials that promote your accomplishments and achievements.

Whether you’re seeking a new job, a promotion at your current job, or a volunteer role for an organization, promotion is key. Follow these steps, and you’ll have a strong personal brand that people and companies know about and want to do business with.

Ric Sweeney is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati and a faculty fellow and Renaissance brother with the Ohio Theta Residential Learning Community. He can be reached at ric.sweeney@uc.edu