Personal Marketing (Promotion)

Now that we have defined the Product, Place, and Price we can focus on Promotion.

What is Promotion?

A quick look in a dictionary tells us that Promotion is the act of Promoting or to Promote

	Main Entry:	Promote
	Part of Speech:	verb
	Definition:	help, advance
	Synonyms:	advertise, call attention to, endorse, popularize, publicize, recommend.

These are all positive action words or phrases. Promotion is basically getting your message to your customers either through Advertising or through Publicity.

	Advertise :	to call attention to publicly
	Publicity :	to make something known to the public.

What is your Message?

Before we go into the details of Promoting YOU we need to talk about how we’re going to present YOU.

Here’s what we know:

• You have a set of unique marketable skills that differentiates you from other job candidates.
• You  know where (location) and to whom (employer) you want to market your skills.
• You know what price you  want to charge for those skills.
• You have a Vision statement, so you know where you want your career to be in the future.
• You have a Mission statement, so you have a plan on how to get to your vision.
• You did a SWOT analysis
  • You know your Strengths that make you shine more than the competition
  • You know your Weaknesses that make your competition look better
  • You know the Opportunities that are available if you can eliminate or minimize your Weaknesses
  • You know the Threats to your career field

How does knowing all this help me? Before we start Promoting YOU, we need to work on the image you want to present.

In other words, we want to develop your Brand.  A brand is just associating a word or phrase with an image.  We want that image to be smooth and polished.  We might need to smooth off the rough edges and put it in a shiny package.

What is a Brand?

A brand is an image that is associated with something.  When I mention a brand like BMW, Harley Davidson, VW, Jello, Kleenex, Sears, WalMart, or Microsoft your mind probably conjures up an image or idea that you associate with it.  The concept is the same for a Personal Brand.  We want for someone to associate your image and your message when they hear or see your name.

What the difference between these two sentences?

• I’m Bob the Plumber, I fix Plumbing.
• I’m Bob the Plumber, I’m fast, affordable and reliable. No plumbing job is too large. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Both sentences identify the person and what they do.  But one of them sends a powerful message to the customer.  Which one would you choose?

What’s your Brand?

• Your public image – CEO, CPA, Manager, Engineer, Teacher, Support Staff, etc.
• Your message – review the list of what you know, you want to present those positive strengths you have

Where to Promote the product YOU

On the Web - Your web presence is one of those publicity tools that is mostly free, unless you find one that you have to pay for.

• Your web presence – http://www.gravatar.com/ use Gravatar to associate an image (picture) with your email address, this is very useful when commenting on blogs and forums.
• Business Directories – An entry that associates your name with working at different companies
• Social Networks – Virtual connections world-wide,  I’ll name two that I frequently use
  • LinkedIn – Business associates
  • Facebook – Friends, Family, Community
• Forums – Useful comments in forums get you noticed as an expert in the field you comment about.
• http://groups.yahoo.com/
• http://groups.google.com
• Blogs – useful blogs will get you noticed.  Maybe even as an expert in the field you blog about.
• Blog Comments – useful blog comments help build your credibility
• Email signature – Advertises to people who you are and what you stand for

Face to Face Networking - The web isn’t the only place to meet people and build your networks, sometimes good old fashioned Face to Face networking is what is needed.

• Good Handshake – cordial
• Elevator Speech – your 30 second career or business introduction
• Good Inter-personal skills – communication

On Paper (Advertising)

• Resume – What impression does your audience get in 10-15 seconds?  No second chances here.
• Business Cards – Is it professional?  Does it share your vision?

Your Image:

• Voicemail – If it’s not a personal greeting, your message is I can’t operate technology
• Clothes – Appropriate for the setting.
• Vehicle – It doesn’t have to be new, just taken care of
• If you have to apoligize for anything related to your image, consider what message you’re sending to others

Final Thoughts:

• Every time you meet someone for the first time, you make an impression
• Every time you communicate, you make an impression
• What impressions are you making?
• Be Consistant in your message and the image you’re presenting to others
• You might not get that second chance

I hope you have enjoyed this little series on Personal Marketing.  I tried to keep it brief but entertaining.  In case you were wondering, I do teach Personal Marketing Workshops in small group environments.  Please feel free to Contact Me to leave comments or suggestions.

Related posts:

1. Personal Marketing Strategies Seminar
2. Personal Marketing (Product)
3. Personal Brand Strategy
4. Personal Marketing (Introduction)
5. Personal Marketing (Place)