The Delicate Art of Self-Promotion: A #BufferChat Recap
This week on #bufferchat our community discussed the delicate art of self-promotion, chatting about the balance between being humble and being able to share your accomplishments. Read on to discover all of the awesome insights shared during the chat!
Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join whichever chat time works best for you!
4 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
9 am PT (San Francisco time)
This week’s stats:
Bufferchat #1 (4 pm AEDT): 20 participants; reach of 1,042,572
Bufferchat #2 (9 am PT): 64 participants; reach of 1,117,530
Q1: Do you feel comfortable talking about yourself or your work?
From the community:
A1. It can be tricky sometimes but it challenges your boundaries, and I love that. #bufferchat
— Cristina Imre (@Cristina_Imre) March 7, 2018
A1. I can talk about my work for hours, but when it comes to questions like “tell me about yourself”, I suddenly suffer from an existential crisis ?♀️#bufferchat
— Pritama Sarkar? (@am_titli) March 7, 2018
A1: Generally yes, but as an introvert, it definitely varies day by day, and also with comfort level of who I’m talking to. Making internal scripts for myself before attending a meetup or other networking can help #bufferchat
— alex t (@caffodian) March 7, 2018
A1: not completely – but #bufferchat has helped me SO much in doing so. Before, I felt like I was too young/inexperienced to have valid opinions, but I’m slowly being able to share my professional experience more confidently!
— Lauren Blake (@_lblake) March 7, 2018
See all the great answers to question 1 here!
Q2: Do you think being able to convey your accomplishments is an important skill?
From the community:
A2: 100%. Being able to showcase your accomplishments not only helps establish your credibility, but helps you get excited about your passion in front of your client. That excitement can be infectious! If you don’t care about your wins, how can anyone else? #bufferchat
— ❏ Hire Noah! (@hirenoah) March 7, 2018
A2 Absolutely. Finding a concise + appropriately-braggy (not too over the top, but not downplaying) to talk about what you’ve done is SO important…. especially in job hunting, networking, or in the first few conversations with potential new clients/business partners #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/ET1zKH5A1B
— WTF ? Katie (@WeirdTrvlFriend) March 7, 2018
A2: Yes, yes, yes. This is why it’s something I’m working on! You have to have your own back and promote yourself. I think sometimes people (esp. women) feel “bad” or like they’re boasting, but I think it’s a very important skill. #bufferchat
— Jessie (@JessieDeschane) March 7, 2018
A2: I think mastering that fine line between self-confidence and humility is key. I think I see too often that people underestimate their accomplishments. #bufferchat
— Lana Park (@lanaparkart) March 7, 2018
See all the great answers to question 2 here!
Q3: How do you maintain a balance of being a “no-ego doer” while still communicating your value?
From the community:
A3: I live by one of @StephenRCovey’s 7 habits which is, ‘Seek first to understand, then to be understood.’ By listening to what others have to say, it can both lead to self-improvement (for you to tailor-fit your actions with their inputs) and better communication. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/t2m1cfCZDC
— Mogul Tech International (@MogulTechInt) March 7, 2018
A3: The focus has to be on value, imho. Value to your customer/clients, value to your team and work culture, value even to society at large. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/WUIRmLwhEz
— Pippa ? (@PippaRogers82) March 7, 2018
A3 It’s important to find a balance between being arrogant and confident. You want to get your work + projects done + maintain good working relationships w/people + across teams. You want to be someone people *want to work with*, not someone people have to work with. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/JwPl3vLB9s
— Nancy Casanova (@nancycasanova) March 7, 2018
A3: #bufferchat
? Make sure your self-promotion is relevant to what is being discussed.
? Stay humble and don’t go off on a brag-a-thon
? Remember to ask others about their story and their achievements and celebrate them too
— Suze Cooper ✨ (@minicoopersmum) March 7, 2018
See all the great answers to question 3 here!
Q4: Are there ways to be a team player while also taking credit for work that you’ve done?
From the community:
A4 I used to host a monthly team video huddle in which everyone shared 1 success and 1 thing learned or new discovery. Was a great way to stay connected and give everyone a chance to shine #bufferchat
— Warwick Brown (@warwickabrown) March 7, 2018
A4. Yep! Lead the shout out with your part of the achievement, and then offer praise and shout out to the other key players whilst outlining their role and success too. ? #BufferChat pic.twitter.com/GXkHEFfkrN
— Lisa Boyles ??? #SOCIALWOLFPACK ? (@lisaboylesmedia) March 7, 2018
A4: Acknowledging the folks who made your work possible lets you do both. “Rachel took a design pass at the graphs I made for the final presentation. Thank you Rebecca for synthesizing the user interviews I used for my recommendations.” #bufferchat
— Kelly Gancas (@kellygancas) March 7, 2018
A4: yeah! Being a team player is an accomplishment in itself! Celebrating wins and pushing others towards success. Who won’t praise a person like that? #bufferchat
— Sharné McDonald (@Sharne_Artist) March 7, 2018
See all the great answers to question 4 here!
Q5: What are some good opportunities or situations to share your accomplishments?
From the community:
A5: Monthly meetings and performance reviews are a great time to share! When showing your work is solicited you come off very differently than bursting into someone’s office and bellowing about how well you did. #BufferChat pic.twitter.com/soLumvcusn
— Minnanic Digital Solutions (@MinnanicDigital) March 7, 2018
A5. Performance review, new projects, & promotion opps. However, don’t wait on that. Talk about them when they genuinely fit into the convo. Already talking about a project with your manager? Say I was glad to see that my hashtag worked well with the campaign #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/d7SL382G4B
— D Johnson Lindsay (@djohnsonlindsay) March 7, 2018
A5: Adding context to why you are in a room/meeting is a good time to drop some “good for me” stuff. Obviously @LinkedIn and the likes. I think the better question is when NOT to. Like asking questions on a mic at an event, trolling on twitter, or ever in an elevator #BufferChat pic.twitter.com/lRNepMvUnI
— JT White (@Receptiv_JT) March 7, 2018
A5. A blog/digital portfolio is a great way to highlight your achievements as it allows you to really add your personality & TOV while giving somewhere you can direct people to on social. In fact mine is due a wee update ?. #BufferChat https://t.co/0ktT7pylRW
— Miss Sophie (@letsdostuffs) March 7, 2018
See all the great answers to question 5 here!
Q6: Are there any accomplishments or projects you would like to share with us?
From the community:
A6: I demoed the website I made for my first freelance web development client and got really positive feedback!
I feel a lot more confident in my programming abilities now ?#bufferchat
— Dera Luce (@DeraLuce) March 7, 2018
A6 I co manage the worlds largest Welsh language Twitter chat.
Potential weekly reach of 9M Twitter timelines #bufferchat
— Dewi Eirig Jones ??????? (@DewiEirig) March 7, 2018
A6: I actually fixed my noisy toilet without calling a plumber or making it worse. #goals #bufferchat
— Terry Schilling (@tschill86) March 7, 2018
A6: I would like to share my campaign in social media (Twitter, Facebook), the very first time the campaign reached higher and I got appreciation from my co-workers.? #bufferchat
— Veeraeswari (@VeeraeswariS) March 7, 2018
See all the great answers to question 6 here!
Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!
Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!