13 Self-Marketing Ideas For a “New You” in the New Year

The ever-changing and evolving self-marketing best practices arena continues to change at the speed of light. New platforms, media, apps, sites, and ideas emerge daily and are coming and going at a rapid pace.

Being and staying informed but not getting sidetracked or distracted from your plan can be challenging. There should be a mix of new ideas and the tried and true practices when self-marketing.  Finding the best and right mix and blend for you is always the best approach to personal branding as well as business branding.

Marketing Charts reports these top 10 multi-platform social networking websites are clearly blending more with traditional methods of brand interaction, with no surprise Facebook leading the charge at 45 percent:

“There continues to be a strong tilt in adoption towards younger age groups, but the gap has closed over the years. This year, 90 percent of adults aged 18-29 are social media users, up from 78 percent in 2010. Not far behind, some 78 percent of 30-49-year-olds count as social media users, with that figure up from 53 percent in 2010.”

There is clear evidence that we are still watching TV, reading magazines and newspapers (more online) and listening to the radio. Add to that, the parallel world of content marketing with blogs, podcasts, e-marketing, mobile, text and social media platforms and we can and do get overwhelmed with all the choices.

You Have to Figure Out

• The marketing vehicles that are best for you and your customers.
• A clear brand and marketing message about you, what you offer, why you.
• Being consistent, looking professional and staying fresh.

Marketing yourself and your business is the most important aspect of your business plan and can greatly impact your success or failure. More focus on your brand authenticity, engagement and transparency is, however, more important to consumers and will continue to be. If you commit to being and proving you’re honest, you will have the best chance of earning consumer trust – and you will be rewarded.

As we all try to cut through the clutter, choices and options, below are self-marketing ideas and suggestions for the new year.

Self-Marketing Ideas

1. A clean, current, engaging, easy to navigate website.

2. A WordPress blog where you can share your expertise and the expertise of others you admire.

3. A fully developed professional, active LinkedIn Profile, with recommendations.

4. A Facebook page that you use strategically, respectfully and carefully.

5. Smart use of Twitter for branding yourself and others.

6. Podcasting that features quality content from yourself and features others.

7. Email marketing campaign to regularly engage your permission based A list.

8. Joining a local chamber and professional organizations.

9. Going to key conferences to meet strategic people, in person, in your industry.

10. Going to seminars and workshops to enhance your professional advancement and knowledge.

11. Brand refresh and update to keep yourself visually  current and relevant.

12. Smart, strategic partnerships and alliances that add value and reach.

13. Give back, pay forward, selected pro-bono work to help and serve others.

Conclusion

If you want to be taken seriously, then you have to be and act serious about adapting and adopting both the tried and true and the newest best self-marketing practices of the moment.

Get some help, hire a consultant, take a class, invest in your own professional education. This is not an expense, it is an investment in yourself and your business.

Are you ready to make a serious stand with your brand?

New you Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "13 Self-Marketing Ideas For a “New You” in the New Year" was first published on Small Business Trends