5 ways to promote yourself like the celebs
While some celebrities prefer to keep their lives private (you don’t see paparazzi pics of Daniel Day-Lewis now, do you?), many others have perfected the art of self-promotion, taking social media and the “humble brag” to new heights. Some are so good at it, companies have started paying for social media product placement.
The question is, what’s wrong with that? Celebrating your accomplishments can have a positive effect on you, boosting your self-esteem and even helping you get ahead at work. If done well, celeb promotional strategies can become a powerful branding tool, helping you land the job of your dreams.
Here are some self-promotion tips from the stars.
Know your audience
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest; each platform brings a different audience, and sharing the same message across all of them is a bad strategy. Rihanna is a good example of someone that tailors her message to varied audiences. On her Instagram account, the highly fashionable singer shares glamourous shots from her red carpet appearances and designer ad campaigns. On Snapchat, though, the singer is more down to earth, posting small clips that deliver a honest image of herself.
“Snapchat is by far the rawest platform – it’s not styled at all,” Tania Yuki, founder and CEO of Shareablee (which analyses the effectiveness of social media campaigns), told the Wall Street Journal. “Snapchat is a friend sending you something.”
By knowing your platforms, you can tailor your message in a more focused manner. On LinkedIn, professional formality is king, but on Facebook or Twitter you have more freedom to be creative. In the end, it’s not much different from real life. At work, you’re expected to be professional and formal, but you can be much more casual and loose with friends.
Don’t disappear
Celebrities who have seen success on social media tend to post a lot and often. Since joining Instagram in 2012, Kim Kardashian West has posted 3,924 Instagram photos (as of this writing). That’s nearly two posts per day.
“It’s just like a normal relationship. You can’t disappear and expect that same warm fuzzy feeling within those relationships,” president of Kashfia Media Hasti Kashfia said in the same WSJ article posted above.
The same way you can’t disappear from a relationship, you need to be consistent in sharing and promoting yourself online. You may be sharing incredible content, but if it only happens every once in a blue moon, you’ll have trouble building an audience. If you’re producing something creative, it also gives the impression that your output is sporadic, at best.
Remember that if content is king, consistency is definitely queen.
Be social
It’s right there in the name: social media. Getting followers is one thing, but once you have them, you have to maintain that relationship. Taylor Swift, for example, does a fantastic job of interacting with her fans on social media, liking and commenting on her fans’ posts. She does this so much, there is an Instagram account documenting her interactions with fans called @taylornoticed.
Maintaining a connection with followers fosters two-way communication and makes your supporters like you even more. Keep an eye out for people mentioning your work, and retweet or reshare it with a thanks, and even a quip about the great work that they’re doing. Think of it like someone complimenting your work in a meeting. If that happened, you’d say thank you, wouldn’t you?
Don’t go overboard
While celebrities do use social media as a way to promote their movies, music, shows and other projects, it’s important to not be overly promotional. People don’t want to feel like they’re constantly being sold something – they want something out of the interaction.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson uses social media to promote his movies and other projects, but also to share personal stories and photos. He has, for example, shared video clips of his workouts; photos of his massive cheat meals; and stories about his family and heritage – all of which give followers an insight into his life.
Similarly, don’t limit yourself to sharing projects you’ve been working on. Many brands use the 3:1 rule: three personal, non-promotional posts for every one promotional post shared. Pushing your accomplishments down people’s throats on social media, and in real life, will turn people off and will turn the work you are doing into white noise.
Lose the humility
Modesty is not the way to success when it comes to self-promotion. You’d never see Kendall Jenner be self-deprecating online. Instead, she seizes every opportunity to talk herself up on her social media accounts.
Equally, if you downplay your own accomplishments, or talk negatively about yourself, others will follow suit. Instead, speak with energy and enthusiasm for what you do and what you’ve created, and people will see your passion and respond to it with positivity.
Tell a story
Listing your high points and triumphs can sound tedious and bragging, like a spoken-word resume. Instead, take a cue from Beyoncé and learn how to craft a narrative out of your work. Beyoncé’s strategy for promoting her last two albums is incredibly different from traditional music-industry practices: she barely promoted. Instead, she drops surprise albums that tell a story through music and visuals. If you’re able to talk about the work that you’ve done in an interesting story, people will be more likely to remember it, and when it comes to self-promotion, that’s the most important thing.