Introduction

In Chapter 4 we covered how promotions and marketing are a vital part of providing the best service possible to your users. It is not just your organization and services that need promoting: you also need to promote yourself, and for many of the same reasons. This isn't about boasting about how great you are, but about making people aware of your unique skills and expertise, so they can call on them as necessary.

Just as your users won't know how your service can help them unless you specifically tell them, people won't know what you personally have to offer unless you make it obvious. In the workplace, you as a person can inspire trust and reliance in a way that your library or archive as a service can never do. Your users are much more likely to connect with your personal expertise: ‘The information service can do that. I read it on a leaflet’ is a much less powerful message than ‘Bethan can do that. She was talking to me about it last week.’ Your knowledge, expertise and personal skills can be a very valuable asset to your organization.

Personal promotion isn't all about raising your profile, and that might never be a conscious part of your actions. Your ‘brand’ will often grow naturally out of the work you are doing and sharing with the community. As you share your learning, thoughts and insights, professional colleagues will build up a picture of your skills, knowledge and personality. This will help in all aspects of career development – the more people know about what you can do, the more likely they are to ask you to do it.

Think of it as conservation of energy – you are making the most you can out of the activities you do, and allowing others to share in the benefits too. A reputation for professional generosity is an excellent one to have! Making sure that you have a good professional reputation and brand is also good for your employer, as their name will be associated with all the interesting and innovative work you do.

Branding and marketing yourself

It can be difficult to take the first step towards promoting yourself, especially for introverts, who might see it as being pushy, or boasting.