Whether you’re an art director, web designer, graphic artist or 3D animator, promoting and branding yourself on the web is one of the most integral and important means to success.
But this doesn’t mean just starting a Twitter account, whipping together a quick website and thinking you’re all done and branded, promoting yourself is an on-going process. Don’t expect to see results straight away either. Think of it like any brand, status and customer loyalty aren’t created over-night, they’re developed over long periods of time, through strategic communication.
1. Asses & Plan Your Goals
If you already have an online identity, like a website, Instagram profile or a Behance account, re-assess where you are it with these. Do you use them on a regular basis? Could you be more active in your social on-line activity? These are the types of questions you need to ask yourself if you really want to make an impact.Another tip is to make sure you are consistent across all your online social platforms. Branding is all about consistency, so if your website uses a certain colour scheme or theme, ensure your other online communications follow a similar path. This may seem trivial, but things like your profile picture, cover-photo or background, are all things that communicate about you. So make sure you are consistent in your online image.
Next, look at your goals. How do you want to be perceived? Are you the black t-shirt, black glasses, black hair, black…..you get the point, type designer? Or are you the flamboyant colourful, full of personality type.
Think of your favorite brand and instantly a few words or connotations will come to mind. This is because those brands have carefully and strategically spent years trying to make you link their brand with those qualities. Try to treat yourself the same way, what kind of qualities do you want to be associated with?
Like it or not, people will instantly make judgement of you, the moment they lay eyes on your website, folio, or social media account, and this is out of your control. But what you can do, is influence these judgments, through carefully assessing and branding yourself. And remember, as the American political campaigner, Lee Atwater once said “Perception is reality”.
This doesn’t mean trying to push yourself as something you’re not, it simply means emphasizing and selling what you already are.
2. Get Social & Get involved
This is really important – perhaps the most important part of promoting yourself as a designer. Being actively involved in design communities will help spread your reputation and ultimately let more people know about you.This doesn’t mean going on social networking sites and trying to sell yourself though. Try to get involved in online social activities related to your field. Comment on blogs, share your thoughts on twitter, participate in discussions, be active on design communities like Behance or Dribbble. Try to be as active as possible in as much online social activity as possible.
Another tip is to be helpful when you are commenting or posting. Look for people that need help with something you know about and offer your assistance. There can be nothing negative with helping people.
3. Ask For Help
Probably one of the most over-looked and under-estimated parts of promoting yourself. Asking people for help is a long forgotten tradition in today’s fast-paced environment. I have read a lot of online content about self-branding with tips here and advice there, but not one of them mentions asking people or brands or companies for help. I find this a little disappointing to be honest.So you have created some awesome work, it’s on Behance, your website and maybe Dribble or Instagram, but you’re not getting the kind of exposure you would like. Start emailing design blogs and website asking to feature your work. If that doesn’t work, offer something back in exchange. For example, if you’re a web designer, offer them a free set of icons or a UI kit in exchange for a promotional article or interview.
4. Make Friends With Other Designers
Start making friends with other designers and get involved in community discussions. This can either be locally or internationally. Not only is this good for your reputation and promotion, as they might pass work on to you when they’re too busy, but it’s also just a great way to network. Plus who doesn’t like friends?5. Stay in Regular Contact With Industry Connections
If you have worked with people in the past, in a company or as a freelancer, try to stay in regular contact. A lot of companies often outsource bits and pieces of projects and you never know when you might get work thrown your way.This doesn’t mean simply adding a comment here or there on Facebook or Twitter, make sure you’re making a real effort. If they’re not local contacts, you can always use Skype to keep in touch more regularly.
6. Work on Your Portfolio Like Crazy
Finally, and this probably seems like a no-brainer, work as much as you can and as hard as you can on your portfolio. Ultimately, if you’re doing everything else right, but your portfolio isn’t any good, you won’t get the results you’re after. Make sure you update your folio regularly.If your company doesn’t let you publish your work due to contractual or privacy issues, simply start creating your own hypothetical work. If you find this difficult, or mundane, try writing yourself specific briefs and make sure they’re challenging. This will ensure you produce quality work with a real sense of functionality.
What ways do you promote yourself online as a designer? Have you tried requesting featurettes on popular design blogs? Let us know in the comments section below.
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