Matthew Peters writes a great article on the paradox of self-promotion with social media that goes on to talk about the World Wide Web as a social creature stating:

This fundamental change in the mechanics of the dissemination of information has engendered, and is further propelled by, the evolution of social media. Entertainment can now be created by anybody and shared with everybody. The relative worth of a news story can now be voted upon by anyone who wishes to participate. It has never been easier to report on the news to assert one’s opinion, or to spark controversy with unparalleled tools of demagoguery.

In discussing the paradox of self-promotion and social media, Peters points out that there are all sorts of social etiquette that bloggers must follow if they want to improve their credibility as well as increase the traffic to their blog(s). For example, some simple rules include things such as not spamming other bloggers, subscribing to other bloggers first and always staying on top your comments (i.e. responding!).

However, the paradox lay in the fact that one of the major rules of social media is “don’t promote yourself.” But isn’t that the whole reason behind why people engage in social networking? Peters goes on to observe:

Social media generally frowns on self-promotion, in many cases admonishing outright those who practice it. But with the sheer numbers of new videos, posts, sites, pictures, and stories appearing each and every day, self-promotion is a necessity for anyone starting out and hoping to gain any sort of foothold.

Solving the Problem in 5 Steps

1. Don’t Be Selfish: If you belong to a social networking site such as Stumbleupon.com, don’t just stumble the blogs that you write. After all, what fun is that for others who are checking out your stumbles? If you see other sites that interest you, stumble them. Share the love, and it will come back to you ten-fold!
2. Limit the Social Sites: There are zillions of social networking sites out there with more popping up every day, it seems. Rather than create a bunch of different accounts that you will never be able to keep up with, focus instead on a few key ones. Remember quality is better than quantity; keep it simple for starters. Besides this, joining too many social networking sites can make you look desperate, thus negatively affecting your credibility.
3. Don’t Overdo it: Thank goodness for filters. Every time I log into my e-mail account, I receive at least a dozen “shouts” from friends on the social networking site called Digg. Now, I don’t even bother to check the “shouts” anymore. Pick and choose what you are going to send other people!
4. Make Friends: Believe it or not, social networking is about making connections with other people, and you may actually make a friend out of it. For example, I came across a profile that I really liked and ended up contacting the woman about it. As it turned out, she had a lot of really helpful advice when it came to blogging. As a result, I regularly correspond with her if I have questions or need advice.
5. Don’t Fake it: One of the most annoying things that I come across are those people who take self-promotion to the extreme. They create numerous fake names and profiles so that they can promote their sites and boost their rankings. In the world of social media, however, much like lying (which is essentially what it is), creating fake profiles will always come back to bite you, so don’t do it!

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