There are two camps in my world. Those who wrap their ever loving arms around any kind of media (social or traditional) that they can get, and those who would rather stick pins in their eyes than chase the media train. Approaches to self-promotion are guided to some degree by your personal disposition (introverts vs. extroverts), your upbringing, and your industry or type of business (scammers usually try to keep a low profile). I think the thing that really turns people off of self-promotion though is their perception of the term itself.Watch the eyes roll, the stance become defensive and their receptiveness end when you mention networking, social media, press releases, media interviews. They equate engaging in that activity to being a self-absorbed blowhard, and with good reason. There's a lot of it out there.

It doesn't have to be that way. In fact, if you don't engage in some form of self-promotion you are doing yourself and your company a huge disservice. As in all things PR, you have to approach your promotional messaging with these two factors at the forefront:

1. Your own genuine and authentic style
2. How your news impacts or interests other people

The first factor is relatively straightforward. Don't put on a big act and try to be something you're not. People can sense fakery which makes them uncomfortable and less willing to trust you. Don't pose and posture as a guru or a god. People engage with those who are human, just like them.

The second factor requires that you take the "you view". Just won a big contract to supply China's main utility company with fibreoptics? Yay for you...and yay for other tech companies in your region who are looking to crack that market. In your press release announcing the deal, why not mention one or two tips to partnering with Chinese companies? Did your company win an award for superior customer service? Excellent, now why not tweet a big thanks to your customers? Have you just hit 50 million in revenue (one can hope)? Awesome, to celebrate why not put together a case study (report) of how you did it and how other businesses can do the same? Contact media (online and off) and let them know that you have made this report available, giving them a few of the highlights?

Recognize that people do want to hear your good news. They don't want to hear boasting ("Just signed 6 new contracts - go me!"), they don't want to hear the minutiae of your corporate life simply for the sake of attention and keyword stuffing ("Tim Horton's donuts were great at Fools Inc. meeting to discuss FoolishWidget3, the fastest way to lose weight, get an erection, and make use of online pharmaceuticals ").

People want to hear about success. They want to hear that hard work, passion, and commitment to the goal will win out. They want hope and you can give it to them.