Why building internal visibility matters

When it comes to your achievements, sometimes you need to become your own marketer.

If you're like many marketers, promoting yourself likely doesn't come naturally. You'd rather let your work speak for itself, avoiding the spotlight that vocal colleagues seem to enjoy. While focusing on great work is admirable, lacking internal visibility can limit your career advancement. I've coached many marketers who get passed over for promotions or see more vocal peers land plum assignments, even when their talents are on par or beyond. Have you ever had colleagues who said to you "I don't understand why they didn't give you this promotion, you're far more talented that James!". 

The undercurrent typically sounds like: "If I just keep my head down and work hard, my contributions will get noticed. I don't want to seem arrogant." But organisations do move fast and leadership has a lot on their plates. Unless you showcase your efforts, the higher-ups making key decisions around promotions and special projects often won't see the full breadth of your talents. Great work gets lost without amplification. Just like a really great brand needs awareness push in order to get noticed in a sea of more vocal brands. You guys, of any groups, understand share of voice, investing in media, and building strong awareness. We need to apply the same approach to ourselves in the office. 

It's not easy to accept that cultural thing of celebrating your accomplishments, because to many of us, it really feels icky, self-serving. But hear me out: tactfully highlighting your work is not arrogance - it's essential communication so others understand your value. Think about that share of voice bit. Done right, it builds not just your personal brand but furthers the success of your department. Here are some starter steps for marketers who'd rather lead quietly yet still want their talents to open career doors:

Share your knowledge

Speak up in meetings to provide expertise and knowledge around campaign metrics, consumer research insights, or industry trends versus always letting others dominate the conversation. Managers notice those who actively participate. Become the person they turn to for key marketing perspectives.

Volunteer for higher profile projects 

Don't automatically let the flashier stuff become the possession of those waiving their hands in the air. When the leadership team asks for project leads, confidently express your interest. Waive your hand. That's it. Proactively pitch yourself for projects that get facetime with these guys - the executives. Say yes to the presentations that make you a bit nervous. Use it as a growth opportunity to expand your visibility. It won't be fake if you put your hand up in these circumstances and you can see a way to stretch yourself too, provide value and bring a topic you really are passionate about to fruition. Mix the visibility bit that you're not fully comfortable with yet, with an aspect that you genuinely are attracted to in this project. 

Take your manager through your thoughts.

Make sure your manager understands the thought process behind your campaigns. Share the meaningful research nuggets and creative concepts that inform your work. For every 1:1 you are about to have with them, ask yourself "what's a new piece of nugget I have that I can share and will probably get them excited, or interested" (doesn't have to be positive nuggets, can be the result of an analysis of a poor performance of a range - but learning is exciting. They'll love the conclusions and insights you draw from your analysis). Ask smart questions that showcase strategic thinking versus just task execution. Set meetings to update them on key data analytics and customer feedback that provides market insights. Insights are absolutely gold. Position yourself as an advisor who keeps a thoughtful pulse on marketing outcomes.

Amplify / share your achievements
Did a campaign you led move the needle in terms of sales or landed some really good press coverage? Make sure leadership knows. I know you won't send 50 emails a week about what you do. You'll know what to pick to send around, a valuable piece that's useful for them to know, forward to their customers, their leaders etc. Send a quick recap email to your senior leaders highlighting your effort’s success and key statistics. Ask if they’d be open to hearing more about your process and results at an upcoming check-in. Capture the proof points that convey your personal impact.

Connect your brand campaigns to the goals of the company
Leadership cares most about company priorities - not marketing tactics for their own sake. When recapping your projects, always tie outcomes back to the bigger company goals your work improved, like additional revenue, increased market share, customer retention lifted, talent recruited. Show how you not only care about your brand / marketing department's targets, but also the company's. In your advertising, you speak the consumers' language? In the boardroom, you gotta speak the C-suite language around growth and innovation.

The takeaway?

You don't need to morph into a extrovert vocal self-promoter if you're not that. Carefully showcasing your talents, results, strategically highlighting your knowledge, and tying your work to big picture goals will ensure you don't get lost in the promotion thoughts, the employee shuffle.

When it comes to your achievements, sometimes you need to become your own marketer.