What’s the deal with peer recognition?

One resource I found via search writes, “Providing a platform for employees to recognize each other is a great way to encourage a positive atmosphere while fostering collaboration and teamwork.”

Good stuff, but not exactly about marketing yourself, which is the topic of this post. 

I also found this atop a search on the topic…

Peer-to-peer recognition is the expression of appreciation exchanged between co-workers. Many employee recognition programs give managers the responsibility to recognize employees.

More good stuff, but we’re not going to talk about employee recognition programs either.

Next, I wondered about “social recognition” because it’s a big part of what I actually do want to talk about because it relates to my book. I found this:

“Social recognition points to the status and esteem (feel good factor) that individuals, organizations or sectors receive as a consequence of displaying certain characteristics, reaching certain achievements or engaging in certain activities. It might also extend to material rewards, such as higher incomes.”

Now we’re talking.

R is for Recognizing Others

In our book The Road to Recognition—The A-to-Z Guide to Personal Branding for Accelerating Your Professional Success in The Age of Digital Media, Seth Price and I include a chapter titled, “R is for Recognizing Others.” It goes something like this (edited for context):

Share the spotlight. You won’t achieve your goals on your own. Privately and publicly, recognize the contributions of every person who’s played a part in your brand development.

The Road to Recognition features many cool ideas from influential marketers, like this one,
and some stunning graphics. 

You can’t do it alone (that is, earning recognition). And you won’t succeed if you focus only on yourself. You need to understand—and recognize—the value other people bring to your career and life.

Who are they? They’re the people who inspire you—those whose content you learn from and reach out to for advice. They’re also the people you inspire—those who learn from your content and turn to you for advice.

Get in the habit of recognizing friends and colleagues and your efforts won’t go unnoticed. Recognition tends to be reciprocal.

Elevating your brand

In his book, Launch, author Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner, offers what he calls “The Elevation Principle.”

Great content + other people – marketing messages = growth.

Stelzner says great content, such as how-to articles and success stories, is the fuel of your brand. Other people refers to knowledgeable experts you can bring to your community—speakers, authors, and influential bloggers.

You’ve probably noticed, I’m using multiple experts to deliver this lesson. I usually do and you’ll find The Road to Recognition is crammed full of insights from experts. Collaborating on content is a very powerful way to recognize your influencers, peers, friends, and followers.

Make every day Thanksgiving

Gratitude is a powerful message. As you develop your personal brand, you’re going to have plenty of reasons to be thankful to your connected network of friends. You may find yourself getting:

• New followers on social media
• Social shares
• Comments from readers
• Positive reviews and endorsements
• Write-ups in blogs and publications
• Mentions in speeches, webinars, and presentations
• Inclusions in roundups
• Invitations to be interviewed
• Business referrals

Reciprocate

Recognize the people who went out of their way to recognize you. Let them know you appreciate them in the following ways:

• Share their content.
• Contribute comments to their blogs and social media streams.
• Endorse them on LinkedIn.
• Write recommendations for them on LinkedIn or testimonials for their websites.
• Send thank you notes or modest gifts via snail mail.
• Write reviews of their books or other written and recorded content they have published.
• Introduce them to editors, collaborators, event coordinators, etc.
• Refer them to appropriate prospects.
• Offer to contribute to their blogs, podcasts, or other content types.
• Invite them to collaborate with you on content. 
Small or big, online or off, however you recognize the people who have played some part in fueling the development of your personal brand, it is a meaningful gesture that won’t go unnoticed. The important thing is simply to do it. 
Be thankful. Be genuine. Find ways to show your appreciation daily.

Thanks, Andy…

Andy Crestodina, my friend the strategic director of Orbit Media, and co-host of my podcast, was a big help with this chapter thanks to his crazy cool post, 15 Ways to Say Thank You to Your Network. Thank you Andy, for those words of wisdom—and all you do.

Thank you too, to everybody who contributed to The Road to Recognition. It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon. Buy one copy for yourself and additional copies for everyone you know who deserves some love, er, appreciation… no…

Recognition.

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