"Hey, guys, I'm the most beautiful person in the whole wide universe. Look at my hot body!"
So, yeah... that's kind of a bit extreme... but I'm trying to illustrate a point. If you say something like that, when it's not a joke, you're probably going to sound super egocentric and turn people away. On the other hand, if you just state what something is for what it is...
"Hey, this is me standing near some grass wearing a green dress."
Okay, yeah, that's as dull as dishwater.
Does self-promotion mean selling yourself?
Well, see, this is my point. I don't really have a problem with people sharing, with me, all the things they have done or created. That's just a fact, I've created this... here you can watch it or look at it, if you want to. Then again, if you suddenly turn yourself into a kind of 'car salesman', it's probably not going to go down too well. Maybe, when you have a big fan base.
Is self-promotion narcissistic or vain?
Most people create things because they want someone to get some kind of experience out of it. It's not just me me me, look at what I can do. It's, I'm trying to entertain you or offer you something & it's your choice to take or leave that. In the beginning of creating anything, chances are a bunch of magazines etc won't be queuing up to promote you so you have no choice but to do that yourself.
You have some control over it
It gives you the ability to share what you want to share. No this isn't a bad... let's hide all our secrets thing. A lot of the time with celebrities, it gives them the chance to connect with their fans but still have a life outside of their work that other people don't see. But, yeah, that's not just a celeb issue. I've had photos posted of me, that I really haven't wanted online. No, that's not because I think I'm some mega famous person and my "public image" matters. It's mainly for my own sanity, I know I'll end up obsessively looking at the picture & judging my appearance.
How much do you do it?
I think it can be a bit off-putting when people make 6 or 7 posts promoting the almost-exact same thing on the same social media platform a day. Once you've posting about it once or twice, people have probably got the message and don't need to be told again. Sure, you can bring it up again a couple of months later because your followers will have probably changed around since then.
Is paid promotion a more valid option?
In a way, I tend to have a slightly clearer conscience about the whole thing when I've put some money into it. You've invested money and created a AD campaign, A.K.A you've put something into it so you feel it's slightly more reasonable to expect something out of it. Plus, although ADs can be annoying, they're sometimes entertaining and enjoyable in their own right.
Anyway, those are just a few of my thoughts. I'd really love to hear your opinions too, as always. Even if you just want to compliment my dress :P
* Dress was gifted by SheIn