Promotion by Others through Social Networks

Although self-promotion may be the most direct way people self-present, it carries social costs. We propose a novel phenomenon-promotion by others-wherein social networks may afford similar advantages with fewer costs. We utilized egocentric network analysis to examine relationships between social connections and perceived promoter potential (i.e., likelihood a friend will tell others about successes; PPP) and relationship dynamics. Participants enumerated friends and reported perceptions these friends would promote them, were valuable, and the extent to which they wanted these friends to know about successes. PPP was positively related to (a) network connectedness, (b) relational value, and (c) desire to know about success. We discuss benefits of promotion by others and individual differences related to engagement in this process.