When you're running a business in this very digital world that we now live in, it's important to be seen and heard among all the millions of other people you are now competing with for the attention of your audience.
So, why is this so important and what are the benefits to you personally and professionally?
Well firstly, it helps you to amplify your brand – be that your personal brand or your business brand. The reason why you see the same people over and over again online is because they have implemented a very strategic process to share themselves, their points of view, their knowledge and their skills online, in the print media, at networking meetings or other events.
They make a point of being where they need to be to get in front of their audience, potential employers and their business leaders. They make a consistent effort everyday to be visible.
Not everyone will see every post or communication you put out, so in order to ensure you catch as many people as possible, you need to post…a lot!
The Benefits of Investing in Your Visibility
Developing your visibility is an investment in your long term success. It’s helping you to achieve your ambitions and open up new opportunities. So ultimately, if you see it as an investment, then you will benefit from it in these ways:
You’ll develop the confidence, determination and motivation to achieve your goals – so, as I said, you’ll start to get more connections, more feedback, more interaction because more people are noticing what you’re doing. This will give you the confidence, determination and motivation to keep being visible.
It helps you to create stronger relationships and extends the reach of your network – everything is about relationships. Connecting and building relationships with like-minded people who you can collaborate and work with will help to build your profile and reputation.
It helps you to build your influence within your industry and with your peers – so, the more you share your experience and your knowledge, the more you build your credibility and reputation for being an influence within your industry or your profession. Talk about the things you’re passionate about and how you would make a change. Create an emotional connection with your audience and you’ll see that more and more of them will interact with you.
It increases your effectiveness as a leader and gives you more authority as a decision maker – so again, when you really believe in what you do and how you can make a difference, when you have the confidence to break through that glass ceiling so that you can implement those changes, you’re authority and leadership will definitely be amplified. Think about Greta Thunberg – how has this young girl managed to become such an influence and leader in climate change? She’s had the confidence and the conviction at 17 years old, to stand up for what she believes in so that she can make a change in the world we live in – so much so that her voice and opinion is being sought out by the media. In a short space of time, by being so bold, she’s reached a level of visibility that has a platform to be a leader and an authority.
It increases your personal value, so your income, credibility and reputation – ultimately, the more visible you become, the more you can show your confidence, your authority and your leadership the more credible your reputation becomes and the more income you can command.
The Challenges with Visibility
So, we’ve looked at how by being more visible is going to benefit you, but we also need to understand what may stand in our way and stop us being visible and how to overcome those challenges:
So, the first challenge is that it requires you to step out of your comfort zone – everything new we do requires us to do that, some things we embrace easily and others can make us paralyzed with fear. I want you to consider the impact of what will happen if you don’t make yourself visible, Will you potentially miss out on opportunities to work with or for a business because they think you’re not confident or don’t have the experience they need? Being more visible, like anything else is just like learning a new skill, the more you do it, the better you’ll get.
The next challenge is that you need to make a consistent effort to make an impact – consistency is a word we hear a lot. The main reasons you would not be able to make a consistent effort are usually time, money and just overall confidence in yourself. The best advice I can give is to get support as much as you can. Maybe think about a skill share, look at different tools that can help you manage your time and just plan each day and try to stick to it so that you can stay focused.
The next challenge that most people suffer with, especially if you are an introvert is that you'll feel more exposed and maybe a bit like an imposter by comparing yourself to others – this is the big one in the room for most people, but the thing is, you’re not them and you never will be, so comparing yourself to others does nothing for you. Instead, try to use it to motivate yourself to do better. Focus on how you can do better for yourself and create your own path to success. Your journey is as unique to you and theirs is to them. So, learn what makes you stand out. You are the only USP you have, so just do you and don’t worry about anyone else. Just get over that first hurdle and you'll see that there was nothing for you to worry about in the first place.
Takes time to develop your reputation and authority – yes it does. Every successful person will tell you that. No-one no matter what it may look like, becomes an overnight success. Sometimes, you just need to find the formula that works for you, that you feel good about and can take ownership of that will help you to start to see a difference in your efforts, it may take a little while to find it, but stay motivated, determined and focused on your goal and you will.
Your three visibility take-aways:
Be confident and motivated to share the amazing person you are...
Be consistent in your efforts to build your reputation and credibility with your audience...
Focus on yourself and not on others, find your USP and work to your own strengths.
Need help with developing a plan for increasing your personal or business brand visibility? Book a free brand strategy call with me to find out how I can help you achieve your goal.