I hope that in 50 years I can look back and say I made my most fervent efforts to provide visibility for the unseen. – Paloma Elsesser
Are you someone that has to think twice before going on live video or posting a photo of yourself on Facebook?
If you say yes to this – you are SO not alone!
Being “visible” in the online sphere or in real life is a real challenge to many – myself included. So many of us have an inner dialogue that tells us to keep small, don’t rock the boat and stay quiet. It’s not necessarily a voice that we consciously recognise either, but it is there nonetheless. A loop of negativity that plays constantly in the back of the mind of men and women alike.
Keep small, don’t rock the boat, stay quiet……
For the curious, identifying when and how that voice got started is a fascinating exercise. Who told you that your opinion didn’t matter in the past? Who told you to keep quiet and keep your head down and to mind your own business? Who told you that your voice didn’t matter and that no-one would want to see you, let alone get to know you?
When you take the time to unravel the false stories and beliefs that you carry with you, you free up headspace to create new beliefs. Those which enable you to find the courage to show your face to the world, to speak your truth despite opposition and to simply become visible when you feel that others would prefer you to remain hidden.
Interestingly, the period of Lockdown that the world has recently experienced has shone a spotlight on the subject of visibility. The inability to network and interact with people face to face has forced people to make a choice. They could either hunker down in their homes and become invisible to the wider community, or choose to master technology and pro-actively share their faces and voices with the world.
Which choice did you make?
As an introvert in real life, I confess that I find the concept of being visible a challenge. However I have learned that if I am to encourage other business owners to step up and be visible in order to connect with their clients and potential clients in the online sphere – I need to model what I teach. Likewise, when I am encouraging women at midlife to realise that they have so much wisdom that the world needs to hear and that they need to get their voices out there – I need to model what I teach.
Who is your audience?
Who is needing to hear your voice?
And who are you modelling to with your behaviour in regards to being visible?
For those businesses and service providers that have had only a low key online profile to date, becoming more visible is not only a good idea, but critical for them in this new climate. It’s make or break time for so many and time to put away the fear of being judged or laughed at for putting your face and voice out there.
So how do I start becoming more visible?
- Deliver a Facebook Live video
- If that is too unnerving, begin with recording a video that you can post to Facebook
- Post daily to your main social media platform
- Post a daily informal “behind the scenes” story to your main social media platform’s stories platform
- Repost an informative article that educates your audience
- Create an image of an inspiring quote, along with your brand or name using Canva or Wordswag and post
- Ask your audience questions to find out more about how they are feeling
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Consistently showing up will soon raise your visibility, meaning that your message, your brand or your business will become more distinguishable amongst all of the “noise” out there on social media.
I would love to hear how you go!
PS: I’ve been working on an amazing new resource to support business owners, service providers and in fact anyone who is on a mission to create a movement, get more visible online and grow their impact and influence through the creation of aligned Facebook Groups! If you’d like to be added to the wait list, please click HERE and not only will you be the first to be notified when the doors open, you’ll also receive a gift from me, my report 5 Hacks to ROCK your Facebook Group!
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