Visibility is a core component in the success of every business. That doesn’t mean however, that every business owner relishes being visible.

That’s why I set out to develop a simple, repeatable process for creating and reviewing your visibility strategy.

I know you have many things to attend to in your business. I know that visibility is just one of them. I also know how overwhelming it can be to wade through all the different options for being visible and decide which are right for you. That’s why I’ve created a simple to follow formula for creating and tracking your visibility efforts in business.

We start with three key areas; awareness, value, and connection.

To develop and refine your visibility strategy, you’ll need to be able to answer these three questions: 

1. Are people aware of your business, brand or work? 
2. Do they perceive value in what you have to offer?
3. Do they feel connected to your business, brand or work?

To hone in on your awareness building efforts, you’ll need to be able to answer these three questions:

There is no one dream traffic source that will work best for all business owners. That will depend entirely on your skill set, the people you’re trying to reach, the industry you’re in, the other resources you have at your disposal, and what you know you can stay consistent with.

Traffic sources for a business include: 

• Organic search (search engine optimization aka SEO)
• Social media (organic or paid) 
• Advertising (paid traffic, be it online or in local, regional, or national publications) 
• Speaking gigs
• Word of mouth
• Networking events
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Trade shows and exhibitions 
• Live streaming
• Audio rooms (eg; Clubhouse, Spotify)
• Industry-specific platforms and apps (eg; Insight Timer for meditation and yoga teachers)
• Shows (YouTube, podcasting) 
• Apps (your own or someone else’s that you’re featured on) 
• Guest blogging (eg; on a writer’s platform like Medium or an industry specific blog) 
• Partnerships and joint ventures
• Running webinars, summits and challenges
• Guest interviews (on other people’s shows) 
• Forum marketing (eg; FB groups, Telegram, or Slack groups)
• Traditional media and public relations (press releases, television, radio) 
• Connecting with influencers (interviewing them, partnering with them, working for them).

The biggest mistake I’ve made over the years, and I’ve seen many other people make also, is not keeping things simple enough. For me, I’ve noticed this is driven by an underlying fear that one source will not being enough. After following that story for many years, what I’ve discovered is that actually, the key to success isn’t how many options you pursue, it’s how well you pursue the ones you decide to focus on.

So, choose one thing, understand how traffic flow works in that space, maximise the flow coming to you from that source, systematise the flow, and then consider whether to add an additional traffic source.

Need more assistance? We have a Visibility Strategy Kit for you to pick up and work through in more details. You can find that right here.

We also offer a group coaching experience to support female entrepreneurs to develop and implement their visibility strategy, whilst uncovering and releasing the internal blocks that would otherwise stop them from prioritising visibility in the first place. You can check it out right here.

NB: This is part 1 in a 3 part series. Check out the rest of Your Visibility Strategy series right here.