Let’s get visible: How to stand out online

Feeling invisible? How to be visible online.

Are you wondering how to be more visible online?

Do you often feel like you’re swimming in a big sea of competitors struggling to stand out? 

Does it feel like an impossible task to be found by the right people amongst all the noise? 

You’re not alone babe. I’ve been there too. 

I’m here to share some helpful insight on why you’re not being seen and some steps to increase your visibility online. Read on to find out how to stand out and reach your dream audience, and then convert them into customers. 

---

What does it mean to be seen?

Simply put, it means being visible to the people who will be attracted to your brand and message. These are your potential customers and the people who you want to convert into clients or buyers. 

If you’re not visible to them in the first place, they won’t see you, and you’ll be missing out on all these potential customers. 

---

Are you in the right mindset to be seen?

I believe that visibility elevates when the two elements of mindset and strategy are in unison. 

My question to you is, are you really willing to be seen? 

It might sound like a straightforward question but I encourage you to dig deep and really examine the question. 

Are you really willing to be vulnerable and put your voice, your unique message and your authentic personality out there? 

Do you think you are hiding in some way? Perhaps you are showing up in a way that’s not really ‘you’ because it’s what you think others expect? 

Confronting the realities of these questions might feel awkward and even a bit scary at first, but revealing an unfiltered presentation of yourself to the world is your key to standing out. Since, in your truest form, you bring your unique blend of personality and qualities like no one else – and there is so much power in this!

---

It’s time to get clear on your audience

Now we’ve thought about our mindset on being seen, it’s time to delve into the strategy. 

When was the last time you got clear on who your audience is?

You need to work out who it is that you are trying to reach, in order to build the path to get to them.

Traditionally, marketers might use demographics to construct a view of the ideal customer, for example:

“Zoe is 36, she lives in London, works in design, and shops at Zara”

But I urge you to go further, and further define your audience based on desires, needs, wants, and dislikes. What do they need solving? What holds them back? 

“Zoe is 36, she lives in London, works in fitness, and shops at Zara. She wants to grow her design portfolio to reach more branding agencies but struggles, like many, with imposter syndrome. Despite having 10 years of industry experience, she is scared to take the lead into full-time freelance. Zoe has a wide network of creative friends and regularly engages in social gatherings.”

Rather than surface layer customer demographics, this approach is called psychographic segmentation. 

Psychographic segmentation

Psychographic segmentation divides prospective customers into segments based on physiological traits that impact buying behaviour such as interests, social status, lifestyle, and personality. 

This precision of knowledge about your customer will ripple through all of your work, streamlining your content and creating focus. 

To build a connection with your audience your aim is to make them feel like you’re talking directly to them as individuals. Not only talking to them but providing content that genuinely supports, interests and inspires them – which in turn elevates your brand and makes you more desirable to them.

By delving deeper into your customer profiles you’ll find richer opportunities to bounce off their needs and desires and create content that they ACTUALLY want. 

---

Don’t be tempted to regurgitate others

When we feel blocked it can be tempting to look at others in our industry for creative inspiration.

We notice their content that performs well and think that if we remake it, we’ll also do well.

It’s just not the case. 

If you feel like you’re in a sea of competitors, imitating those around you will not enable you to stand out. Imagine this big mass of people all saying the same thing!

When you pay too much attention to other people in your industry you muddy your own waters and it makes it more difficult for you to form your own unique opinion.

You have to put your unique spin, your opinion, your take, and weave in your experiences. It’s harder because you have to continually exercise forming your own opinion, but over time this becomes a habit. Your job is to share your opinion even if it is unpopular. 

This makes your message different, and it’ll aid you to stand out. 

Don’t fear challenging people, or having people challenge you, it’s completely fine to be controversial as long as you are speaking with honesty and grounding in your own beliefs – not just controversy for controversies sake. 

---

Consistency is key for visibility online

Consistency is when your audience knows and can rely on you for certain opinions and topics. 

Think of a few stand-out people who you follow. What are their consistent topics? There will be key areas that they repeatedly lean into. 

So what are yours? It can be useful to right these headers down, and when you’re creating new content, ensure that your idea sits comfortably inside one of the headers. 

These are the areas that you want to be known for – so it’s also important that you check in with your long term business vision to ensure that your headers align with where you wish to be heading! 

A final thought…

Have you heard the line:

“If I knew I wouldn’t be judged, what would I say?”

I believe this is where your unique message lives. 

Task: journal 20 ‘judgment-free thoughts and then choose five to share publicly.

---