Out-of-the-Box visibility methods to increase your brand awareness
Visibility and building brand awareness are so much more than I thought it was. In this blog, I’ll challenge you to rethink your visibility marketing as I share four out-of-the-box ways to build brand awareness and think of visibility differently.
What is Visibility?
As it relates to entrepreneurship and business: Visibility is the state of being seen. And, in most cases, getting seen by the “right” people.
In my own definition, visibility is being seen AND seeing others as well as seeing clearly where you’re going as you bring all these pieces together. And at the heart of visibility is connection.
Connection is the key to brand awareness-building. Let’s dive into how to create visibility and brand awareness through:
- Collaboration
- Connection
- Cohesion
- And Consistency
Brand Awareness Building and Increasing Visibility with Collaboration:
I’ve done quite a few blogs and podcasts on collaboration, so if it’s a topic you want to dive into deeper as it relates to your brand awareness and visibility efforts, make sure to check these additional resources out here:
Content with Character Podcast Episode –Four Out-of-the-Box Ways to Increase Visibility
She Built This Podcast Episode- Keys to Quality Collaborations
She Built This Podcast Episode – When Collaborations Go Awry
Blog Post: Keys to Collaboration
Blog Post: Collaborative CEO Days
Marketing Momentum Lab Group Program
My equation for collaboration is 1 + 1 = More than one!
Collaboration is coming together with a common goal or purpose to create something larger than yourself, alongside someone else or others.
Contrary to common belief, collaborating isn’t always the easier path. It’s rarely just a matter of dividing the workload in half and calling it a day. In addition, collaborating with others to increase your visibility and build brand awareness is not a take-take.
It’s about all parties coming together with a give-give mentality and a desire and willingness to give it their all. Everyone brings something to the table that benefits the effort and initiative as a whole.
When collaboration is done right and all parties are aligned, it can build brand awareness and increase your visibility. Everyone involved benefits from the other’s gifts, talents, platforms, and strengths, and you create something bigger than you could’ve on your own.
Examples of collaborations in visibility marketing:
- Co-hosting events and sponsoring events
- Sharing your platform with others: interviews, guest blogs, workshop contributors
- Collaborative summit or panel discussion
- Challenges and multi-day experiences
- Book clubs and groups that are of benefit for all audience members
When you help others reach their goals of success, you will be more successful too.
When others can tell you’re invested in them and their people as much as they are, it’s a no-brainer for them to want to collaborate with you.
Visibility Action Tip:
Sit down and make a list of people you know who share your ideal client. What do they have in place already that you can show up and bring value to? How could you help their audience? What can you bring to the table?
Then, reach out and ask them if they’d be willing and interested in collaborating with you!
Building Your Brand Awareness and Growing Visibility through Connection:
Visibility is so much about building relationships. The heartbeat and root of visibility is unsurprisingly, CONNECTION.
Truly connecting isn’t about checking a box and calling it a day or simply swapping business cards with a promise to follow up in a month via LinkedIn. Visibility and brand awareness building through connection go a layer deeper.
Connection is showing up for someone, supporting them and their work, and getting involved for yourself. It’s showing up with an attitude of curiosity, caring, community building, and a willingness to learn more about others.
How do we create more genuine connections? We can do it through networking and sharing our content in a similar way. We can show them interest, ask questions, learn about what drives them, worries them, and excites them. We can be thoughtful in remembering details about them and the things about their life they share with us.
Whether you’re networking (be it in person or online) remember that you’re here to build relationships. This isn’t just cutting and pasting your Calendly link or handing them a business card and leaving.
People want to connect and do business with real, authentic people, so get to know others and share about yourself too!
When you approach visibility as a chance to build connection with others in your community, you change someone’s life, simply by showing up and being you.
Here are some of my favorite ways to get visible through connection:
- Find a business “bestie” or confidante and start building a relationship with them
- Schedule a one-to-one coffee chat with someone just to get to know them
- Embrace leadership opportunities within your communities and organizations
- Share a quote or article with someone it made you think of
- Send a meaningful thank you when someone does something for you or congratulations when you see them share big news on LinkedIn
- Be the one to reach out and see how someone in your community is doing when you know they’re going through a hard time
Visibility Action Tip:
Think about your next networking event, coffee chat, or a Facebook group you’re in, and make it your goal to learn about one person’s story or ask how you can help them.
Cohesion Can Build Brand Awareness and Visibility
I mean two things when I talk about cohesion (don’t worry, this isn’t chemistry class so it’s not that technical!):
- Cohesion means that the visibility marketing methods you’re using are in line with who you are, your business goals, and your capacity.
- Cohesion also means things are working together as a unified whole when it comes to your visibility marketing efforts.
Cohesion builds know, like, and trust. Cohesion IS the secret sauce because people often don’t even know what’s different, they just know something is.
Cohesion goes beyond building brand awareness and brand messaging, it’s also making sure you’re doing what feels right for you in your visibility marketing.
For me, cohesion has meant saying yes to the right opportunities and no to the rest, getting focused, doing less rather than more, and making the less be more impactful.
Visibility Action Step:
Download my Cohesion Audit (free and no opt-in) document here and see where you can find more cohesion in your touchpoints and your online presence.
It will make you feel so good to eliminate the unnecessary and make room for the real magic to shine through.
Consistency is Key in Brand Awareness Building and Visibility Marketing
You don’t need to be everywhere and, realistically, you can’t be. It’s more important to focus on being in the right ears, gaining the attention of the right eyes, and delivering the right message than sprinkling a flippantly-crafted message to anyone and everyone.
Focus on what you can manage, what lights you up to be a part of, what holds value for you, and what feels cohesive, and then… stick with it!
You might have to try a few things at first to see what’s a good fit. It takes throwing a little spaghetti at the wall to see which networking group is right for you and which social media platform your people tend towards.
Once you find your people and your medium, stay consistent.
Consistency is important because it increases trust from others as well as your own trust in yourself as you see something through the long term. Consistency is so often how you build stronger, deeper, and more connected relationships.
Don’t be afraid to let something go to make way for what you can realistically be consistent in.
Visibility marketing through consistent efforts:
- Write and share through a blog regularly
- Share to social media with consistent quality
- Produce a podcast, live, interview, or webinar at a regular frequency
- Email your audience with value on a regular, predictable basis
- Commit to a group and show up for them when you say you will
I’m never one to encourage people they need to post more frequently on social media or join more things. I encourage people to choose what they will do and then do it consistently.
Visibility Action Tip
Choose just one thing that you read in this blog that you want to commit to in increasing your visibility and building brand awareness. Then take one small step a day for thirty days straight.
Building brand awareness is a two-way street. Visibility marketing requires action. It takes seeing others, seeing where you’re going, and helping them to see you.
Ready to Take Action?
If you want to take action and commit to getting visible with me by your side… join me in the next Marketing Momentum Lab, a six-week small group where we dive into each of these four methods and apply them to YOUR unique business. We’re kicking it Fall 2023, so if you want IN or you’re curious and want to learn more, click HERE!
