I know that right now and – going backwards a bit towards Christmas – is a key time for so many of us to do reflection and goal setting. I have been doing a bit of this too of course. I know that some of you might have set goals around your brand. Being more visible. Being more consistent. Being MORE. Which can seem a little overwhelming… it doesn’t have to be. Being more consistent and visible and upping your brand is all about taking simple steps to make it happen.
Bravery is the quality or state of having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty : the quality or state of being brave : COURAGE. Sharing your brand is unlikely to be dangerous, but fear or difficulty may both be words you would use to describe increasing your visibility. This is quite common. Putting yourself and your business forward can feel scary. I know, I’ve been there.
Your brand is how other people feel and think about YOUR business. If you’re a sole trader that probably means that this is what others think of YOU. And that can feel scary.
Here’s four things you can do to have a more visible brand in 2020.
1. Visibility requires confidence. I asked on social media to see what was holding people back, and this was the response that I got – that you might be holding back on being visible because of imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome might sound like a buzz-word, but it’s a big deal and something we ALL struggle with. Those of use who have just started running a business right up to those of us who run huuuuge companies. It’s there and it’s not going away. I feel like conversations about imposter syndrome go on around me all. the. time.
The bad news is that I can’t tell you how to get rid of it. I can’t. I wish I could. I can say though, that there are things you can do to reduce it, to make it less of a focus.
You are comparing yourself to other people, doubting your own value and it’s making you feel less brilliant, less likely to share anything because of fear.. so here’s some things to try to help you feel less pants…
- Go and read your testimonials, thank you cards, lovely email replies – any evidence that you have to prove that you are amazing. If you don’t have these things together yet then start collecting them because this stuff is so useful!
- Make a list of how great you are! Look at the wonderful things that you have done, the qualifications and experience that you have and the brilliant ideas that you’ve had. The list doesn’t have to be big, it just has to be true. Keep this list to remind yourself of how brilliant you are next time you need it.
- Do things that make you feel good. Journal. Listen to a playlist or a motivational talk. Pray. Sing. Dance. Go for a walk. Feed your mind with positivity!
- Go and talk to someone you trust. They’ll tell you the truth and you can leave knowing that you are more than enough for what you do!
You can start by sharing some of these things. Share some testimonials and achievements and lead up to being able to be visible in whatever way you feel most confident.
“Getting out there and showing the world who you are and what you do requires courage and confidence”
– Anna Parker-Naples, Get Visible
Fear also prevents confidence. I have mentioned several times before that the first time I ever made a video I threw up. Even though I was alone in the house with just my camera for company. That doesn’t happen now.. sometimes you just have to get started and it’ll get easier and less challenging each time.
2. Another response that came up was about not being arrogant or pushy but still coming across as confident. Sharing your brand isn’t about bring pushy. It’s not about going LOOOOOK!!!! BUY THIS NOWWW!!!! It’s about sharing what matters in your business to your audience so that they know who you are. Yes you’d love them to buy from you, but that doesn’t mean you’re gonna be pushy.. it’s just you reminding people that you exist.
Why would you feel bad about helping someone?
Andy Harrington, Passion into Profit
Of course you’re gonna want to ask for the sale sometimes. If you’re in a launch you probably feel as though you’re asking so much that people will hate you – I feel this too – but they won’t be seeing every single one of your posts. They won’t notice how much you’re posting. It’s OK to let people know that you have stuff to sell. Its OK to let people know that you have an email to sign up to or an offer on.. sharing your brand won’t centre around sales all of the time – it’s about conveying your values and personality. Letting people in on a bit more of who you are. Sharing what matters in your business, being relevant to your ideal client and letting people know why what you do matters. Which isn’t pushy or arrogant. Being sure on these aspects will increase your confidence because you will have clarity on what matters – and sharing these is useful, helps people relate to you and allows people to get to know you and remember who you are.
3. Make decisions and stick to them.
Choose your colours. Choose your fonts. Choose a logo. Choose the elements, illustrations, icons, photographs that you’re going to use.
Make those decisions and then don’t deviate. Stick to them like glue. Even if it’s annoying.. find a way to keep going.
The very easiest way to make this work for you is to use templates. Using templates makes keeping your brand consistent SO easy.
Set, tweak, save, use. Repeat.
How does that make you brave enough to be visible? Because once you have made those decisions, once you have decided how your brand is going to look.. once you’ve created those templates.. you’re not going to have a reason to hold back on posting your content. Be brave enough to make these decisions and you’ll have ready made templates for you to add new words to, to pop new photographs behind, to share with your audience and ensure that they NOTICE YOU when they’re scrolling on their phones.
4. Look at what works and do that again. This is all about checking your stats. This doesn’t mean how many people followed you on Instagram (unless these numbers are important to you) this means thinking about which platforms/ events/ actions had the most engagement, earned you the most money and what helped to achieve that. What sort of content got the best reaction, the most engagement, the highest sales? If you look at all of this you’ll see what your audience likes. Then you can do it again safe in the knowledge that this WORKS. That this is something people resonate with. If people respond to questions, ask more questions. If people love your camping photos then share more of those (I can’t wait to go camping again! 😉 ). If people love quotes then do that. If you find most of your clients come from networking then get yourself out of the office. If people respond when you go live then make that a priority. You get the gist. Whatever works when you show up – do that.
Is there anything else holding you back from being visible right now? Let me know and I can add it to this post 🙂
Amy