When I was in junior high school, I fell backwards over a chair in study hall.
I was walking into a room full of about 30 kids I didn’t know at a school I had just transferred to.
Now, I can whole-heartedly laugh about it but at the time, needless to say, I was mortified.
It does make for a great story though that I can use to make a point.
Falling over that chair made me highly visible.
For a few days maybe weeks afterwards, I was the focus of a lot of attention.
And as crazy as it sounds, I made a lot of new friends during that time because a lot of kids empathized with my embarrassment.
People connected with me because they could see my pain and those connections led to meaningful relationships.
As an entrepreneur, it’s natural to want to increase your visibility and attract more attention to your brand.
However, it’s important to recognize that there’s a difference between visibility and popularity, and that chasing popularity on social media won’t necessarily translate to relationships and revenue.
Visibility refers to your brand’s overall presence and exposure in the marketplace. This includes factors such as your website, social media profiles, advertising, and content marketing efforts.
The goal of increasing visibility is to make your brand more easily recognizable and accessible to potential customers.
Popularity, on the other hand, is focused on gaining attention, followers, comments, and likes on social media.
While working on growing your social media following can be beneficial in terms of building brand awareness, it’s almost never a guarantee of success.
The problem with focusing solely on popularity is that it can be a distraction from what really matters: creating a quality product or service that meets the needs of your target audience.
Posting and hoping to get more likes or followers may generate engagement in the short term, but it doesn’t equal long-term financial success.
Additionally, social media algorithms are constantly changing, which means that what works today may not work tomorrow.
It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of constantly chasing likes and followers, but this is a time-consuming and oftentimes, unproductive endeavor.
So, how can entrepreneurs focus on visibility rather than popularity? Here are a few tips:
- Focus on creating high-quality long form content that adds value to your audience. Think blog posts, videos, or podcasts appearances, make sure that your content is informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience.
- Use advertising and marketing strategies that are targeted towards your specific audience. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, focus on reaching the people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
- Build relationships with your clients and potential clients. Use webinars to connect and engage with them. Respond to their comments and questions on social media, and provide excellent customer service. By building a loyal customer base, you can create a strong foundation for long-term success.
In conclusion, while it’s natural to want to increase your popularity on social media, it’s important for entrepreneurs to focus on visibility as a means to achieving long-term success.
By creating high-quality content, targeting your advertising and marketing efforts, and building strong relationships with your clients, you can improve your visibility and attract more clients to your brand.
