Once you committed to build your business online you immediately got pulled in every different direction and lost your focus and momentum.  That loss of focus and momentum meant you stopped showing up consistently. Now you’re left wondering how to increase your visibility online to help your brand stand out.

You know you love coaching. You know you’re passionate about helping people. And you have a desire for more freedom whether that be with time, money, impact, or all three.  But as you began building your business, you soon realized that the possibilities were endless as far as how you built it. So instead of going into all the things you can do (which would be overwhelming), I want to help you simplify your business.  One way to do just that is to focus on a specific area of your business that will help you move the needle. Increasing your visibility online is the area I’m focusing on here. 

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Here are 5 ways to increase your visibility online so you can attract more of your ideal clients to you.

1. Be Known For One Thing to Increase Your Visibility Online.

The online space is busy and noisy.  I love comparing the online space to a New York subway during the afternoon commute. If you were on the subway at 5:00 pm trying to talk to everyone about everything, nobody would be listening to you.  People would be reading the paper, scrolling their phones, bouncing their babies trying to stop them from crying, or listening to whatever was playing in their earbuds. You would go unnoticed.

Instead of trying to talk to everyone about everything, stop and take some time to consider exactly who you’re talking to and the one thing you want to be known for.  Think about who you’ve worked with that you really enjoyed working with.  What did you like about working with them? What qualities did they possess that you appreciated? Describe them in detail so you can understand the type of person they are and why you’re drawn to that type of person.

Think about what problem you want to help your ideal client solve.  Consider the skills, passions, experiences, and education you have.  What have you experienced and learned that you’re interested in teaching to others? What’s the one problem your ideal client has that you know you can help them solve? What do you wish you could talk to people about all day long? And finally, what do you want to be known for?

When you’re known for one thing, you become the go-to person for that topic.  People see you as the expert in that area and they’re more likely to value your expertise and experience on that topic. When they value your expertise, they’re more willing to pay you for it.

Apart from having other people see you as the expert in this one area, you also get to focus your time and energy toward solving one specific problem. This allows you to simplify everything in your business from who your ideal client is, to the problem you help them solve, to how you help them solve it, and the message you share.

Imagine going on a New York subway with your ideal client clearly identified. Then consider knowing the exact problem they’re struggling with and the specific way you help them solve it. You are no longer talking to everyone.  You’re clear about who you want to connect with. You’re clear about the message you want to share with them.  And because of that they’re able to hear you because you’re speaking directly to them about something they really want to hear.

Resource (blog post): 10 Reasons Having a Niche is Important

2. Engage With People With the Goal of Building Relationships.

Social media is meant to be social.  But the social part can be difficult especially when we get into the mindframe of expecting something in return for the value we’re putting out. That’s where I think so many of us get derailed.  Instead of thinking about every interaction leading to a possible sale, what if instead you just started building relationships from the place of being a normal human interested in getting to know other human beings?  Think about how it would feel if you engaged with people with the goal of genuinely wanting to get to know them and building a relationship with them. Consider how that would feel different than how you feel right now when you’re engaging with the thought that this could be a potential client.

I like to compare this to dating. Whether or not you’re in the dating phase of your life now, take yourself there for a minute.  If you were to go on a date with the intention of getting to know the other person and genuinely being curious about them without any expectations for the next step, think about how you would feel and how you would show up. You’d be calm, curious, interested, inviting, and open to sharing honestly.  The conversation would be fun, interesting, and genuine, and it would likely result in a friendship, collaboration, or a new client or a new coaching relationship.

On the flip side, consider how you’d feel and how you’d show up if you were to go on a date with the expectation of getting married.  You’d be graspy, needy, in a hurry, pushy, and seem a bit desperate.  You’d be putting so much pressure on yourself and the other person that it wouldn’t be enjoyable and one or both of you would likely stop showing up.

The same is true with your social media engagement.  Instead of expecting each interaction to give you something, let go of all expectations. Show up and engage with people because you want to meet them and genuinely get to know them. 

3. Define Your Content Pillars.

Your content pillars are the topics that your brand covers with great detail. These are the topics that you know your ideal client wants help with and you know you have the expertise and an interest in sharing.  Consider creating 3-5 topics that you continually create content about and make sure that your offer is directly connected to those topics. These can fall into the categories of educating, entertaining, and engaging. Having just 3-5 topics will help you simplify content creation and make it easier for you to focus your messaging on your ideal client’s needs.  The more you create content connected to your interests and experiences as well your ideal clients’ desires and your offer, the more your message will stand out to your ideal client and support your business goals.

Resource (blog post): Create the Perfect Offer for Your Ideal Client

Resource (blog post): How to Develop Content Pillars for Your Social Media Strategy

4. Decide When, Where, and Why to Increase Your Visibility Online.

Deciding which social media platform to use doesn’t have to be so complicated or overwhelming.  My suggestion is to start with one platform you like that you know your ideal client is on. Go all in on that one platform and create a plan for when you will commit to showing up there.  Also decide why you’re showing up. When you know what your purpose is for creating each piece of content it will help you to create content that’s purposeful and in line with your goals.

5. Share Your Clear Message Consistently.

When you show up and share your message consistently, people are going to notice you.  People will see you as reliable and your brand will be known for the consistent message you share and the offer you sell.

Let’s think about Starbucks for a minute. Consider what would happen if last week Starbucks decided to be open Monday but not Tuesday because their employees weren’t feeling excited enough to show up. On Wednesday and Thursday they were open but then they closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday because they weren’t sure what they were offering or how to tell people about it.

This sounds crazy when we think about Starbucks doing this.  But when it comes to your business, does this sound familiar?

Here are a few things you can do to help yourself show up more consistently in your business.

1. Get clear about who you help.
2. Decide what you help them with.
3. Figure out why you’re the best person to help them solve this problem.
4. Create an offer they really want.
5. Connect with people.
6. Show up, provide value, and serve.
7. Offer to help people.
8. Keep showing up, connecting, providing value, serving, and offering to help.
9. Manage your mind throughout every stage.
10. Rinse and repeat.

The more clarity you have around your ideal client, niche, and offer, the easier it is to consistently show up and share your work. If you’re struggling to show up consistently, go through each of these steps and see where you’d like to improve. Choose one small step to fine tune. Implement that. Notice what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’d like to change. Then continue to go through this process and make small changes until you show up consistently and create more of what you want.

Resource (blog post): How to Overcome Your Fear of Social Selling

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One Last Note!

Most of the time when something isn’t working in your business, it doesn’t mean you need to scratch everything and start all over. If you’re wanting to increase your brand visibility online, you likely are already doing many things that are working.  Notice the areas that you’d like to improve on, and focus your attention only on those specific areas first.

If you’re unsure where to start, I’d suggest starting by making sure you’re really clear on who your ideal client is, the problem you help them solve, and how you help them solve it.  If you want help with this, grab my free guide below.  It’ll help walk you through these steps in a simple way and help you show up consistently so you can increase your visibility online.