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Show Notes
Now, are you one of these coaches? We have all been there that cringe at the thought of being seen. You don’t want to be at front and center. You don’t want to be on social media. You really don’t want to talk to people.
Unfortunately, the career that you’ve chosen to be a coach means that you need to do all of that but you don’t have to do it as somebody else. You can do it as you, authentically you, with warts and all. And that’s where people go wrong. They think that they need to be somebody else. There’s lots of different ways to get out there and be visible, and you don’t have to do it the way that somebody else is doing it.
Build Connection
Video is an amazing way to break through that connection, to form that connection, to get rid of all that. Are they real? Are they not? Are they whatever? But it takes practice for a lot of people. It’s very difficult. It was for me. It took me four years and I really wanted to. And I had to push through all those limiting beliefs and all that silly negative self-talk.
And then one day I just decided enough was enough and I did it. And it does take practice. And sometimes I look at the videos and go, oh, and as you get more practice and on and on. Sometimes it’s best not to look at those old videos. But video is not the only way. Yes, it is a great way to do it.
Yes, it needs practice. And yes, lives are still very relevant today. But you need to do what works for you. So if that’s something you are not going to be able to do consistently, then it’s maybe not the place to start. Because being visible is about being consistent. We all say that people come and go, they are all over fade.
Be Consistent
Make sure that whatever you are going to do means that you can be consistent. And yes, doing it often is important. But if you can’t keep the consistency out, it’s no point doing it every day. If that’s going to be every day for a week and then you are going to disappear. So you need to get a consistency that you can do and that’s going to work for you. But you also need to be out there because there’s no point having those wonderful coaching skills and being the most amazing coach if nobody can find you.
Be a Human
There are other ways to get out there, and being in person is amazing. There’s also online networking, so similar sort of thing to actually getting out there and meeting people. Another great way to get visible is actually make people in person. Yes, get out from behind the computer screen and meet people. So networking is a wonderful way to do that. People connect with people, not logos.But remember, it’s not about just throwing your business cards around! Make sure you are adding value. Check out SBT Episode 194: Are You Adding Value? For more in depth understanding.
Pick One Platform
Do not try to be everything for everybody. Pick one platform. If you are going to go on social media and up at least should, because it is free and it’s a good way to test and practice, and it’s a good way to see what people like and don’t like. Now remember, of course, in the beginning, you are probably not going to get a lot of engagement.
Just start putting some stuff out there. But you don’t have to do the silly dance. You don’t have to be on TikTok and Snapchat and YouTube and everything else. Just pick one that works for you. The best one to pick where your people are.
So who is it that you want to talk to? Who is it that you help? Who is it that you want to help? Now if you don’t know where they are. Just pick one that works for you. So think about probably Facebook because it’s still universal. There are millions of people on Facebook. And most people have some sort of interaction with Facebook if they are on socials. Instagram’s another great one and LinkedIn too. It doesn’t really matter which one you pick. You just need to choose the one that’s going to work for you, and the one that you are going to be able to consistently show up on.
Be You
Once you’ve picked your platform, you don’t have to be the loudest or the brightest whatever. If that’s not you now, if it is great and lean into that, because we have all heard of the disconnects of people that have tried to be something else. If you are funny, be funny. If you swear. And that’s the way your audience like it. Do it. If it’s not you, then definitely don’t, because it is all about that being authentic and being you. And that’s going to make it so much easier for you to show up and be visible as you.
Remember to be authentic. Use your voice. Don’t try to be anybody else. Don’t try to be a lot further along than you actually are. Just start today and do one thing today.
Get a Website
A website is a great place to house things to send people to. It’s much easier to search than socials. And of course you don’t own the socials, so things change there. So do some blogging. Do articles. Once again repurposing that content into a slightly different format. Looking at those keywords, doing a longer form content, throwing you white papers, that sort of thing.
Lead With Value
Great things to share are things like tips, stories, insights, celebrations. Use case studies. If you are working with some clients, even if they are free, clients want little case studies or tidbits. Can you pull out of that? What questions are you being asked over and over?
Now remember their privacy and making sure that you are keeping within your coaching and agreement that you can always use them in different ways. I’ve told you about the client that wanted to put things in a newspaper, but his particular audience didn’t rate newspapers. I’ve had other clients in my other business that have done very well with newspaper advertising, even to this day, because that’s where their clients are. So just little tidbits like that. You don’t need to say who they are.
Engagement = Visibility
Make sure you are actually engaging. One way to do it is to get into Facebook groups and engage on some of the content. Now, if it’s a Facebook group owned by somebody else, don’t go hijacking or any of that kind of thing, but you can still add value. You can still make comments. So make sure that you are doing authentically and in a giving way.
Links
Contacts
How to Be Seen Without Feeling Salesy
Be known for what you are going to be known for. Just pick something that you are going to do, maybe for the next three months and work on that. Don’t try to be everything to everybody because then that’s just vanilla. Have an opinion. Work out what it is that you stand for and what you want to do and tell the world.
Listen to the full episode of Small Business Talk episode 292.
You can also find the video versions of the Small Business Talk Episodes on YouTube.
