I had a major epiphany earlier this year. 

I was at a networking event, and I introduced myself and what I do during the 30-second commercial period. It was pretty standard. I mentioned who I helped and what that’s so important. Dropped the info about being an author of 8 books and the executive editor of Inspiring Lives Magazine. Easy peasy.

Later, a woman came up to me and said, “I didn’t realize you had your own business.”

Wait, what?

We had been Facebook friends for a couple months, so I basically looked at her cross-eyed. “I thought you just worked for the magazine,” she said. 

Wow. How did she not know?

The obvious answer is that it was me. I didn’t reach out and introduce myself when new people friended me. I didn’t talk about anything on Facebook other than the magazine and my kids. In fact, the only thing I typically posted about was my kids, and I got tagged on anything that the magazine put out. I thought about what my Facebook timeline must look like: funny stuff with my kids, their achievements and milestones, magazine posts.

Heck, I even tended to lead with the magazine when I spoke at networking events!

At that point, I knew I couldn’t do that anymore! I had to improve my visibility. Visibility is about so much more than just existing in a space and hoping to get noticed. Visibility is active. You have to let people know what you’re doing and why it’s important to you. AND you have to make sure they understand why it’s so important to them.

Here is how I started and how you can get started too:

1. Lead with what you want to talk about. When you meet people, or even when you catch up with someone you haven’t seen in a long time, start by talking about what you do. I find that, so often, when I bump into an old friend and ask how they’ve been, they start rattling off a list of their kids’ achievements. It feels safe because it’s not us, right? But you are not your kids. You have thoughts, ideas, and a business that you need to let people know about. And when you’re at a networking event, don’t hide your passion. Start with the biz. I used to actually lead with the magazine because I thought the position title (which sounds fancy) would give me credibility. That’s true, but do I want to start with credibility or something that gets people thinking about how I can help them?
2. Change your personal profile to match your passion. Your business profiles should all match, be on brand, and contain pertinent information for people to find you, connect, and learn to love what you do. BUT, your personal profiles should have a spattering of that, as well, unless you are exclusively using it for close family and friends. Most of us friend the people we meet at networking on our Facebook business page. And because your personal profile usually has better reach than your business page, it’s a good idea to have it be professional and include a way to connect with you there, as well. Create a header in Canva that is on brand, even if it is just brand colors and your website. Make sure your job info is correct—not just a job title but what you actually do as a change agent! And if you have a Facebook group, create an Instagram post-sized image that tells people how to join it. Then, upload that as your only featured photo and make it visible to the public. Another option is to include images of you doing your thing.
3. Find new ways to keep what I do at the front of everyone’s mind. My business relies on referrals, and here I was keeping what I do a secret! Do a press release. Post new things that you’re doing on LinkedIn. Share your client testimonials on your different social media platforms. Focus on gratitude and how you are helping the people you love to help. You can absolutely be heart-centered and not slimy when talking about your passion!

Don’t fall into the trap that I did where I wasn’t making the most of the platforms I was on all the time anyway. Especially if you can’t get out to network much, make sure that what’s in front of people is ready to wow!