Showing up consistently and being visible online are the main challenges faced by the small business owners I speak to every day.
It's why we give you a quick daily prompt in my marketing membership The Best 90 Days Ever, so you can feel confident talking about your business and promoting what you do on social media.
When you’re trying to be more visible, it’s really effective to show more of you, your face and your personality in your marketing.
But is it easier said than done?
I speak to lots of small business owners who have never shared a picture of themselves online. I’ve met people at networking events and not known they were the face behind the business.
There are so many benefits to sharing more of yourself on social media. You can share the way you work. The way you see things. Your opinion on your industry. The more we can get to know you the more we can decide whether you are someone we would want to work with and buy from.
If you want to start showing your face more on Instagram and in the rest of your marketing you don’t have to throw yourself in at the deep end right away.
Take some gradual steps, build your confidence and get more comfortable showing up.
Here are some steps you can take to gradually build your confidence and be more visible on social media. Start where you feel most comfortable now and move on to the next step when you’re ready to push yourself. If you need some support and accountability as you go, join us in The Best 90 Days Ever too!
1. Introduce yourself in a caption and tell us something we don’t know
Let’s start with something simple. Introduce yourself on your social media and tell us some things we don’t know about you. You could choose 5 facts, tell us why you started your business or play a game like 2 facts and 1 lie. This is about getting used to sharing more about the person behind the business so try and think about things that people might not be able to find on your website or wouldn’t know about you already. They are also great conversation starters too, who knows what you will have in common with your audience?
2. Share a photo of your hands creating or making on your stories
If you’ve never shared a picture of yourself online, the first time can feel scary. We’re going to take small steps towards it by sharing easier parts of you first, to build up to showing your face. Try sharing a photo of your hands creating your product, packing up your orders or writing on your laptop today. You might need to use a tripod or lean your phone against something for this. Try not to over think it and remember the things you might not think are interesting really are for others. What is something you do each day you could share?
3. Share a video of your hands or something you’re working on on stories
When you’re happy with sharing your hands in a photo, try recording it as a video instead. Get into the habit of taking short videos throughout your day to use them for content like reels and stories. Remember that what you share on your stories will disappear after 24 hours, it really helps to take the pressure off. Listen to what you audience asks to see more of too, if you get a good response, try and expand on what you're showing them.
4. Share a sped up time lapse video or boomerang of you working
Now that you’re used to taking videos, try experimenting with different types. A time lapse or boomerang are great ways to start showing more of yourself without feeling exposed. A time lapse is a brilliant way to show yourself working and include more than just your hands because it's so quick you can't see too much! You can find these in the options on your Instagram stories and you can save them to become part of reels later.
5. Share a video on stories with your voice over the top
The next step is to try including your voice. I often hear that people don’t like the sound of their own voice and if you also feel the same I would recommend trying not to listen to it back more than you need to. Stories are meant to be quick and easy, so take a video, record a clip of your voice over the top and get it out there. You could use one of the videos you’ve already recorded of your working day and explain what you’re doing over the top with a voiceover.
6. Introduce yourself with a photo you're comfortable with and a caption
When you’re comfortable with stories that disappear, we want to try something a little more permanent. Try posting a photo of yourself that you feel comfortable with on your Instagram grid or other social media platform and introduce yourself again. This photo could be something like a photo of you from awhile ago or even the first time you heard about the industry you work in if you're not ready to share a photo from today. You should do this regularly as you continue to gain more followers, but try a different way to talk about yourself and use new pictures each time.
7. Post a selfie on your stories
Back to the stories. Show us what you’re up to today by posting a selfie on your stories. Try getting some great natural light by a window or taking a picture outside and don’t think too much about it. You’re already getting used to using your face to show the more personal side of your business, keep going!
8. Post a photo and use a prop (it can help to give you something to hold)
If you still aren’t feeling comfortable about having your photo taken, try using a prop. I like to have a cup of tea in my hand, it’s good for when I feel self conscious as it takes the focus away from me. You might have a prop that is more relevant to your business or even a product that you can hold in your hands. This is about what makes you feel more comfortable so try what works for you and experiment with this.
9. Post a selfie or photo of you on your grid
Hopefully you are getting to the point now where sharing a photo of yourself on social media doesn’t feel like a big deal at all, so go ahead and put another one up! Share a photo of yourself on your grid, or post a selfie if you can’t find one that you like. Part of getting used to sharing more is to do it consistently. If your audience is used to seeing your face regularly, it won’t feel surprising to you or them when you post.
10. Film a day in the life video of you and record a voiceover
Now we're used to sharing more on social media, it’s time to start getting creative with it. We can share our personality online in lots of different ways and it’s good to experiment with things that engage your audience. Filming a day in the life video is a great opportunity to show what you do each day and how you work which might be different to other business owners. It’s up to you how much of your face you show in this but record your voice over the top and explain what you’re doing. Describe it as you would to a friend and add some humour if you can!
11. Use your phone to record a video of you talking about a topic (no sharing)
Speaking to a camera can feel quite unnatural at first so if you are nervous this next step is all about practice. When I first started talking on Instagram stories it took quite a few goes before I felt confident enough to share them. Try finding a quiet room, setting up your camera and recording a video of you talking. Do it as many times as it takes for you to feel happy with it, there’s no pressure. Don’t share this video anywhere yet, just get into the habit of feeling more natural talking to the camera.
12. Try getting some brand photos done or taking a new profile picture
When you are really excited and happy with your brand photos, you want to share them! Give yourself a boost and try getting some new photos taken or take yourself a new profile picture that shows your face if it’s relevant for your business.
13. Post a video to your stories of you talking (you can pre-record it!)
Now that you’ve practiced talking to the camera, try posting one of those videos to your stories. Make sure you use captions, whether they are from Instagram or using an external app, and get that video out there. If you are confident with this you could also use the video as a reel or record a few different videos to create a series.
14. Try a live with the ‘practice’ live feature on Instagram
Going from an Instagram story or reel to a live video can feel like quite a big jump. One of the things that I hear people say is that they don’t know what to expect with the tech or how to start or finish the live. To get around this, Instagram has a great feature where you can ‘practice’ going live. It shows you exactly what it would look like to start and finish the live, you can test what you’re going to say and feel much more ready to do a real live video.
15. Talk about a topic with a friend on Facetime
The next step to build you up to a live video is to try talking about a topic with a friend on Facetime. Sometimes this is actually more nerve wracking because there is a face on the other end watching you talk! When you do your real live video there won’t be any faces looking back at you so this is a great way to test out your skills talking about a topic.
16. Record a live video on a topic you know really well
Now we’re really getting out of our comfort zones! If you’ve been preparing for your live videos with lots of talking about a topic, now is the time to get on the camera and talk about it live. Remember your live doesn’t need to be long, lots of my live videos are only around the 10-15 minute mark. If you aren't happy with how it went you don't have to save it to your grid either, you can pretend it didn't happen and try again!
17. Do a live with someone else
Some small business owners actually find doing a live with someone else easier as there’s more of a conversation going and you can set it up as an interview style. The only problem is that you’re going to have to try both to find out! I would recommend trying a live on your own first so that you know what to expect when you do it with another account. This is a great way to grow your audience because it puts you in front of someone else’s followers too.
18. Do a live series on a topic you enjoy talking about
Doing a live series is a great way to stretch your content out so you can fill up your social media schedule for a few weeks. Pick a topic you can talk about and plan in a live series to cover different parts of that topic. You could also complement this with stories and some images for your Instagram grid too. When you commit to a 5 part series (or however many parts you feel comfortable with) it means you have a plan for showing up that you need to stick to.
19. Explain what you do at a networking event
Now that you’ve mastered your visibility online, try getting out there at a networking event and introducing yourself to someone new. It’s really good to practice saying what you do and how you help people until it becomes natural. You’ll find that as you get asked to do things like events, podcasts or live videos it really helps if you have your answer to ‘what do you do?’ ready to roll off your tongue.
20. Pitch to be on a podcast or record your own
A podcast is a brilliant way to keep growing your audience and you don’t need to start your own if it isn’t part of your marketing plan. You can also pitch to be on other podcasts and if you want to talk about a topic that you’ve spoken about before in a live, you can send them a link to a video you’ve previously done. It can help them to see if you would be a good fit for their podcast, without having done one of your own.
21. Pitch to talk at an event that puts you out of your comfort zone!
Our final step for this visibility journey is to pitch to talk at an event that puts you out of your comfort zone! I have recently been doing some workshops and talks to small groups and I know that the next step will be to pitch to do a workshop for a bigger group. Decide where your confidence is at the moment and where you can push yourself to be more visible and grow your audience.
Remember that it takes time to build the confidence to be more visible in your business, especially if you are starting at the very beginning. Take it at your own pace and get used to each step.
If you need some daily marketing support join us for The Best 90 Days Ever, my marketing membership full of brilliant small business owners. Every day you’ll get daily prompt to help you improve your business and grow your audience, it really takes the stress out of your marketing. Click here to find out more.