The French philosopher Descartes famously said: “I think, therefore I am”. He associated human existence with the mind, and more specifically, with thinking. This is not surprising – after all, he lived in the Age of Reason. Fast forward a few centuries to today’s world, the premise “I think, therefore I am” has been replaced by “Others can see me, therefore I am”. In this article, we’ll look into the power of online visibility. Hint: these days, power does come from visibility.
While we still live in a predominantly mind-based world, thinking no longer defines our existence – visibility does. At least in social contexts. Socially speaking, you only exist insofar that you’re visible. This can be observed in politics and workplaces in terms of representation. The groups that are represented /visible are the groups that are taken into consideration. Their rights will be respected to a larger extent; groups that remain invisible are oftentimes forgotten.
Website vs social media
This is even more so on the internet, where visibility is EVERYTHING. For entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, coaches, consultants, and healers, among other occupations, having a well-crafted online presence is key. Two “places” are particularly interesting when it comes to attracting the attention of prospects and clients: your website and social media.
Your website is by far the most important and the most reliable “place” for you to establish yourself on the web. There are several reasons for this:
- You have more control over the content – especially if you learn to build and maintain your site yourself. I do recommend that you learn to build and maintain your site so that you can stay tuned to the ever-changing market. I enrolled in the Website Creation Workshop with Christina Hills and went from a total beginner in WordPress to having a site up and running in only two months. It was a very empowering experience. In addition, being able to make any changes on the site whenever you want to, without depending on a webmaster or web designer, is super valuable!
- You own your site – it’s your asset. In contrast, social media belong to big corporations. Their rules could suddenly change and/or your account could suddenly be blocked. This could mean that you wouldn’t have access to the work that you have produced and stored in your accounts.
- Your site is a privileged place to attract subscribers to your email list. List building is an essential aspect of running an online business. This is something that you need to start doing as soon as possible – and then keep doing on an ongoing basis. You could actively share /promote a link to your opt-in on social media and other forums as well.
Media appearances and interactions with your audience
- Your site is also a privileged place to share valuable content with your audience: articles on your blog, videos, and audios, advice within your area of expertise, tips about trusted partners’ events, etc.
- Whenever you do interviews in a podcast, show, summit, or magazine, or you write guest articles for sites with a larger audience than yours, you can indicate the URL of your site as a reference. This way, the audience can learn more about you and what you offer. As a bonus, you can receive free leads as a direct consequence of your participation. You can add a media page to your site in order to highlight your previous appearances, and thus emphasize your authority in your area of expertise.
- Social media can be great for direct contact with prospects and clients, for lives, and for placing ads that lead back to your website and/or to events that you’re hosting. The live aspect is undeniably an important aspect of building trust with your audience. You’ll still want your followers to sign up for your newsletter and engage with you on your email list, though. As your following grows, it can be interesting to create a membership hosted on a reliable platform outside of social media.
Visitors and prospects are increasingly selective
As the market grows and evolves, the space becomes more crowded. In consequence, visitors and prospects are increasingly selective about what they give their time and attention to. This translates into a shorter time span of visitors’ attention. Oftentimes you only have a few seconds to grab visitors’ attention with the design and content of your site. If you fail to grab their attention immediately, they’ll go elsewhere. There’s no shortage of sites to visit on the web!
Taking these things into consideration, as an entrepreneur, you need to be strategic in your choices. Learning from a professional will give you a competitive advantage, and save you a lot of time from trial and error if you plan on building your site yourself. The DIY approach will save you a lot of money compared to hiring a web designer. For me, it was a no-brainer to sign up for Christina Hill’s Website Creation Workshop. In her course, she makes it fun and easy to build a site. She has guided nearly 4,000 non-techies around the world to create their own sites since 2008.
One of the things that spoke to me was Christina’s artistic approach. She compares website creation with creating a painting, which requires you to follow certain steps, all while enjoying the process. I also appreciated having a “student project” to practice the principles on while building my own site. When I felt ready, the Website Creation team moved my site to the URL I had chosen: www.susannagrinsvall.com.
Any game is more rewarding when you understand the rules
The fun doesn’t stop once your site goes live. Now that you understand the fundamentals of SEO – search engine optimization – and online marketing (both are taught in the course), you can play the game fully. Any game is more rewarding when you understand the rules to play by.
As daunting as the task of building and maintaining a website might seem, it can be a fun and rewarding process with the right support. The influence that you have the potential to develop online is significant. Never before has it been so easy for so many people to speak their truth and share their message with the world. You can, too.
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About the author
Susanna is a Highly Sensitive Writer, Energy Worker, and Psychologist on a mission to help raise Human Consciousness. She offers 1:1 sessions as a certified Emotion Code and Body Code Practitioner, as well as group workshops about Conscious Manifestation.