This is How You Build Omnipresence for True Impact as a Personal Brand

Omnipresence is dead.

At least in the sense that most personal brands refer to it: basically, being present on all possible social media.

Let me tell you what the next generation of omnipresence looks like.

In simple terms, what you want to do is to populate the three dimensions of visibility – owned channels, third-party channels and relationships.

Let’s have a look at them in detail.?

1. Owned channels

These are the channels you have credentials for. You log into a platform and determine the content that will appear there. You have full agency and control. Nobody can interfere.

I’m talking about your social media, YouTube channel, website, newsletter, podcast and books.?

These channels are certainly necessary. After all, they are your business card. However, they are not sufficient.?

You want to get yourself on third-party channels.?

2. Third-Party channels

These are channels that are owned by other people or entities.?

They can be publications, podcasts, stages at conferences, TV – and many, many, more. There is a whole pyramid of them. We will dive into this world in the next few weeks.?

There are two main benefits to being featured on third-party channels:?

a) Your reach will skyrocket, as you will get exposure to many more audiences than just your handful of owned audiences. We call these “Other People’s Audiences” (OPA). Typically, we want these audiences to be larger than yours.?

b) Also, you will get social proof, which leads to credibility, and thus trust.?

What do you think is more potent? That you proclaim yourself as the number-one expert in your field in your Instagram bio, or that a reputable publication (the New York Times, let’s say) researches your sector, issues a ranking and you happen to be the number-one expert?

The latter, right? This is because an external voice is endorsing you. A prestigious one, even. And you had no control over what they wrote. You couldn’t buy their endorsement. You earned it. This is why third-party coverage is also known as “earned media”.??

This is your opportunity to stand out from the self-proclaimed gurus. Getting recognised by the key opinion leaders in your field (people or entities) is your superpower in this game.?

And the more reputable the channel, the higher it sits on the publicity pyramid, the more instant your credibility will be. If you are being interviewed as an expert on TV, nobody in the audience will question even for a second that you are competent.?

Remember, though: every time an external party is exposing you to its audience, it is putting its reputation on the line. The goodwill it has with its audience is its livelihood, and it will do everything in its power to protect it. As such, when a third party offers you visibility, you’d better deliver.?

Getting featured on third-party channels is the art of Public Relations, dears.

Marketers also appreciate the importance of being visible on third-party channels, but the way they attain it is totally different. They don’t earn it: they buy it. For instance, they will buy advertising space in a magazine and publish their ad there. This is why this type of presence is called “paid media”.

Also, this content is not generated by the publication but rather by a creative agency hired by the brand. This means that the brand has full control over what gets published. This makes it shiny, but not particularly credible. Like on our owned channels, in an ad we can say pretty much what we want about ourselves (read: brag ??).

There is nothing wrong with ad campaigns. They are an extremely effective way to expand your reach quickly and significantly, as well as to target qualified users. However, I have found that the ideal way to build a personal brand is through trust, and this is usually reached through organic (read: non-paid) content.?

3. Relationships

This is the dimension of visibility that not even most publicists get, let alone marketers. This is the reign of the Super Connector.?

If you really want to establish visibility, credibility, authority, influence and impact in your field, you have to build relationships with its key players.

Picture someone you follow on social and even see covered on third-party media (in the press, let’s say). They probably have influence on you. Yet don’t you think that they would make an even bigger impact on you if they knew you personally? If they went for a meal with you, for instance?

This is a basic phenomenon in human dynamics. Proximity is power. Let’s reverse engineer it in your favour.?

What you want to do is draw a map of who’s who in your field. Who are the decision-makers? Who are the thought leaders? Who are the influencers? Who are the multipliers? Who are the economic buyers?

These stakeholders are the people you want to build relationships with.?

I have identified a total of twenty-five categories you want to consider, divided into three main sections. We will explore this further in future articles.?

In the meantime, I recommend you look up my dear friends Christopher Kai and Gil Petersil . They are recognised Global Super Connectors and specialise in networking with billionaires, executives and celebrities.

For instance, Gil hangs out at Tony Robbins' house. And a few years back, Christopher had me as a panellist in a shelter in LA where exactly one week prior Elon Musk was speaking. We both sat in the same chair. We both were invited by Christopher.

So there you have it. These are the three dimensions of visibility you want to build if you are going to reach real omnipresence and achieve true impact.

I am not going to lie: this is not something you can achieve in a quarter. It takes time and deliberate practice. Especially when it comes to relationship building.

However, this is what you need to do if you have a breakthrough idea that can make a positive impact in the world. This is how you explode its visibility and credibility. This is how you create a movement.?

Choosing not to pursue this means that you are doing a disservice to all the beings you could help with your gift. As my PR mentor Jen Gottlieb always says, “Visibility is your responsibility”.?

What have you tried thus far to create visibility for your personal brand and impact for your cause? As usual, the comment section below and my dm-s are wide open ???