Please note this transcript has been generated by AI - apologies for any mistakes

Pippa Goulden (00:45)
Hello and welcome back to another episode of PR Made Simple. And today I am deep diving into something that has become a bit of a buzzword in 2025 and something that I want to address and make sure that you are thinking about this in the right way. And that is this little word visibility where

have seen

sorts of different types of businesses talking about getting more visible.

and making sure that you are visible and you're present and you're being seen. And I am going to argue today in this little podcast that that isn't actually the right strategy. I think we've been looking at numbers. We've been looking at how many Instagram followers you have, how big is your email list. The real question I want you to look at though is are you being seen as the go-to person?

in your field, in your industry? Or are you just being seen? Are you just visible? Because this is something that I'm seeing with a lot of people that I work with. They've got the social media presence, they've got the email list, they're showing up consistently, they're doing all those things that we've been told to do, their clients are raving about them, their work is absolutely brilliant. But when it comes to industry recognition, when it comes to being the name that editors, event organizers,

high-level clients think of first, they are not on that list. And that's because most business owners are chasing visibility when actually what they need is authority. So today, we're deep diving into why I think visibility isn't enough anymore and what you should be focusing on instead. I think the first place I want to start with is you are not invisible, okay?

If you're listening to this podcast, chances are that you already have visibility. Your social media followers see your posts, or at least when the algorithm allows them to. Your email list hears from you regularly. Your clients know who you are and what you're doing. People within your world know you. But the problem is, when people are focusing on visibility, there is a ceiling with that. You're talking to the same audiences over and over again.

Your Instagram reach might be good, but it's the same few hundred thousand people seeing your content over and over again. Your email list is engaged, but it's not growing at the pace you need it to. And, you know, if we look at what's happened in 2025, social media has got more boring, it's got more frustrating, we're spending far too much time on things that don't actually give us that reward. You're shouting into an algorithm that changes every few months on a platform that you don't own.

you're probably spending hours creating content that reaches the same people who already know you over and over again. And then you look at what competitors are doing, often with less impressive credentials than you, and they're being quoted in the press, they're being invited to speak on stages, they're being featured on podcasts that matter. And the difference is they're not chasing visibility, they are focused on building their authority. So let's break down the difference between that.

Visibility is being seen. Authority is being the obvious expert. Visibility is having 5,000 Instagram followers or a big email list. Authority is being the first name that comes to mind when somebody needs an expert in your field or needs to know somebody within your industry. Visibility is posting consistently. Authority is being invited to speak.

right to contribute without having to pitch yourself and that happens to the people in my world. Once they've started building that momentum, they start getting approached for opportunities. It's not just them pitching themselves out the whole time. And this is the really important bit. Authorities built through credibility and credibility comes from third party endorsement and that is what PR is. When you tell your audience you're brilliant or you've got an offer or you're

you know, whatever's going on in your business, that's marketing. When somebody else is telling their audience, you're brilliant, that's PR, that's the credibility piece that is probably missing in your business. Think about it, would you rather read a social media post where I tell you that I'm great at PR, or would you trust me more if you saw me featured in a key industry title or heard me interviewed on somebody else's podcast or watched me speak on a stage at an industry event?

You know, those things aren't even comparable, are they? Because when an editor quotes you, when a podcast host invites you on, when an event organizer puts you on the stage, they're vouching for you. They're saying to that curated audience, this person's worth your time. They know what they are talking about. Check them out. And that builds trust faster than any amount of social media content ever could. And this is what's really powerful about this work is that authority compounds.

One press feature leads to more speaking opportunities. The speaking opportunities get you noticed by podcast hosts. The podcast interviews get you approached for another collaboration. It builds that momentum in a way that social media and email lists don't. And I'm not saying don't have those, but without this authority piece, you are just getting seen. You're just focusing on the visibility. You are not getting known for what you do.

And that is why this really matters. You know, look at Pri Pri, who is in my membership, Priya, you know, she's done an amazing job of getting her products out there, building her reputation. That's led to her getting stopped in key retailers like John Lewis and the V &A and National Trust, because the press coverage is giving her that instant credibility. That's what authority does.

It opens doors that you can't access on your own. I see that with my one-to-one accelerator clients as well. The positioning shift and the momentum that builds from them putting themselves out there, getting those podcast interviews, getting those key pieces of press, that authority piece then leads to more because people say, well, if they've been featured in that, then they must know what they're doing.

So if you're listening to this and thinking, okay, but I get it, I need authority, not just visibility, but how? How do you do that? Well, here's the shift. I want you to stop relying, and this is a bit scary, stop relying on social media as your primary growth strategy. Like I said, absolutely it is an important part of your business. I'm not saying abandon it at all, but don't make it the only thing that you're investing on. Start thinking of PR as a cornerstone of your business growth. PR needs to be embedded.

in your everyday, in your strategic growth strategy. It's not just a nice to have and add on to the business when you find the time. You want to be looking strategically at your positioning. You want to be thinking about the right PR routes for you and your business, whether that's third party endorsements, whether that's speaking opportunities, podcast interviews, press coverage. There's all sorts of different PR routes that could be right for you. And it's that kind of authority that makes those high level opportunities come to you.

because remember, you are brilliant at what you do. Your work helps people. You have that expertise that deserves recognition. The only thing standing between you and that recognition is this strategic position. And this is what I am going to blow my own trumpet here. I am brilliant at doing with my one-to-one accelerator client. We really look at what you want to get known for. And again, this is work that we do in my Get Known Sprint, which is going to be back in February. This is what

Doing this work upfront is really key to knowing what you want to get known for. And that helps you to build that profile, to put yourself out there, to start pitching for the right opportunities. So I want you to be really thinking about stepping up. It's not just about visibility. It's about building that authority. It's about getting known for what you do

really owning that positioning that you are the go-to in your industry. You know, if I look back at the work that I've done in 2025 and how my business has grown, yes, I am fairly consistent with my email, I'm fairly consistent with my social media, but it's not those pieces that have really brought in the exciting clients that I want to work with.

that have helped to grow the membership, that have helped me launch my Get Known Sprint. Those things have filled up when I have done talks on stages, when I have done the right podcast interviews, when I have got press that I can then use to remind people of the fact that I do know what I'm talking about. I've done this key job over the last 18 months of really building my own authority within this space and showing people that I do know what I'm talking about.

and that is exactly what I want for you. So pep talk over, hopefully this has helped you to see the difference between visibility and authority and it's helped you to see that maybe for 2026, this should be something that is embedded within your business. And if you want to find out more about how we can work together, come and find me at theprset.com. I'm Pippa the PR Set on Instagram.

Pippa Goulden on LinkedIn. You can use the code POD50 to get 50 % off your first month in my DIY PR membership and we have got some exciting things coming up. We've got 2026 brainstorms, we've got planning sessions, I also have an in-person day in January that I will put the details in the show notes for and my one-to-one accelerator. I have a couple of spots left at the moment for pre-Christmas start or

hitting the ground running into January. So come and find me, let's get you known for what you do, let's get you building that authority and I will see you again soon for another episode of PR Made Simple.