The marketer's visibility cloak

I know we all have questions about this title but this is the best I could come up with.

Feb 27, 2024

A few weeks ago, Etashe asked me how I am able to stay top of mind of industry leaders while not being very active on social media.

I promised to share my answers in this newsletter.

Etashe, let’s start with your second question.

I don’t intend to become more active on social because I can’t handle it.

I break into a cold sweat every time I have to post on LinkedIn.

I can’t be consistent or show up every day 🙄

Comments on my posts make me want to delete my account because why are there so many people engaging with a random thought I had when making toast???

My anxiety made me realize that I couldn’t build a personal brand the way other people do.

My approach had to be different.

Finding the right approach (visibility cloak) for me

I started looking out for well-known strategists and marketers with minimal social presence.

The examples I found were Lily Ugbaja, Fadeke Adegbuyi, Elias Benyamin, and my manager, Fio Dossetto.

The most active of them posts once or twice per week on LinkedIn.

My hypothesis was that these marketers were able to post less because they all have impressive track records, document their work publicly (using mediums other than social media), and have personal relationships with other successful marketers.

While their cases might be the exception rather than the norm, it shows that there is an alternative path to success.

(I know you’re wondering when I’ll answer your second question, but just stay with me.)

Now, let’s talk about what you and I can do to become like these people.

1. Do good work

Before becoming the VP of Marketing at Podia, Elias had a side project that brought in 250,000 visitors with its first post. He scaled this website to 30,000 visitors per month in organic traffic. You can hear him talk about it in this podcast. He has done a lot since then, but I want to focus on his early days because that’s what’s relevant to our context.

You and I don’t have a side hustle turned traffic magnet website, but what we do have is our work. The projects we get from clients are our chance to do strategic and meaningful work to signal our potential to senior marketers.

I know you recently worked on a book project with Smarketers Hub. That’s huge. And you can use it to get the type of attention you want without making thirteen LinkedIn posts weekly.

…Which brings me to my next point of documenting work.

2. Blow your trumpet (in the places you feel comfortable in)

One of the people I met during my NYSC was Kehinde Ogunyale. He got his first job as a software engineer because someone at a company came across a Medium article in which he documented how he trained the images of some Yoruba foods using a convolutional neural network.

I am not asking you to write a paper on neural networks.

What I am suggesting is that you write about things that will capture the attention of other marketers. What fascinated you during the book writing project? Where did you struggle? How did you make decisions about who to interview? What questions did you ask?

This is usually really hard because our everyday work might not be “interesting”.

But I recently realized that it all depends on perspective.

Think of Fio Dossetto’s Contentfolks.

Yes, it is based on over 10 years of marketing experience, but on a closer look, you’ll notice some posts are about very recent events that she has thought deeply about.

These events are usually relatable and catch people’s attention.

One of my favorites is Some Half Broken Things Can Fully Break You.

Mike Blight shows some love for Fio’s post

Think of my Substack. I just ramble on about working as an in-house writer, the challenges of growth, and lessons learned on my journey.

And guess what? People actually want to read it. The first time I got on a call with Fio, she mentioned this Substack. I couldn’t believe that a respected content strategist was reading my work. I had become visible just by sharing my story.

You don’t have to start a Substack. The formats and mediums are endless. For example, Ayomide Joseph shares his work through case studies on his website.

3. Go on a lot of coffee chats ☕️

Finally, we can’t go far without relationships. Elias met with Andy Crestodina in his office to ask him questions about marketing. Chima Mmeje started meeting with other marketers in 2021 and her career took off.

I got my job at Animalz because someone I became acquainted with pushed me to apply and furiously advocated for me within the agency (thanks, Joanna Rutter 🫶🏽). I got to work on a topic cluster project through Chima. Lily has referred me for numerous opportunities. Every other week, Fio connects me to a marketer who knows something I want to learn.

This conversation is giving stalker vibes but thank God Joanna didn’t freak out

It would be unfair if I didn’t acknowledge that I am lucky to know the people I know. I happened to get a job at Animalz almost at the same time as Lily. I happened to be working at Float when Fio was employed as a strategist. I happened to live in the same city as Chima Mmeje.

Connecting with people might work differently for you, so unfortunately, I can’t recommend any concrete steps here 😿

Now, let’s answer your first question.

I’ve 10 rules that guide how I use social media.

10 rules that help Stella use LinkedIn without descending into anxiety and succumbing to stress

Focus on quality over quality over quantity. This applies to the volume of posts and the connections you build.
Only post when you have something to say. Once you post, close the app till next week.
Share about the unique things you know or have experienced aka repurpose your newsletter to share on LinkedIn.
Write in your voice so that you are comfortable while creating the posts.
Only share and repost stuff you or your connections are interested in. That means never share a weird post about a dog on the street turning out to be a CEO.
Avoid becoming a grifter. Don’t post about anything you don’t know. It’s okay if you’re not a thought leader.
Ask questions instead of pretending that you know what you’re doing.
Connect with /Follow the people you want to notice you or hire you, e.g., CMOs and heads of content. Connect with peers who are doing impressive work.
Never comment “Thank you for sharing”. Even on the pain of death. If you like a post but don’t have anything to add to the convo, like it and keep scrolling.
Never start a post with the phrase “LinkedIn fam”.

Etashe, I hope that maybe you can take a lesson or two from all that I shared.

Till next time 👋🏾

PS in case you’re wondering, I gave this newsletter its title because I think of the 3 things I listed as things you can do to make you visible as a marketer. Then I thought of invisibility cloaks and wondered if there was an alternate universe where people had to wear visibility cloaks to be seen.

The analogy kinda went downhill from there.

But even though it is terrible and confusing, I liked it and decided to go with it.

It’s time for some unsolicited life updates.

I watched this video about hobbies and I remembered how much I have changed since uni.

Back then, I used to bake every pastry I could find on Pinterest. I tried my hand at sewing. I wrote poems. I played video games.

I decided to bring hobbies and random interests back.

This week, I baked a simple cake. It was an impromptu decision I made at 8 PM after seeing a post on Instagram.

I drew and painted an artwork I found on Pinterest.

I went for a tie and dye workshop and tried to create a batik tote bag.

I feel so alive when my hands make things.

Femi, thank you for reading the initial draft! You must be surprised by what you just read. I am sorry I threw the first one in the bin. I had to write a new one.