People act confused about why they’re invisible on socials, as if the algorithm is personally out to sabotage them. Visibility isn’t just about how many people engage with you or like your posts. It’s behaviour and psychology. People don’t buy based on logic. They buy on emotion. How do you make them feel? How often do you show?
While you lament the one post you did this week didn’t get any traction, understanding why and how people engage is important. The 1–9–90 rule explains how engagement works.
1% of people show up and post.
9% dip in with the odd like or comment when the mood takes them.
The other 90% lurk, scroll and inhale every post you write, from the sidelines.
I got this email the other day “… I am definitely one of those that quietly watches you and reads ALL your posts, enjoy them and probably don’t react as much as I should. But I see you girl. You are doing great things and are very important to me…” She never engages with my posts, but she knows everything I’ve been doing. These are the same people who’ll stop you in public and say, “I’ve been following you!” while your notifications swear they don’t exist.
That’s the psychology of visibility: most people want information without being seen getting it. They want connection without the exposure of admitting they’re paying attention. That’s why likes are a hollow scoreboard. You’re judging your visibility by the actions of a tiny percentage of your audience while the other 90% watches from beyond their keyboards.
Instead of doubling down on this visibility phenomena, we hide. Licking our content wounds because that great piece we spent hours working on was like talking to ourselves. There’s no perfect post. There’s only posting. Overthinking is the bane of business. It stops us putting ourselves out there as we strive for perfection. We water ourselves down and then wonder why we blend into the background like digital wallpaper. If you want to be seen, you have to actually… be seen. One inspirational quote a fortnight doesn’t count.
This is where breadcrumbs come in. Breadcrumbs are the tiny, consistent hints of who you are and how you think. A thought, rant, behind-the-scenes moment, or a bold opinion that doesn’t require permission. It’s not about click bait or some naffy video of you doing a silly dance, it’s steady pieces of you dropped in plain sight.
Breadcrumbs build trails. Trails build familiarity. Familiarity builds influence.
The silent majority might never like your posts, but they absolutely follow your breadcrumb trail. They learn who you are, what you stand for, and whether you’re someone worth paying attention to. They’re not clapping publicly, but they’re binging you like a Netflix series. If you show up regularly and consistently.
Forget performing for the handful who tap buttons. Start leaving breadcrumbs for the massive crowd watching from the shadows.
Visibility is a decision.
It’s a decision to stand where the world can see you, even when it feels safer to tuck yourself away behind the familiar glow of your laptop or the comforting hum of being busy. Visibility is the moment you stop waiting to be discovered and start making it impossible to be overlooked.
Real visibility begins with one shift: you decide to be seen as you are, not as you think you’re supposed to be. When you stop performing and start revealing, people don’t just notice you, they connect to you. They recognise your voice, your intent, the way your work makes them feel. And connection is the currency of every opportunity you’ve ever wanted.
Visibility is a rhythm, practice and series of tiny choices, a breadcrumb here, another there, teaching your audience who you are. Every insight you share, every story you tell, and every time you take a stand instead of staying politely silent, you leave a marker in people’s minds: I see you. I hear you. trust you.
The world doesn’t remember the person who hides their brilliance until conditions are perfect. It remembers the one who shows up even when their knees shake a little. It remembers the one who chooses to be present, consistent, and unmistakably themselves.
Visibility is about service. It’s not about you, what you like or what’s comfortable for you. When you allow yourself to be seen, you allow others to see what’s possible. You become a catalyst, a reminder and a spark. Your courage gives people permission to step forward themselves.
The world isn’t waiting for someone perfect. It’s waiting for someone visible. That someone can be you, the moment you decide to stop dimming what was built to shine.
by Annette Densham, Authority & Visibility Strategist