By Oluwaferanmi Oladapo
Social media has brought anxiety into the world of work. You could do good work and still feel like you’re falling behind because you just aren’t visible enough.
Open LinkedIn and someone says they got a new job. On Instagram, someone has launched a business. Someone else is at a conference, in a new city or releasing a new book, and you think, “Well, maybe I should put myself out there a bit more as well.”
But there is a question I think we need to ask much earlier: what happens when being visible becomes more important than having something valuable to be visible for?
What are you putting yourself out there for?
Being seen is not the same as being known. Visibility creates awareness, but awareness does not always translate into reputation.
An entrepreneur in Lagos can publish an idea and reach people in Nairobi, Accra, London or New York without waiting for a traditional gatekeeper. That reach matters. But visibility answers, “Did you notice me?” Reputation asks, “What did you conclude about me after you noticed me?”
Imagine two friends with 20,000 followers each. One is always up to date on the latest news and has an opinion on just about everything. The other shares insights on African tech, researches carefully and explains lessons learned along the way.
They have both achieved awareness, but they may not have created the same reputation. A follower count alone cannot tell you what people associate with either person. Sometimes opportunities come because you are the person someone remembers when a particular need arises.
A lighthouse doesn’t have to chase every ship. Its light tells people where to find it.
Your personal brand should eventually say more than, “Look at me.” It should help people recognise what they can come to you for.
You could help make complex technology easy to understand or offer an unusual perspective on African business. You don’t have to choose one subject and stay with it forever, but there should be something people can recognise in the rhythm of your work. That takes more than a single clever LinkedIn post.
Branding discussions can get wrapped up in appearances: content pillars, profile optimisation, headshots, colour schemes, posting schedules and follower numbers. These can help, but the substance is what sits underneath.
Your personal brand takes shape through your ideas, work, knowledge, perspective and actions, and through the value you consistently bring to others.
That’s why it can’t be entirely manufactured. You can polish a profile and plan your posts. You can even buy visibility. At some point, though, people need something meaningful to connect that visibility to.
Your claims need evidence
Think of a person who says, “All I want to be is a writer.” They can talk for months about becoming a writer, or they can write. The same question applies to other fields.
If you want to be known for technology, strategy, research or leadership, what are people actually able to see?
You don’t need to be a master before you begin speaking. You can learn publicly and be a work in progress, but there should be evidence of movement along the path you claim to care about.
A graduate seeking to build a reputation for data analysis could post repeatedly about wanting an analyst role. They could also analyse a dataset and share what they learned, including where they made mistakes and how their understanding changed. That gives people something concrete to assess.
Without that evidence, they risk creating the perception of expertise before developing it. Visibility can expose that gap.
When the algorithm becomes the architect
The internet gives us unusual feedback. Imagine sharing a thoughtful post that attracts a few comments, then seeing a provocative statement receive thousands of reactions. It doesn’t take long to notice what gets attention.
We can use that knowledge to make useful work easier to find, or we can begin reshaping ourselves around whatever gives us the biggest response.
The algorithm can tell you what people are responding to, but it cannot tell you what is worth building your reputation around.
If controversy brings more engagement, ask yourself: “Do I really believe this? Does it make sense? Is this how I want people to understand me? Would I still share it if there were no likes and comments?”
Attention is a metric, not a value system.
So what are you actually building?
You might not have a full answer, and that’s okay. Your personal brand can change with you. Still, becoming known for something requires substance. Chasing attention can feel like progress even when your work is not developing.
So, yes, put yourself out there. Share your ideas. Let others find your work. But keep asking what people can discover about your ability, perspective and contribution when they do.
Awareness gets you noticed, but reputation gets you remembered.
A personal brand, at its best, grows from who you have consistently chosen to be and how you have consistently shown up.
Before you ask, “How can I get more people to see me?” ask, “What will they find when they do?”
About the author
Oluwaferanmi Oladapo is a writer and brand and communications strategist whose work spans media, finance, real estate, technology, lifestyle and faith. She writes about communication, culture, identity and the stories that shape how people and brands are understood.
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