By Ellie Edwards-Scott, Co-founder of The Advisory Collective and AdVantage, a GTM and market alignment consultancy which is a partnership between TAC and Bluestripe
Founders are often told they need to be more visible. But after more than a decade of working with founders and businesses entering new markets, I have seen that attention alone rarely creates commercial momentum.
For many founders, visibility has become shorthand for marketing. They post regularly on LinkedIn, publish newsletters and share product updates, customer wins, event photos and opinions on the industry.
All of this can be useful. But activity should not be confused with impact.
Being visible does not automatically make a business credible. And for companies entering a new market, or trying to stand out in a crowded one, that distinction can determine whether awareness turns into commercial growth or simply creates more noise.
One of the most common issues I see is that founders are highly visible to the people who already know them, while remaining largely invisible to the customers, partners, journalists, analysts and industry influencers they actually need to reach.
A founder may post three times a week and achieve good engagement. But who is engaging? Often, it is their existing network: colleagues, investors, recruiters, competitors, friends and long-standing industry contacts. These people may like, comment and share, but they are not necessarily the buyers the business needs to influence.
The agency CEO who has never heard of the company is unlikely to be waiting for its next LinkedIn post. The journalist researching a category feature may not follow the founder. The analyst building a vendor shortlist may never see the company’s content. And the prospective client trying to assess which suppliers are credible is more likely to search online, ask trusted colleagues, read the trade media or look at who is speaking on the right industry stages.
This is where credibility starts to matter.
Self-promotion and independent validation are not the same
The difference between visibility and credibility is easiest to see when comparing self-published content with third-party validation.
A company website says: we are innovative, experienced and different. A respected trade publication says: this business has a point of view worth hearing. A founder’s own podcast says: listen to us. An invitation to appear on an established industry podcast says: other people believe this perspective has value.
A LinkedIn post may generate impressions. A quote in a trusted publication may influence a buyer, shape a category conversation and continue to appear in search results long after the article was published.
The difference is not simply reach. It is trust.
Owned content still matters. Businesses need a clear point of view and strong channels through which they can communicate regularly with their market. But self-published claims have limits, particularly when a company is new to a market.
When every business describes itself as market-leading, innovative and transformative, buyers look for stronger signals. Who else is talking about the company? Where has its leadership team been invited to contribute? Which publications have covered its work? Who has endorsed the proposition? What evidence exists beyond the company’s own marketing?
Credibility is built when external sources validate the story a business is telling about itself.
Credibility has to be built in the right places
Founders do not need to be visible everywhere. They need to be credible in the places their buyers use to make decisions.
That requires more than simply increasing the volume of content. It starts with understanding the market.
Who are the priority buyers? What problems are they trying to solve? What triggers them to consider a new supplier? Whose opinions do they trust? Which publications do they read? Which events do they attend? What evidence do they need before they will take a sales conversation seriously?
Without this understanding, companies risk creating content for a broad, undefined audience rather than building influence with the people who matter.
A business targeting agency CEOs, for example, will need a different credibility strategy from one targeting chief data officers, publishers or retail media networks. The message, proof points, channels and external validators will all be different.
Credibility is not created by being louder. It is created by being relevant, consistent and trusted within a specific market.
Commercial strategy and communications need to work together
This is where I’ve seen many market-entry plans begin to break down.
Commercial teams focus on leads, meetings, pipeline and revenue. Communications teams focus on stories, coverage, content and visibility. Both may be working hard, but if the two are not aligned, neither will deliver its full value.
A communications strategy cannot compensate for an unclear proposition. It is difficult to build authority around a business that has not clearly defined its audience, differentiated its offer or identified the problems it solves better than its competitors. Equally, a strong commercial proposition can struggle if no one outside the company knows about it, understands it or believes it.
The two need to reinforce one another. Commercial strategy should identify the audiences, buying triggers, competitive gaps and market opportunities that matter most. Communications should then build visibility, authority and third-party validation around those priorities.
When this works well, every asset works harder. Trade coverage strengthens search visibility. Search visibility supports the sales conversation. A podcast appearance becomes social content. A research report creates media stories, event discussions and prospect outreach. An external endorsement strengthens the pitch deck. LinkedIn then becomes an effective distribution channel because there is something meaningful to distribute.
That is integration. The alternative is a lot of activity that never quite adds up to influence.
From being seen to being considered
For founders entering a new market, awareness is only the first hurdle.
A company can be known without being understood. It can be understood without being trusted. And it can be trusted without being considered relevant to a specific buying need.
The real objective is not simply to become more visible. It is to become credible enough to be considered. That takes proof, consistency and external validation.
Over time, credible signals begin to shape how a business is perceived. The company becomes associated with a particular challenge or area of expertise. Its leaders become recognised voices in the category. Its proposition becomes easier to understand.
Sales conversations then begin with greater familiarity and trust. Prospects are less likely to ask, “Who are you?” and more likely to ask, “How could this work for us?”
That is the commercial value of credibility.
Visibility may open the door. Credibility gives someone a reason to invite you in.
To find out more about AdVantage email Ellie@theadvisorycollective.co.uk
