Marketing Doesn’t Have to Be Public

Some of the highest-return marketing activities are ones nobody else ever sees.

If you scroll LinkedIn for five minutes, it can feel like every advisor is doing something. Posting content, hosting webinars, launching podcasts, sharing behind-the-scenes videos. It creates the impression that marketing means being visible and public all the time.

But some of the most effective marketing you can do is something nobody else will ever see.

A coffee meeting with a CPA who is rapidly growing their business. A handwritten note to a client who just closed on a house. A small dinner with six people who all work in the same industry. A phone call to a center of influence you haven’t talked to in three months. A personal email to someone you met at an event.

None of these shows up on a feed. None of them gets likes or impressions. But they build the kind of trust and relationship depth that a LinkedIn post never will.

This doesn’t mean public marketing is wrong. Content, social media, and visibility all have a role. But if you’ve been avoiding marketing because you don’t want to post online or don’t feel comfortable being public, you’re not out of options. You might actually be better suited for the kind of marketing that produces the highest return.

The advisors I’ve worked with who have the strongest referral networks didn’t build them by posting. They built them by showing up personally and consistently for the people who matter most to their business.

The takeaway: Marketing isn’t just what people can see. Some of the most valuable activities happen in private, one relationship at a time. If public marketing doesn’t feel like you, lean into the private work. It’s not a backup plan. It’s often the better plan.

Kristen Luke

Founder of Kaleido Creative Studio and OnNiche®