CARIBBEAN (By Carla Williams Johnson) - Every few years, the business world finds a new word everyone suddenly needs to use. Right now, that word is positioning.
Scroll through social media and the message is everywhere: position yourself as an expert, position your brand for success, position yourself for global opportunities.
But using the word positioning and actually knowing how to position someone are two very different things.
Not every expert is an expert in positioning.
For Carla Williams Johnson, Managing Director of Trinidad and Tobago-based public relations agency Carli Communications, positioning is not the latest marketing trend. As a publicist, it has always been fundamental to the work of public relations.
In fact, it is one of the reasons she started her business.
Williams Johnson saw Caribbean entrepreneurs, executives and professionals doing exceptional work but struggling to communicate their value beyond their immediate markets. They had expertise, results and compelling stories.
What many did not have was a strategy for ensuring the right people knew about them for the right reasons.
The issue wasn't talent. It was positioning.
More Than Visibility
Positioning and visibility are often confused, but they are not the same.
A business can be highly visible without being strategically positioned. A viral post can generate attention. A large following can create reach. Neither automatically establishes authority, credibility, or reputation.
Public relations approaches positioning differently.
A publicist must understand how a person or organization is currently perceived, how they want to be perceived and, critically, what credible evidence supports that positioning.
Then come the harder questions.
What differentiates this person from dozens of others calling themselves experts? Why is their story relevant now? What perspective can they contribute to a wider conversation? Would a journalist consider their expertise credible? And perhaps most importantly: why should anyone care?
Effective positioning sits at the intersection of reputation, credibility, storytelling, visibility and public perception.
When media coverage, thought leadership, awards, speaking engagements, partnerships and digital presence begin reinforcing the same narrative, positioning becomes significantly more powerful.
A Caribbean Challenge and Opportunity
That conversation takes on particular significance during Black Business Month.
Across the Caribbean, entrepreneurs are building innovative businesses, creating employment, developing global brands and contributing expertise far beyond the region.
Yet many remain relatively unknown outside their home markets.
Williams Johnson believes this is precisely where strategic public relations can make a difference.
The Caribbean does not have an excellence problem. In many instances, it has a visibility and positioning gap.
Digital platforms have made geography less restrictive. A business operating from Port of Spain, Kingston, Bridgetown, Nassau or Castries can reach audiences in New York, Toronto, London and beyond.
But global access does not automatically create global authority.
Caribbean entrepreneurs still have to intentionally build reputations that match their ambitions.
So, How Can Caribbean Entrepreneurs Position Themselves Better?
1-Decide what you want to be known for.
Not ten things. Identify the one or two areas where you want your name to become synonymous with expertise.
2-Audit what already exists.
Google your name. Review your social profiles, website, photographs, biography and media coverage. If a journalist discovered you today, would what they find support the reputation you want tomorrow?
3-Find the story behind the business.
CEO of XYZ Company” is a title, not necessarily a story. Why was the company created? What problem does it solve? What has the founder overcome? What perspective can they offer that others cannot?
4-Build third-party credibility.
Anyone can call themselves an expert. Credibility becomes stronger when respected media, awards, industry organizations and speaking platforms recognize that expertise.
5-Become useful to the media.
Don't only approach journalists when there is something to promote. Become a credible source who can explain trends, provide insight and contribute perspective to relevant conversations.
6-Stop treating social media as the entire PR strategy.
Social media matters, but it is one part of a much larger reputation ecosystem.
7-Think globally, but remain authentically Caribbean.
Caribbean identity does not need to be minimized to achieve international relevance. Culture, perspective and lived experience can become powerful differentiators.
Ultimately, positioning isn't about pretending to be bigger than one is. It is about ensuring the perception of one's value catches up with the reality of the work being done.
Black Business Month should celebrate the businesses being built across the region. But it should also challenge Caribbean founders to ask a bigger question:
If your work is truly world-class, have you positioned it so the world can see it?
The Caribbean has never lacked talent, ideas or ambition.
What it needs is more entrepreneurs strategically owning their narratives, building credible visibility and confidently taking their place on the global stage.
The goal isn't simply to be seen. It is to be seen, understood and remembered for the right reasons.
ABOUT:
Carla Williams Johnson is the Managing Director of Carli Communications, a Trinidad and Tobago-based public relations and strategic communications agency. Known as “The Publicist of the Caribbean,” she helps entrepreneurs, executives, and brands strategically position themselves, strengthen their credibility, and leverage public relations to take Caribbean excellence to the global stage.
Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @carlicommunications.
