How many times have you visited a company’s website and wondered with whom you will be doing business? You look at the about me / us page to try and find out and after reading an interesting spiel you are really curious! You scroll down further on the page but disappointingly there is no photo of them. We have all heard the saying ‘people do business with people they know like and trust’. Well, a photo of yourself on your website is a great first connection to the audience you are looking to reach, it starts to build trust and help establish a relationship as your potential client sees your smiling face and knows what you look like.
Thankfully many people are starting to realize that you should have a photo of yourself and your team in your marketing. After all, we are representing our brand. However, not all photos are created equally!
Hang on a minute while I grab my soap box…
So often I see amazing pieces of printed marketing material or even social media marketing that are detail orientated, have been well thought out, and carefully put together. As my eyes scan the leaflet and get to the bottom, there it is…a ‘headshot’. But it’s actually a ….wait a minute I need to sit down for this and I think you should too….it’s a…*gulp* selfie!!!
These entrepreneurs clearly take their business seriously with their thick glossy leaflets and their eye-catching business cards that cost a pretty penny but then they ruin that overall professional image by using a cell phone selfie.
One of the groups where I have seen people using selfies in their professional material that is a little shocking to me are realtors! They want people to trust them with probably the biggest purchase they will ever make, a huge decision that they will likely be living with for years, and yet they are not representing themselves as a professional.
Let’s compare and contrast…
Here’s a selfie I took, it looks like a halfway decent passport photo at best (except I was allowed to smile for this! I will never understand the no smiling allowed rule. I think it’s just to give the TSA something to amuse their staff with). It does give someone an idea of what I look like and it does show me as smiling which most people associate with someone who is friendly. But let’s be honest, swap out the background for height markers and slap a board with a number in front of me and we almost have a mugshot.
How about this beauty? I’m outside and can barely open my eyes in this sun, I am glistening with sweat in the Florida sun but you should totally do business with me. 😉
Now here’s a professional headshot. Can you see how much more polished it looks?
It still shows my personality, I look approachable and friendly but most of all I think I look confident (I definitely felt more confident!). It looks overall way more professional and like I actually care about how my business is represented. The fact that effort has clearly been put in can make people think I would go above and beyond and put in that extra effort when I am serving them.
I challenge you to ask yourself these questions:
- Do I have a professional headshot?
- Do I actually like my headshot?
- Was my headshot taken less than 3 years ago?
- Have I had a new headshot taken since I had a major image change such as weight loss, dramatically different hair style or starting to wear glasses etc?
- (Most importantly) Is my headshot making the right professional first impression?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, let’s do something about that. Call me on 941-564-5354 to get your headshot session booked or get more information by visiting this page.
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