The Brand Of YOU
Only mega-corporations are faceless. Trade on your uniqueness – part of which is YOU. And if you want customers to know why they should buy from you, you have to engender trust; that’s so much easier when they can see your face. Who trusts a blank space, robotic, ‘computer says ‘no’ entity? I don’t – bet you don’t either. A photo humanises your business.
1: All staff are customer facing
If it’s good enough for you, it’ll make sense for your staff too. Don’t hide them behind the corporate filing cabinets. If you have name badges for your reception staff, make sure they feature on your web pages as well, with a lovely shot of each individual. Goes for sales staff too.
2: A silent salesman
You can’t be everywhere in one go – unless you’re online. With that in mind, your website is your stand in (your avatar) when you can’t be face to face with your prospect or customer. Make your face the one they remember – even without meeting them in person.
3: Making it, socially
Everyone is on social media – and I mean EVERYONE. Without a profile shot on your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles, you’re already losing out. Completed profiles (and that means definitely having a photo in place) are more likely to show up in search results – certainly higher than those without. By the way; there’s a school of thought that incomplete social media profiles (ie, an egg on Twitter and a grey man on LinkedIn) are an indication that the profile is fake.
4: A winning personality
Worried your personality doesn’t come over well online? Here’s a secret – your profile photo helps to make you stand out. Obviously, not with a photo booth-like image, but one taken by a professional that works with you to get your spark into your portrait. (that’s what you pay for by the way; not the click of a button)
BONUS reason!
You don’t have to smile in your photo – but, my goodness, it helps. Smiling lets others know that you’re approachable, friendly and worth doing business with. If it is a truism that ‘people buy from people’, then the more personal you make your online avatar, the more likely it is you’ll win additional business.
