So is it really worth getting your picture taken professionally? If you see the list of benefits it has for your future career, you’ll wish you did this long ago.
You live in a society that’s very much dependent on visual stimulation. Think of how popular images and videos are on social media when compared to normal text. I bet you open more posts containing imagery than basic typed content, right?
So why aren’t you enhancing your online profiles—Facebook, your website, LinkedIn and more—with a proper image?
Here are the results you’re missing out on.
Prove Your Competence
You’ll be surprised at how much people assume about you simply by looking at your picture. This can work against you if you don’t have a professional image to show. If you’re using a pixelated selfie a future boss or investor may think you’re out of touch with modern technology or that you don’t care about the details.
Building Your Brand
Building a brand requires:
- Being consistent in what you showcase to consumers
- Showing the best about your business
In a single photograph with branded clothing you can deliver a message about a neat, organised company. After all, branding is about communicating your company values. Now let your employees wear the same in the photos used on their company profiles and you present a united front that confirms what you stand for.
Make it Personal
Your branding should also be personal, since today’s consumers respond more to personal service than ever before. They do business online, rather than at the corner store, but they still want to trust who they do business with. This requires getting to know you and a photo goes a long way.
A photograph showing a friendly but professional business owner and employees may set you apart from a clinical, corporate competitor. And this one factor can make consumers pick you above all the other similar companies.
Be Noticed
You also live in an age where the internet is at the center of many people’s daily schedules. This could work in your favor if you use similar photographs on all your online profiles.
Perhaps someone notices valuable information you share on Facebook. A while later your website photographs may be seen. The trust your social media post created may prompt this person to trust you rather than your competitor. But they won’t recognize you without that pic.
And what if a prospective business partner, boss or employee wants to connect with you but there are 20 other ‘John Smiths’ listed when they search for your details. Your clear, recognizable portrait will help important contacts find you on LinkedIn, websites and social media.
Be Photo Ready for that Expose
And what happens when you start to climb the corporate ladder? An online expose or an article with your by-line can be the big break you’ve been waiting for. But your latest selfie or even a photograph from your last family gathering won’t suffice to present you to the world.
Once again your brand, personality and professionalism must shine through, so have a head shot ready to send to that publisher.
Have you booked your session yet?
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