It always surprises me when people say they don’t have a good profile photo of themselves. In this digital age, it’s really important to have good images – even if you are incredibly camera shy.
Everything is online nowadays – and that means that visuals are vital. Websites with good images are “stickier”, meaning that people browsing stay for longer and they will also be favoured in search engines and in social media.
Australians generally don’t like self-promotion – we never like to look like we “have tickets” on ourselves, which is one reason that so many businesses are uncomfortable with having photos of their team on the website.
But, let’s be frank, this is something we just have to get over.
Clients (and customers) like to know that they are dealing with real people – people they would be happy to do business with if they met them face-to-face, rather than just via email or online. It puts a personal spin on doing business.
This is why a professional photo of yourself is important – you can use it on your website page and throughout all your social media. It’s also really good to have on hand if you do any media.
Make sure you have an image of yourself – or your CEO, if that’s more relevant – on hand for any media stories you do. That small addition means that you will ensure that your comments will be included and that you will be given a strong presence in any content to be featured.
And don’t get intimidated by getting photographed. You don’t have to incredibly polished – or 30 years old – you just have to look professional, clean and tidy. A good photographer will make you feel relaxed and help you to look your best with good lighting and set-up.
Don’t know a good photographer? Look at companies with websites you like or good marketing collateral and ask them who they used. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but you do need to use a professional. I used the wonderful Jade Warne for my new portrait shot, taken this week and pictured here. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
And the whole process was remarkably pain-free.