The #1 failure with most LinkedIn profiles is a poor headshot. And that can reflect poorly on your brand.
If you are a solo entrepreneur then your face is your brand. Think about it. You are doing business on a personal level. You meet clients, suppliers, collaborators, and other professionals with whom you want to connect. Did you ever use Google and LinkedIn to search for somebody before contacting them? Well, they do the same with you. They look you up, they read your social media profiles, and they look at how you present yourself.
Your Face Is Your Brand
You wouldn’t go to a meeting with a respected, important person and look disheveled. You would get your better outfit, possibly cut your hair, and make sure that you show your best face before going to the meeting.
Then why so many people have a rather terrible headshot? Your headshot is your business suit on the web. It works 24/7 for you, or against you. I just did a test with LinkedIn. I looked at the list of “people you may know,” and only 1 out of 25 had a decent headshot. One more had the headshot done professionally but that did nothing special for her. I could not find 1 person, out of 25, who had a great headshot.
What makes a headshot a great one? It’s a portrait that shows you confident and approachable. It has to be a closeup so that people who look you up can recognize you when they meet you in person. It has to be free of distractions because, if the expression is engaging, then the background is not important.
Recently, I had the honor to make the headshot of Thomas Heath, portrayed on this page, a branding and coaching expert here in Charleston SC. Thomas teaches LinkedIn classes and he finds himself often discussing the importance of having a great presentation of yourself, in order to promote your business effectively. In his column “You are your brand. Built it” from the Charleston Business Journal, he outlines several steps to improve your LinkedIn profile. Step #1 is to improve your headshot.
Consistency For Your Team
When presenting a team of professionals you need consistency. It sends a strong signal to the viewer that you have a unified team of people working with a vision. This image of consistency is achieved by showing people with a similar presentation. Instead of having a group of people where the single faces are hard to recognize, it’s better to have single headshots of each team member. Instead of trying desperately to have a different background for each one, nobody cares about the background and, at the best, it distracts the attention of the viewer, it’s best to have a single tone background.
I shoot with a pure white background because it is the best to highlight the subject in the image. My business portraits are designed to work well with social media and immediately convey a sense of clean design and consistency, which enhances your brand.
Standing Out
Finally, if so many people don’t care about their image and you do, you automatically stand out from the crowd. Another reason to upgrade your headshot.
Call me today at (843) 701-1138 to learn how I can help better showcase you and your brand.