I left off the last blog post talking about how business and marketing is a lot like online dating. Fascinating right? If you haven’t read that post yet, catch up on it here. In that post, I argued that just like just like dating – especially online dating – photos are key. If you don’t even have a photo up for your business LinkedIn, Yelp, website, Facebook, etc. you’re missing a great opportunity to create an instant connection with your leads. If you do have a photo up and it is a selfie or looks like you took it from a web cam – well, that’s probably not the best first impression. You want your business headshot to convey that you are trustworth, professional, approachable, friendly and that you have invested in your business.
Let’s take the online dating analogy a little further, shall we? According to eHarmony, it is the number one factor for getting dates. With an online photo, eHarmony claims you are nine times more likely to trigger communication. Think about it for a second – you’re looking online for someone, whether it be your next date to the movies or the realtor that will help you find your dream home. I don’t know about you, but I am more likely to subconsciously connect with someone who has a nice photo of themselves up. We are visual beings and somehow that makes us feel like we’re connecting to the person. For the presentation I did with the group of contractors, I had to pull examples of good and bad headshots. It was amazing to me how many people on LinkedIn had photos up that looked like they were taken with a webcam. In fact, I had a harder time finding great headshot examples than I did of bad headshot examples.
Here are a few more statistics that demonstrate the power of photography for businesses. All the statistics below were sourced from Redfin or JeffBullas.com:
*60% of consumers are more likely to consider or contact a business when an image shows up in local search results
*Articles and pages with photos get 94% more views
*Including a photo in a press release increases views by over 45%
Wow! I mean, just wow. Can you imagine how much more engagement, page views and clicks your business could potentially receive just by including more photos? And of course, not just any photos – you want great, high quality, professional photos because that represents the level of professionalism of your brand and company.
So what makes a great headshot? Well, boys and girls, stay tuned for the next blog post where I will be sharing the elements of a professional business headshot and why you should invest the time and money in getting one.
In the meantime, I will leave you with some recent professional business headshots I did for one of my favorite clients, Vivienne Kelvin. She is not just one of my favorite clients, but one of my favorite people – I am always so impressed by her and always walk away learning something new. One of the things I most love about her is the extra mile she goes in any relationship she’s in, including the ones with her clients.
Since I’m leaving you with photos of a realtor – I’ll add in one more statistic that is relevant to that industry. It doesn’t apply to headshots but it still shows how powerful photographs can be in business. Did you know that realtor listings shot by a professional sell for $1000-$100,000 more? (Source: Redfin.com)
That should be motivation enough for you to start scheduling your session pronto!
Do you have an up to date professional business photo – if not, I’d love to know why. Jump into the comments and share with me.
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