You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their face.
Eyes might well be a window to the soul, but a face can give you even greater insights to a person – a sense of their character, their trustworthiness, their personality, and their energy.
This insight is what people in the business call a ‘personal brand,’ and its impact cannot be underestimated.
You might have heard a lot of chatter about personal branding in recent years. It is definitely a business marketing technique that is effective and impactful, but many people have been a bit slow to jump on board with the concept.
Perhaps they don’t fully understand what it is and how it works. Or maybe they just don’t like having their photos taken – and photos are a very important part (I would suggest THE most important part) of personal branding.
Personal branding, in its very simplest terms, is a message and an image that really encapsulate who you are and show why you stand out from the rest. It is kind of like “here I am, in a nutshell – see why I’m unique” – and it makes people want to connect and engage with you.
As a personal branding photographer, I work with many small business owners and entrepreneurs in Cairns, north Queensland. These are people who know just how important the concept of “selling” themselves and what they represent is to business success What I enjoy most about doing these types of shoots is the opportunity to learn about who a person is – their passion, their business, their challenges, their goals – and to reflect the very nucleus of the person back through the lens. I want their story to be captured on film, and evident to others who look at it.
Let’s face it – there’s nothing more boring than a photo that is staged and rigid and one-dimensional. Too often, this is the sort of image that businesses choose to use on their social media and marketing collateral, and honestly, it does nothing to draw people in.
A photograph that is focused on personal branding, however, will have vibrancy and life and context. It will immediately start to build a relationship with anyone who looks at it and make them want to know more about you. The most important thing, however, is that this sort of photo will increase the chances of people wanting to do business with you because they feel as if they already know a bit about who you are and the type of business you run.
A great personal branding photo can be directly linked to improved business success, just as any marketing tool can improve outcomes. It’s just important that you make sure the photos are high quality and done by an expert who understands what personal branding is all about – and that they are used optimally in your business. Personal branding images should be used on all professional and personal social media platforms where you have a presence – Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram – as well as on your website and on all your marketing collateral.
This is “you” that is being put out there – so make sure it is the best “you” possible.
