I love it when a new year rolls around. It’s that glass half full time of year that teams with possibilities as we look to the months ahead with hope and set our sights on achieving new goals, big and small. It’s also the perfect time for updating your image and putting a fresh face out into the world. And it’s something that just about everyone needs! Here are my 5 reasons that EVERYONE needs a professional headshot.
1. Authenticity & Style
We all have our secret guilty pleasures. Authenticity isn’t that. Blending the boundaries between how you show up in person when doing business and the impression people get when they see you online is the sweet spot.
The true magic of a great headshot is to give your clients and followers a taste of what it’s like to be around you, work with you and learn from you – like a personality amuse-bouche.
2. You will use it everywhere on the web, including advertising
If your day-to-day business doesn’t require you to hang out on the web constantly, you may not be aware of how many places you can use your headshot. Here are a few:
Your website
Your Facebook business page
Social Media postings
Leaving comments on blogs
Guest appearances on vlogs/podcasts
On your blog/e-newsletter
Promotional Flyers for events
Your Professional Bio
Guest posts on another website
3. People study faces
When potential clients come to your website, they will study your face and see if they like you or can they trust you with their business. A pro-shot of you provides them a chance to make the connection.
Photographers are trained to bring out your personality in the picture. That’s what you are paying them for. They know the right angles, the correct head tilts and all the secret tips for making you look fab.
4. Reputation
The investment of time and money on professional headshots can build your reputation – you can make your peers “swan neck” at what you’re up to; make your tribe fall in love with you by showing some behind-the-scenes vulnerability. Played right, your next pro headshots session could end up being the best marketing activity you carry out this year.
5. Keeping it Professional
So at this point, we’ve established that having a headshot is pretty much a “must-have” in today’s world. But the last point I want to make is that it truly does need to be professionally done. Why? Think about this. You need to hire a mechanic to work on your car, so you start to do some research online. You are comparing a couple of mechanics that pop up and click on their links. The first website is well put together, all the business information is there, and you see the image of a clean-cut guy, clean clothes, holding a wrench and standing in his clean and organized garage. He’s smiling and seems approachable and friendly. You make a few mental notes, then click on the continue your search by clicking the next link on Google.
The next website has some information – an address, a list of services, and no photos. The last website has some business information and what looks to be a cell phone photo of a guy in grease-stained clothes standing outside next to a vehicle with the hood up. He’s not looking at the camera, and the photo seems a bit dark and grainy. So, which guy are you going to hire? If you’re anything like me, you’re gonna hire mechanic number one. I can see that he is the business owner, and the effort he has put into his website tells me he is a (here’s the keyword, folks!) professional.
Having a professional headshot instantly makes you appear to be a professional business owner, an expert in your field. From clergy to motivational speakers to teachers to webinar instructors, professional headshots are necessary. In the age of the selfie, do not neglect the severity of a professional headshot.
