“All I need are two to three good portrait shots, and I’m good.”
“All I need are 2-3 good portrait shots, and I’m good.”
2-3 portrait shots only, huh? ::sigh::
These words came out of the mouth of a prospective portrait client the other day when I was speaking to him at an event.
Needless to say, I had to drop some knowledge on how that line of thinking is hurting his opportunity at levering social to create more visibility for his coaching business.
I explained to him that, yes, two to three good standard portrait photos - images where you directly look into the camera and make eye contact with your audience - can be used for your website, social profile pictures, speaker submissions and other promotional materials.
But, these are just foundational pieces.
I talked about how it’s important to post image content on social consistently for several reasons:
- It illustrates your expertise and draws a crowd of people who are in need of the solutions you offer for their pain.
- Sharing compelling and informative, image content creates rapport with those very people who need you most
- Once you have their attention, you can then share stories that make you relatable to them, so you’re not just a superhero who solves their problems - you are a human being who knows what they’re going through - thus, creating a higher level of trust
- Posting consistently forces you to create unique and interesting insights which will enhance and advance your writing, but, it also will give you more context when speaking to clients directly and when you are on stage.
- It also creates an opportunity to be discovered by other professionals who could partner and refer you to their friends, colleagues and clients.
I then shared with him the concept of branded lifestyle portrait images, and how candid portraits of you in action, doing what you do and showing off your processes - how you work, brainstorm, consult with clients, relax, etc - is a much more compelling way to visually punctuate the stories that you want to share about your business and brand than just posting glossy, smiley photos of you looking into the camera.
There is a deeper emotional resonance for viewers of the portrait image when they feel like they are witnessing you create your magic, and honestly, it’s boring to just look at a steady diet of smiley photos or famous quote posts.
If you do the same thing day after day, post after post, all you’re doing is contributing to the noise that’s already on social and not standing out in any discernable way.
That’s why I also shared with him the need to mix in selfies, share other people’s content and use video into your content schedule, as well. It’s important to mix it up so you don’t bore the hell out of people, :)
After this portion of the conversation, he looked really interested in learning how all of this information translated to his brand and business, and that’s when I told him about the Brand Image Elevation Plan.
That’s my strategy call where we unearth all the juicy goodness that makes you unique by uncovering not only uncovering interesting aspects of your processes and thought leadership, but also, the motivations behind your purpose.
Within this cluster of questions, we also talk about how your personal brand is translated into your wardrobe and sense of style - I like to play dress-up with my clients, too, :)
We then discuss your business and marketing goals, what you plan on promoting over the next year, as well as your long-range, business plans so that we can create an extremely useful, shot sheet of images that would best serve to promote your business.
He sounded very intrigued by the idea of this type of call before a photo session - he remarked how he never heard of a photographer producing a session in this way before a shoot.
I mentioned that I’m originally a television producer, so, his statement actually made a lot of sense, :)
So, what are your thoughts on the Brand Image Elevation Plan? Does it sound like something that would benefit you before your next branded portrait session?
If you’re wondering whether or not this strategy session will benefit you, schedule a call with me and let’s chat about it, :)
PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this, sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you, because I care, :)