Is your profile picture doing it’s job?
Is your profile picture doing it’s job?
How do you know if it is, you ask?
The other day, I was on the phone getting to know someone I recently connected to on LinkedIn.
I was being my normal, smartass, shit-talking self, because God forbid I show up in the world any other way, right? I believe being who I am at all times accentuates my positives, after all, :)
Towards the end of the conversation, he mentioned in passing something that made me smile.
He admitted to me that as we were chatting, he peeked at my LinkedIn profile page, and, in particular, my profile picture.
He commented that the expression on my face - the shit-eating smirk, in particular - was the perfect visual representation of the way that I presented myself in this particular conversation.
He added that this image is a great first impression if people want to get a sense of who I was and how I conducted myself.
His in-passing comment reminded me of the power and influence that a single headshot possesses.
This is exactly why I leverage this particular headshot across all my social channels and use it for media and press submissions.
I am someone who enjoys to mix things up, bring a lot of energy and passion into the conversation, have fun and be up front and honest with what’s on my mind, and that expression is tailor-made to convey these sentiments to those who come across that photo.
When you leverage a profile photo that truly represents aspects of your personality, It instantly qualifies in people with whom these types of sentiments resonate, and, just as importantly, it qualifies people OUT, as well.
This is why it’s so important to take your profile pictures more seriously than posting a shot of you taken at a cocktail party 5 years ago when you were not only 4 drinks deep, but, looked completely different than you do today.
That shit isn’t going to cut it, folks.
Know what else doesn’t cut it?
A profile picture that is aesthetically pleasing - great location, great lighting, great outfit, etc. - but has zero personality, zero expression, zero energy, and thus, zero YOU in that image.
Window dressing is great, but, let’s make sure we have the damn window in place first, folks!
It’s important that you not only take your profile picture seriously, but also find a photographer who inspires you to open up, drop your guard and be more natural in front of the camera so that real expressions that illustrates aspects of your personality pop out and are captured.
So I ask again: how’s your profile picture working for you? Is it drawing in the types of people that you serve? Or, is it falling flat and leaving much to be desired?
If it’s the latter, I have a solution for you.
I’ve recently launched a Magical Headshot Session that aims to capture a profile picture that you can confidently place across all of your social platforms and website.
Want more info on it?
Start with reading more about the Magical Headshot Session here.
From that page, you can schedule a call with me and let’s see if we’re a fit to work together.
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, :)