Ideally the story of your personal brand or corporate brand should be able to be told in just one photograph or image!



That photograph will tell your clients in a matter of seconds everything they need to know about your business and more importantly what makes it unique.

 

So that’s:

 

·      You and Your Staff

·      What You Do

·      The Business Values

 

Now that’s quite a challenge!

 

My background in Fashion and Advertising photography helps a lot, mainly because those roles have given me the skills to not only make you look amazing but also to make sure the attributes of your product/services are  highlighted in the best possible way.

 

So, it can be done, but ideally your story is told over several photographs, in that way the story unfolds and the viewer (client) is more involved.

 

Think of a motivational quote (which I love!) as compared to a motivational book.

 

Both get the job done, but there tends to be more resonance with the book.

 

Let’s unpack this even further:

 

THE 3 PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WILL DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

 

Though this information can be applied anywhere I find it is most applicable to websites.

 

1.   The Banner Image

 

This should be proudly displayed, above the fold, on the home page of your website – so it is the first thing the visitor will see.

 

It will clearly show –

 

Who You Are (remember people buy from people!)

What You Do (in the image attached a men’s personal style expert)

Your Values    (what your all about)

 

It is a good idea to leave lots of space on the banner for Call To Actions and Strap Lines.

 

2.   The services image

 

This photograph will clearly demonstrate your service/product.

 

Examples might be –

 

Somebody using your product

Having a conversation with a typical client

A location image showing a few people using the space – a gym for example

 

3. The headshot, portrait or profile image

 

Ideally you should have different headshots with a variety of expressions that can be used throughout your site, next to quotes or as avatars.

 

If you want to find out about the benefits of having different portraits see my Linkedin post about picture variability at #marcusahmadphotography it’s titled “How to Build Trust”

 

Ok lets build on this even further and see where you can use your  headshot or profile photography.

 

4 PLACES TO USE YOUR PROFILE PHOTOGRAPH ( that you might not have thought of!) 

 

Ok we all know how important it is to have an up to date profile photo on Linkedin…don’t we!

 

Well here is a list of placed that are not quite so obvious but are still great for promoting your personal brand.

 

As an email signature

Yes what a lovely way to finish of an email – a photo of you so people know who they are talking too.

Above the fold on your website.

Absolutely crucial – the most important part of your website should have a photo of you. As recommended by Donald Miller – The marketing guru

 

As an image on Zoom when you don’t want to use your videocam.

 

Want to stay in your PJ’s but still be seen on your Zoom calls – put your profile photo in your personal information.

 

Your comments on other websites and blogs.

 

Easily added to platforms like Disqus, then those witty comments you make will be accompanied by a lovely picture of you!

 

OK I’m sure there are loads more, can you add to the list?

 

THE 3 PROBLEMS WITH STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY

 

1. Loosing sales.

 

A recent survey by mission.org compared two adverts by Nike for one of their products. The one featuring a real person gained a 300% increase over the one featuring a model.

 

This has been replicated many times by other companies such as Dove with their campaign featuring “real” women. The rise of the influencer and more recently advertising companies are putting out TV campaigns that look like they are shot on mobile phones or Zoom calls.

 

“People by from people”

 

2. Bad for SEO.

 

All images on the web are encoded with some type of metadata and when Google (or others) dcrawl your site if that metadata does not fit in with your website it could be deemed as not being original content and affect your SEO. Conversely original images can be embedded with metadata that could be good – SEO juice!

 

3. It takes time and is boring.

 

Producing your own content using a half-decent smartphone has got to be more fun hasn’t it? Photographs of you, your staff, photographs that can be metaphors for your business…If your struggling have a look at my blog there are loads of articles on how to take better photographs with your phone.

SO WHAT MAKES AN IMAGE AUTHENTIC?

 

A few months ago I was looking for a mortgage broker, doing the normal thing and having a peruse through the old interweb.

 

Found one I liked the look of, good rate and a nice office in a posh part of town. So I booked an appointment and was happy with my decision.

 

Several days later and knocking on the large and imposing blue door I was greeted by the broker who I then followed down a hallway into his office.

 

Which was nothing like the modern and sleek office pictured on his website.

 

Not at all!

 

Obviously, in hindsight, a stock image was used. I felt rather misled, I mean there was nothing wrong with his office its just not I was expecting. Needless to say he did not get my business!

 

Fast forwarding to a couple of weeks ago. And this time I am signing up for a fantastic webinar being put on by one of my contacts on Facebook.

 

I had been conversing with this person for quite a few months and had built up a rapport with them, so was definitely looking forward to the webinar.

 

Anyway cometh the hour and entering the chat room I scanned the boxes  ( bit like celebrity squares!) looking for the person I had come to know on Linkedin – no sign of them. That was a bit weird, was I in the wrong place!

 

Then I heard my name being called and I vaguely recognised them. They bore little resemblance to their profile photo, obviously taken many moons ago! During the whole meeting I felt like I did not know them.

 

Photographs are powerful things they have a permanence that is fixed in our subconscious. Be authentic with your branding to avoid disappointment with your clients.

 

The following is from an article I wrote that might help when constructing your Brand photographs.

 

Use Gestalt Theory to attract more customers!

Ok I admit not the most enticing headline, but bear with me.

 

Gestalt Theory is something that I use a lot when putting my images together and when I was lecturing at University it was a key lesson for my photography students.

 

It is based on 5 principles as devised by Max Wertheimer in Early 20th Century Germany and is a way of constructing designs, photography, websites, in fact anything where you want evoke a visual connection with your viewer – creating order amid chaos!

 

• Proximity – the distance from one object to another

 

• Closure – the space that exists between two objects creates a new space (negative space)

 

• Continuity – the way an object flows from one to another

 

• Repetition – groups of three always look good

 

• Multistability – the different ways an object can be interpreted, like an optical illusion.

 

So there you have it, now can you see in the attached image any examples of where I have used any of the 5 principles?