Your profile picture is the absolute first thing your prospects see of you, your brand and your business when they come to your Page. So how important you think it is to get right? Totally and completely is the right answer. If you look a bit dodgy or post a picture of your dog or cat or kids’ – what message does that send to your potential business partners and/or customers? It’s so easy to get right but obviously equally as easy to get wrong so let’s dive in.
Firstly, if you don’t have a huge audience and you don’t have a well known brand, use a picture of YOU. After all, YOU are your brand in your business. NOT the company. NOT your company’s products. YOU and ONLY YOU. NOT your dog or cat. NOT your kids’. NOT your Mum, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunty Uncle – you get the idea. People want to see who they are going to be doing business with.
And on that point, here’s a few tips and tricks. Make sure your profile picture is a good head and shoulders shot. It needs to be clear and preferably with you looking directly at the camera. People like to make eye contact. My strongest advice is to get some professional pictures taken. I mean if you want to be taken seriously, don’t put up a picture of you sipping cocktails in Bali with your sunglasses on (unless of course you are selling travel of which case – lose the sunglasses and make sure the shots are professional and preferably not of you drinking alcohol).
Stick to your branding colours. If your colours are red and green, don’t wear hot pink or worse – black. Actually, don’t wear black at all – unless you sell legal services and want to look like a lawyer! If you want people to remember you, colours are everything. You want to keep it uniform across your page – cover shot, profile picture, posts – all of it. Don’t confuse people – keep it simple.
Make sure you SMILE in your picture. Personally I don’t want to do business with someone that isn’t smiling. By not smiling you might think you just look neutral, but others might think otherwise. Don’t leave it to chance – smile, look friendly and approachable. People want to feel happy so give people the impression that you are.
Use the full dimensions that Facebook allows. It looks unprofessional if you use a picture that is either too small for the circle or way too big. Fill out the space as best as you can and ensure it’s clear so people can see the real you and let your personality shine.
Don’t change your picture often. Personally I would change it once a year. Make sure you use the same picture across all social media, e-signatures, business cards and the like. You want people to remember you and they will only do that through multiple exposure.
I think I’ll leave it there but those are the main things to consider. It doesn’t take long to get this right, but believe me, your prospects will take a few seconds and make an evaluation of whether or not they will like your Page and engage with you based on your profile picture. It’s sad but people do judge based on looks and do it faster than they do anything else. Make the right first impression and you have a greater likelihood of your ideal clients liking your Page, sticking around for longer and actually engaging with you. And that is the name of the game.
Love to hear from you. Did you find this valuable? Do you have some other tips and tricks to share. Comment below.