Put your face with your name before they forget both!

Ever wonder why many real estate agents are now putting their headshot on their business cards and email signatures? No, it’s not a marketing trick or some gimmick – there is scientific evidence that people are more likely to remember who you are by including your name and your face.

Allan Paivio’s famous Dual Coding theory, your brain processes text and images through two separate channels – a business card or email signature with text only relies on verbal/semantic memory, which fades quickly over time. But when you add an image, you now have a second parallel retrieval pathway that are interconnected – so someone call recall one or the other and because they are linked, the longer persisting image will more likely trigger the associated name in your memory.

Suppose you go to a conference or a networking event and come back with a bunch of business cards, some of which include people from similar industries/roles. You get bogged down in work for a week and then get back to those cards – do you remember who each person was and the conversation you had? Having a picture of that person is more likely to trigger the memory of the conversation.

Having your headshot in your email signature also humanizes you, your business and organization. And it becomes part of your brand, making you not only more memorable, but amplifying the impression you want people to have about you and/or your business. People buy from or want to work with people and see who they are – if you’re looking for a physician and you come across 2 profiles/experiences that are very similar, are you more likely to contact the one who has a headshot vs. not (assuming the headshot is well done)?

Now before you simply add any photo to your business card or email signature, you want to insure it’s the one you want everyone to see – that it shows the best of who you are and creates the right first impression consistent with your brand. Case in point – see the signature block of Nick below. His consultancy helps service businesses turn complex operational data into clear actionable strategies that improve efficiency, increase profitability, and support sustainable growth.

The service businesses he works with want to see someone who is knowledgeable, experienced, yet willing to roll up their sleeves to help them. The clothing choice, more casual, was purposely selected so he’d come across as “not corporate”. The expression shows him as competent, experienced yet approachable.

The headshot with his signature block reinforces his brand, humanizes him – if he were to do an email campaign, you may be more likely to read his email as it comes across as more personal, vs. one without the image. And if you meet him in person, get his business card, and an email from him, you’d see his face three times, making him far more memorable.

In this age of AI generated everything, you can differentiate yourself as being human, real, and memorable