Your LinkedIn Profile Image - Engaging or meh?
When people visit websites when researching a company, the second most visited page is often the About page – they want to learn about the company and its leadership/employees.
And when someone checks you out on LinkedIn, the first thing they see when visiting your profile is your profile image. A strong LinkedIn headshot significantly boosts your professional credibility, making you up to 21 times more likely to be viewed and 9 times more likely to receive connection requests. It creates a crucial, positive first impression in as little as 80ms – that impression should include trustworthiness, confidence, and professionalism whether it be for potential clients, partners, or recruiters if you’re looking for a job.
So what makes a great headshot and why should you care?
Successful businesses and individuals understand the concept of branding, and the role it plays in marketing – it helps you be memorable, creates the best impression, and positions them against their competitors.
For branding to be effective, it needs to be consistent, of high quality, memorable. For a website, it needs to be clean, clear, direct, and easy to navigate. The messaging and overall look should speak to the target audience and leave a lasting, positive first impression – that the business is real, experienced, and understands their customer’s challenges.
And despite the advances in AI, businesses are still comprised of people – people make up the company culture, and what the company is. This is especially true for services oriented businesses where people are the “product”.
It’s also true for individuals – whether you’re a solopreneur someone looking for a job, or are serious about your career and want to be better known, you are the face of your business. So it’s important that you look the part – professional, approachable, competent in the headshots for your business and LinkedIn profiles. Great professionally done headshots can influence how people perceive you or your business:
Increased Visibility & Engagement on LinkedIn: LinkedIn Profiles with photos receive 21x more views and 36x more messages – you’ll be more visible.
You Look Like a Professional (The "Halo Effect"): A high-quality headshot helps viewers perceive you as more competent, reliable, and intelligent. You look like you’re serious about your work/career
Start to Build Trust: A professional headshot helps your profile seem more legitimate, which encourages connections and boosts credibility.
You Become More Memorable – in a Good Way! That positive first impression will stick with the viewer
Expert headshot photographers can help you create the best image for your brand with expert lighting, posing and facial expression direction, clothing recommendations, backgrounds, and more.
Most importantly, they can help you relax and look your best - and look genuine, the latter of which an AI generated headshot has no concept of.
To illustrate the point, look at the images below – a before and after for each – which ones give you the better first impression? Now think about how many people may be visiting your profile page on LinkedIn or your website – which image would you want them to see if the images were of you or your team?
When it comes to marketing yourself or your business, you want to put your best foot forward – shortcuts or “it’s good enough” isn’t enough in a highly competitive world.
