Most recruiters and prospective clients work by sitting in rooms, frantically typing, and searching keywords. They quickly click on and scan hundreds of different LinkedIn profiles and professional sites in the hours that pass them by. Having a fun, but polished executive headshot can generate more business. Here’s why:
They Make You More Likeable
According to a study conducted by researchers at the Western Michigan University has a well-styled photo on a professional networking site, like LinkedIn, directly influenced user’s perception of candidates, as those with “…an individualized profile …cue[d] the social presence heuristic by adding human characteristics to an otherwise impersonal medium.”
What does that even mean? Gone are the days of the superhero, thinker, and school portrait poses. An organic or even quirky pose can demonstrate confidence and approachability.
They Get You Picked Out of the Crowd
Practically every executive photo displays a clean, neutral professional against a clean, neutral background. Boring!
Most executives never take more than 30 seconds to review a profile. But every so often one will make the prospect pause for over a minute; their eyes will scan a business’ web page hungrily. The photo of the professional may be them leaning against a scarlet wall with a charming smirk or laughing in a cobblestoned street; some levity is added to an executive’s presence. In an indistinct stream of faces online, an interesting editorial photo can be a break from the monotony that blinds clients, recruiters, and other interested parties.
These are the professionals that are contacted right away.
They Reveal Your Personality
An executive’s persona should be as unique and genuine as their brand to entice clientele. A good photographer makes you look good; a great photographer makes you look likable.
In a world of B2B and C2B services, we often forget that the most important thing that drives sales is the character of the salesman. For an executive, the perfect headshot isn’t just an authoritative portrait. The personality that draws one in for the services must shine through and often the corporate photography poses used in a shot can make all the difference.
They Help Define Your Brand
Clients have to trust, and perhaps more importantly, like the business and executive that they’re working with: “People can be considered as brands; everyone has a personal brand”, says Manel Kheder, a scholar on personal branding. When booking a unique executive photo shoot you must consider yourself. What traits do you embody that are common to your brand? A shoot should be laser-focused on the answer.
They Make You Memorable
Beyond likeability, a great editorial-style photo is something to be remembered. Clients who are weighing their options will have made a mental note of you because of the uniqueness of your photo. A great headshot can close a deal before an executive or client is even contacted.
Good Photos Always Keep Clients Interested
The new rules for headshots also apply to product shoots. Photos against blank backdrops are no longer the standard. A product should add value to the company brand by maintaining its aesthetic.
The internet’s accessibility as a sales platform has led to a flood of new entrepreneurs striving to get themselves noticed in the eCommerce industry. Executive brand and product photography now rely on the principle that colors and images rely on what is around them to make their greatest impact.
Get Your Executive Branding Photos Today
If you need to present a better you, contact Kristina Maness Photography for expertise in connecting the art of photography to the organic presence of an executive brand. Book your shoot today and make yourself traditionally untraditional.