Using your face as a brand image or logo can have a positive effect on how your customers and prospects perceive and engage with your brand. In my experience, I truly believe that people don’t buy from businesses. They buy from people. The more you allow customers to identify your brand with a face, the more they will begin to feel a connection with your brand message. Customers begin to feel as if they know you, which leads to a sense of trust.
You don’t have to use your headshot as your main company image, but you can use it hand in hand with your company logo to reinforce the brand. Depending on your business and the image that you are trying to project, you might choose to use your headshot across all of your marketing materials or just a few.
Some marketing materials you may consider to use your headshot on include:
Social Media Profiles: Instead of using your company logo on all of your social media profiles, I strongly suggest adding your headshot as the main image on your profiles. Because of the nature of social media, people want to feel as if they’re talking to another person, not a company. One of the best ways to show your prospects on social media that you are speaking with them directly is by using your headshot as your main social media avatar.
Videos: Using video to speak to prospects is one of the most effective ways to build a connection between your brand and your audience. When you can share your stories, tips, comments, and advice on video, people get a greater sense of who you are, which influences how they perceive your brand.
One of the best ways to build a connection between you and your audience is through story. Telling your personal stories via video help readers relate and identify with you. For example, let’s say you are an entrepreneur who helps people build a business based on their passion in life. You may have experienced huge struggles in the past that you’ve overcome, but that your customers are currently experiencing. When you can relate to your customers through story, they are much more likely to listen to you.
Blog: If you are the only blogger for your blog, consider adding your headshot to your blog sidebar or creating a page within your blog that showcases your bio and picture. This will help your readers feel more of a personal connection to you and your blog, and encourage them to have a greater sense of trust in you.
Electronic Newsletters: Another great way to utilize your headshot is in your electronic newsletters. When you send out newsletters that provide readers with advice-rich feature articles, your readers want to feel as though they’re taking advice from an expert individual, not some faceless company. A lot of times when people receive emails from companies, they disregard them with the belief that all the emails contain are sales pitches.
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