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LinkedIn Profile Branding: Head Shot

November 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There are two very important aspects of your LinkedIn Profile Branding. These two aspects will either make people click on your profile to read more about you or cause them to bypass your profile in search of someone else who appears to be more interesting. In this article, we will focus on one of those aspects which is your head shot.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to head shots  Some people believe that your photo can be a distraction  It can create false perceptions in the mind of the viewer. Many feel that your photo could lead to some sort of discrimination.

LinkedIn Profile Branding

Then there is the second school of thought that says your profile picture can actually help you with bringing personality to an otherwise cold profile.  With so many people hiding behind the internet, a photo of yourself can help bring trust into a online business relationship. A photo shows that you are a real person and helps in starting to build your online brand.

 

I am an advocate for including professional head shots on your LinkedIn profile. I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages… if there are any. There are some basic rules to using the appropriate head shot on LinkedIn. Violating these basic rules will increase your chances of experiencing a negative effect of using your photo.

Let’s first discuss the image quality. Ensure that your profile picture is not grainy or pixilated. A grainy picture can happen when you take a picture in an environment that is not well lit. You might also experience pixelation when you crop yourself out of a photo and then resize it to a point it becomes pixelated.

Use a picture where you are showing off a nice smile. No one wants to connect with a grouch and a simple smile says to others that you are approachable. This is very important in network marketing.

Check your background. You do not want to use a picture where you have a busy background. Keep your background as plain and as simple as you possibly can. White or light colored backdrops work best.

Zoom in for close up shots. When posting your picture on LinkedIn you want to concentrate on face recognition. Only consider using pictures from your mid chest level and above. LinkedIn offers zooming in features once you have uploaded your photo.

A group shot, picture with your spouse or pictures of your pets are not the types of images you want to use on LinkedIn.While these images can be very helpful in giving viewers a deeper sense of your personality, LinkedIn is not the correct social media platform for those types of photos. LinkedIn is a business professional social media site. Using unprofessional images on LinkedIn would be similar to showing up at a formal dinner affair wearing flip flops and a t-shirt.

Do not attempt a self portrait. While your LinkedIn head shot photo does not need to be taken by a professional photographer in a studio, you should not take a photo from your laptop or holding your phone out and snapping a picture. It’s just unprofessional. Get a friend to take a picture of you while you stand against a white colored wall in a well lit room.

Once you have a good head shot photo, you should consider branding yourself across all of your social media sites with this image. Consistency is very important for brand recognition.

LinkedIn Profile Branding Aspect #2

In a later article, we will discuss the second most important aspect of your LinkedIn profile.

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How To Brand Your Phone Number

March 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Phone Number Branding

How To Brand Your Phone Number

Corporate Network Marketers should always be looking for marketing tricks that gives their business a professional look and edges them above their competition. If you have watched a number of my videos you will know that I focus on branding that gives you that corporate polished look… after all, that’s what corporate network marketing is all about.

You may have noticed in my videos that my last slide always contains my contact information. On that slide, I have a vanity telephone number listed.

Vanity numbers are not just a 10-digit phone number used to call someone — it carries a personal or practical significance. Businesses often use vanity phone numbers that spell a keyword to advertise their services.

As a corporate network marketer, you want a recognizable phone number that attracts your customers’ attention. My phone number simply spells my first name as part of the last four digits of my number.

I won’t go as far to say it makes it easier for a prospect to remember my phone number, but what they will remember is that the last four digits spell my first name and they will be impressed by that fact alone. Sometimes the small professional details are what gets noticed.

In the past, getting vanity numbers was quite expensive. Today, you can get one for FREE.

I am a big proponent to using Google services. I use Google for everything… even my June@JuneCollier.com is an email address serviced through Gmail using Google’s Apps for Business. I will share that with you in a later video.

Google currently offers a service called Google Voice which provides you with your own phone number that stays with you regardless of the phone service your currently use. Your Google Voice number won’t be your existing mobile device or land-line number; instead, you select a new number when signing up, which you can then use for all your phones.

There are numerous features that are offered by Google voice to include:
Voicemail transcription
Call forwarding to multiple devices
Voicemail SMS
Voicemail Audio/SMS to Email
Conference Calling
Personalized Greetings
Caller ID
and so much more.

Let me put it to you this way, if you are not using Google voice in your business, you are missing out on the best free resource that Google has to offer.

In the video below, I will focus on a inexpensive way you can brand your phone number so that you offer a very professional look when giving out your phone number. Best of all, this technique is FREE.

Filed Under: Branding