The Value of Professional Social Media Headshots

My name is Colin Kennedy and a couple of weeks ago I contacted Jared of J&J Photography about having some professional headshots taken. I was completely thrilled with the results, so when Jared asked me to write a guest blog about why I decided to have headshots taken, I jumped at the chance. After all, I honestly believe that J&J helped me create a more professional and compelling social media presence for myself, and by extension, my business.

My role at Neuron Global is focused on business development, meaning that it’s my job to cultivate our brand and interact with potential clients as frequently and as effectively as possible. So it’s only natural that I devote a significant amount of time and energy networking at various events throughout New York City. Headshots…how exactly do they fit in? (you might be thinking) There are a couple of reasons why this decision was a no-brainer for me…

Headshots help me put my best foot forward on each and every social media platform that I utilize. And this is a big deal! Social media has permeated our collective consciousness to the point where a huge (and growing) percentage of the global population utilizes social media in some way, shape, or form. And if you’re a small business owner, or involved with business development for your organization, chances are that you’re using social media to network and interact with potential and existing clients. Personally, I actively use platforms like LinkedIn, Meetup, Twitter, and Facebook and because of this there are people – many whom I’ve met through networking, but many whom I’ve never met at all – coming across my profile each and every day.

In a nutshell, social media creates business opportunities and connections that otherwise wouldn’t have materialized, but when your picture looks like a glorified mug shot (see below, left), or your profile picture is a silhouette (LinkedIn), or an egg (Twitter), you’re not doing anything positive to help your cause and engender yourself to the people who come across your profile. The simple act of including professional headshots on your profile pages creates a consistent and inviting presence that people can connect with (see below, right).

Now that I’ve had my headshots taken, I feel much more comfortable with my personal online presence. I find myself spending more time engaging with prospects online, and I’m more likely to encourage someone to follow me on Twitter or reach out to groups through my Meetup profile. And my general sense is that I’m getting a better response. While I would never expect that an image would be the sole reason why a client would do business with me, a bad picture (or none at all) could cause a prospect to hesitate, or scare them away completely. For me, that was reason enough to spend a small amount of time and money to get those headshots taken by someone who knew what they were doing!