Today, almost everybody has an online presence. If fact, if you are in business today, it is essential that you have an online presence.
I read a statistic that 97% of all consumers research online before purchasing a product or a service. So what are they looking for? Of course there are the obvious things like price and who actually offers what they want. But what they are also researching, even if it is subconsciously, is a sense of what a particular company is about and whether or not they would be the kind of company that they would want to deal with.
One of the key elements of your online presence , particularly for a small business entrepreneurs, is is having a professionally created headshot. A quality headshot is going to say many things about your business. First of all, and perhaps most importantly, is that it says you care. Customers believe that if an entrepreneur cares about their business, then they will also care about their customers.
A professional business headshot will also give your potential clients a sense of how your business is run. F
or example; if your headshot is quite formal and you are dressed in a formal, business like manner, this will give a certain expectation to the consumer. If on the other had, you are somewhat more casual – but still professional – this will build a different expectation to the consumer. One trick here is to make sure that your business headshot matches your business. If your professional headshot has you in a formal suit standing in front of an office tower but when a potential client comes to see you and you are in denim shirt and jeans working out of your basement, your potential client will have a huge disconnect and you run the risk of never gaining there business because of this.
So why not just use a selfie? Many profile images are selfies, why shouldn’t I use one? Well, if you feel that your selfie gives a good impression of what you and your business are about, then use it. However, most of the time this is not the case and it can hurt your business because it can easily say to your potential clients that you don’t care, and nobody wants to deal with someone who doesn’t care.