4 Brain Hacks for Making a Great First Impression on your Personal Website

A well-ironed shirt, a firm handshake and a genuine smile. Back in my day (aka before ‘rona) it was just that easy to make a good first impression. Now, not so much. With in-person interviews, networking events and trade-shows banished, portraying your personal brand is tougher than ever. Tough, but not impossible.

Whether you’re looking to woo a potential employer, attract prospective clients or just build your professional brand - you’re going to have to do it online. LinkedIn is a great start (and you should be very deliberate with your profile), but it’s just that, a start. In each of your recent job applications, I’ll bet you saw a “Website URL” field. Like most of us, I’ll also bet you ignored it completely. But maybe, we shouldn’t. More and more professionals are building their own professional website and raving about the results.

Needless to say, a website lets you deliver far more value, in a far more compelling way, than even the glitziest of CV’s. With images, video, references, portfolios, you’re free to establish your brand exactly as you see it. It’s an open canvas with unlimited brushes. 

But, is it purely art?

Neuromarketers have been studying the performance of websites for years, and they’ll tell you it’s a lot more “science” than you might think. In fact, studies suggest that the patterns of how we view websites is surprisingly universal. In today’s piece, I’ll be walking you through Four Neuromarketing Lessons for Making a Great “First Impression” on your Professional Website.

Research suggests that first impressions are far more powerful than actual facts. Interestingly, these impressions are made in as little as .05 seconds, but are very difficult to reverse (yea, we’re not as logical as we like to think). There are 4 factors that influence First Impressions on a website:

1. Visual Design (be the right amount of creative): With an open canvas there’s always a temptation to go overboard. Don’t. Researchers at Google found that websites with “low visual complexity” and “high prototypicality” (how representative a design looks for a certain category of website) were perceived as the most appealing. In other words, trickle your creativity in tastefully, but don’t forget that your audience expects a certain ‘feel’, based on your industry or category. Deviate too much from this ‘feel’ and you can distract, or worse, confuse them. Keep it simple!

Example: A former colleague’s website for Marketing & Sales Consulting services, www.oneblackarrow.com/

2. Value Proposition (The Elevator Pitch for your Elevator Pitch)

A strong value prop both grabs your viewers’ attention and compellingly lays out who you are, what you do, and why you’re awesome. Be thoughtful about this pitch. Write it, review it, rewrite it, repeat. You want this just right. Consider what makes you unique as an employee (or service provider) and how this maps onto the needs of your prospective audience. As per my previous article on the “Old Brain”, remember that you’re dealing with a selfish organ. Even though this site is about you, it’s really about the “customer” you’re looking to impress. With that in mind, be decisive about what you are and who you are. If you’re too general, trying to be “something for everyone”, you’ll fail to be memorable. As a default Value Proposition format, you can try:

• Headline: State the end-benefit of your offering in one short sentence.
• Sub-Headline (or 2-3 sentence paragraph): A specific explanation of what you do and why you’re awesome.
• 3 Bullet Points: List your strongest assets or key features
• Visual: Make a human connection, say cheese!

3. Compelling Imagery (choose wisely): Images communicate much faster than words, and form deeper human connections. Use them to your advantage. When choosing photos for your website, consider:

• If you’re using pictures of people (be it yourself, your team or past clients), they should be smiling!
• Your images should complement the nature of your offering. If you’re a charismatic growth marketer for start-ups, there’s no need to dress like Kevin O’Leary in your images.
• Don’t go overboard. Show visitors exactly what they need to see and nothing more. If you’re having trouble deciding whether to include an image, chances are you shouldn’t.
• Go for professionally-taken photos. Low-quality pictures scream “don’t trust me”.

4. A Personal “Touch” that exudes Trustworthiness: People like real, relatable people. Use common language, don’t drown your message in industry jargon. Be open about your passion for cat videos, or acai smoothies - be human! Even your images can be tastefully imperfect. A semi-silly but high-quality image builds more trust than an immaculate headshot with no personality. 

We’ve all been taught not to judge a book by its cover - and there’s merit to that assertion - but in a world where our audience is drowning in data, their brains are doing exactly that. Your message, your content, the “meat and potatoes” of your website (much like your CV or LinkedIn) is undoubtedly important. However, to ensure that your message is heard, and that your audience sees you in a positive light, the first step is a strong first impression. Your book needs a great cover! 

Luckily, in the digital realm, marketers, advertisers and neuroscientists have gone to great lengths to decipher how viewers interact with websites. Be sure to catch up on the wealth of insights they’ve accrued as you build your own professional website. After all, much like your favourite online store-fronts, you are a business selling a product (yourself) to a target audience. Though creativity will make you memorable, methodologies backed by scientific research will help you build a more compelling website with less testing and less trial & error. 

As I continue my studies in the CXL Digital Psychology & Persuasion Mini-degree, I’ll continue posting about interesting topics like this one. If you’re curious to learn more about the subject matter, or about CXL, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

In the meantime, happy selling, happy job-hunting, happy creating. ??