MM Tip #41 - Are you Smiling?

What do you think when you browse through a bunch of headshots on LinkedIn, Facebook, Etc.? What kinds of things are you looking for in those headshots?

Remember: Facebook is the backyard BBQ; LinkedIn is Business; Twitter is the Coffee Shop chatter; Instagram is the younger generation; Google+ is a cross between Business and BBQ…leaning more toward business.

When you are looking at the headshots of other people, what are you thinking?

When you see someone with a smile, what do you think? Are they approachable?

There are several factors involved with the headshot approachability.

We as humans are gregarious by nature and thus are drawn to people who are more approachable. So when you smile in your headshot, it attracts people to you. A smile endears you to others at first glance.

I have spoken with many people about their profiles online, especially LinkedIn, and one person had a picture of herself and her husband for a headshot on LinkedIn. So I asked her if her profile was about her, or her husband? She said that it was all about her. So then I asked why she had a picture of both her and her husband on a profile that was all about her? Her response was, “Well, it’s all about me and he is my husband.” She totally missed the point.

Here’s what happens when you have a joint picture on your business profile. People start to question “who wears the pants” in your business.

Also, when you have your profile set up like a business page with your company logo for your headshot, people want to build a relationship with a person before they will trust your business. It takes time to build trust. Seeing a logo for a headshot is like slapping people in the face with a pitch every time they see your profile. It is not a positive response. It leads possible customers to think, “What are they hiding?”

One of the things I did when I first started using LinkedIn is read the entire Terms of Use. It states in there that only a headshot goes in that place. Not a picture of your dog, or your dream car or a lovely waterfall, etc. Only a headshot goes where the headshot is supposed to go. Remember that LinkedIn is not Facebook.

If you want a company page, once you set up your personal profile page, then you can set up your own company page for free. You can post things through your company page and develop a readership through your blogs and posts on your company page. This is similar to how you run your Business Page on Facebook. You can also use paid marketing in conjunction with your company page.

In business today, when HR executives are looking to hire people for positions, they rarely read the resume’s they receive.

I have interviewed an executive from Microsoft and from Amazon and they said that when they receive a resume’, they get the name and go immediately to LinkedIn to check them out. Then they go to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

So be careful what and how you post on all your social platforms.

Your pictures/headshots carry more weight in a hiring or business decision than you can imagine.

If you are not smiling because you have bad teeth, then get them fixed! Bad teeth reflect that you are unsuccessful in business and in life. You are too broke to get your teeth fixed. Poor teeth make people think subconsciously “I wonder if they really know what they are doing?” Your credibility becomes questioned.

If you are your business, then by reflection, you are your front door. When people see you, do they want to know more, or are they immediately repelled?

If you are overweight, it takes a lot to overcome the first impression that you are lazy or lackadaisical. You definitely better have a great smile and go the extra mile to dress up.

So, if you are not getting the responses from your posts, especially on LinkedIn,  that you both need and want for business, then take a good look at yourself in the mirror.

Remember that you only have 3 seconds to create a great first impression!

Got a LinkedIn question? I will blog about it in my next article.

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Make it a great day!

Christine Till

The Marketing Mentress

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