Top 3 Reasons You Need a Personal Branding Photoshoot

Creating a unique personal brand and identity for your business involves a lot of thought, time, and ingenuity. Your brand is what communicates who you are to your audience and what sets you apart from the competition. So every detail counts, from your website to your logo to your photos. It’s crucial to put your best face forward -- both figuratively and literally.

Personal brand photography will portray your unique look, personality, and position to your audience. Here are the top three reasons why you need a professional personal branding photoshoot:

1. It helps build trust Thoughtful, professional personal brand photos will help build trust and form a connection with prospective clients and employers right away. If your photos make you look like a friendly, capable, experienced professional they’d enjoy working with, they’ll work with you! On the other hand, if you use incohesive, low-quality photos throughout your site, they might look elsewhere.
   

2. It captures the best version of yourself Personal brand photography gives you the power to make sure the world sees the best version of yourself. Leave capturing your look and your essence to a professional photographer who knows how to make you shine and can tell a story with the camera.
   

3. It’ll give you some amazing photos Sure, personal branding photos will be useful for your site and marketing materials -- but they’ll also be a gorgeous, accurate depiction of your most authentic self. You’ll love having extra content to post on social media and to send over whenever someone asks for a recent photo.

Personal brand photography helps communicate what you have to offer to potential clients. It helps your audience connect with you as a person and feel comfortable with you right away, inviting them to engage with you and work with you. In the end, a personal branding photoshoot is a crucial investment for any creator, influencer, or business owner looking to portray their image in the best light.

Personal Branding Mistakes You Should Avoid

It’s quite easy to get wrapped up in getting good results for your clients when you first start a business, but this often means entrepreneurs let aspects such as their brand fall by the wayside.

In order for customers to want to do business with you and recommend you to others, they need to feel connected to you, which is where personal branding comes in.

If you want your personal brand to thrive, here are a few of the most common mistakes to avoid.

Mistake 1: Hiding behind a logo or slogan. If you want people to do business with you, you need to show them who you are – be the face of your brand. In an age where consumers are bombarded with advertising, entrepreneurs need to give people a reason to trust them. Have your personal branding photos taken by a professional photographer who specializes in personal brand photography to really make an impact.

Mistake 2: Not building your network. To grow your personal brand, you are going to need to keep making connections and nurturing your relationships with customers. The internet makes it easy to avoid face to face interactions, but they are still important in order to create genuine connections.

Mistake 3: Failing to share your story. People need to be able to relate to and trust you, so if you want to grow your personal brand, you need to be willing to share your story. Storytelling is a powerful marketing tool and one which can be used in a multitude of ways on many different platforms.

Mistake 4: Being inconsistent. Your brand needs to be prominent and consistent if you truly want to make an impact. Be where your audience is and make sure that they’re hearing from you on a regular basis. Consistency is another way to build trust, which is crucial to the success of any business. Being consistent also gives you the chance to get to your customers before your competitors do.

Mistake 5: Failing to grow your online presence. It’s no secret that we live in a world of technology and instant gratification. Customers can find almost any information they want within a matter of minutes. If you want your personal brand to thrive this year, it’s important for you to create a digital footprint that will ensure more people are finding you online more often. It’s also a good idea to review which platforms you are currently present on and whether you are missing out on any key opportunities.

If you want to become known for your expertise, you need to work on your personal brand each and every year.

How to Protect Your Personal Brand on Social Media

First impressions happen in the blink of an eye. Whether it’s face to face or over social media, people will quickly and easily form an opinion about you based on what they see. The reality is that social media plays a major role in how people perceive us online, even more so when you’re trying to build or run a business.

If you want to make sure that social media doesn’t damage your personal brand, here are a few guidelines that you can follow.

Reserve Your Handles and Domains

Even if you aren’t using certain social media platforms just yet, it’s best to reserve your handles as soon as you can – the same goes for your domain. If you are just getting started on social media, try and have the same handle, or at least similar handles, across all platforms.

Perfect Your Bio

An inconsistent bio is not going to do your personal brand any favors. The best thing you can do is turn your elevator pitch into a bio and to ensure that you’re using the same bio across all platforms. You also want to have professional headshots taken to create a good and lasting first impression.

Think Twice about Your Content

Be selective about the content and social media posts that you publish. Everything you post online has the potential to be stuck online forever, which means it will forever be associated with your personal brand. Consider the words as well as the images you will be using – are they a true representation of your personal brand?

Be Consistent

If you want to market your personal brand online, consistency is key. You can’t post something whenever the mood strikes, not if you want to build trust and a sound reputation. Plan your social media posts and blog posts so that your audience is hearing from you on a regular basis. It’s also important to keep an eye on comments and to engage with your audience in a meaningful way.

Social media can be a powerful personal branding tool but only if you are committed to keeping your profiles updated and are staying consistent and engaged.