18 ways to use your personal branding photographs
So now you’ve got a picture perfect set of photographs, let’s put them to good use. It’s time to turn up the dial on your ‘know/like/trust’ factor, see greater engagement online, attend networking events with ease, and to feel more confident about your online presence.
Here’s my foolproof list of easy ways to incorporate beautiful imagery into your business:
1. Photos for your website (especially on your ‘welcome’ / ‘home’ page, ‘about’ page, and any pages with a call to action (sales pages / sign-up pages / contact forms). Buying is often more of an emotional decision than a practical one. Images cannot help but create an emotional response within people – just think of first impressions, gut feelings, and love at first sight! Your imagery is all about influencing the way your ideal client thinks about you and your business, product or service. Use photographs on your sales and landing pages, engage with the consumer, and create the desired emotional response. You can also use images to help guide your ideal client’s eyes to what you’d really like them to see, leading them to the key wording, the link to click or the box to tick.
2. Social media and LinkedIn profile pictures (humanise your profile with a photo of yourself - would I know your face if I sat next to you in a coffee shop?)
3. Social media posts (engagement and visibility levels rocket up by around 150% on average compared to posts without pictures). When the life of a social media post is so short, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Text that is accompanied by an image has a far better retention rate as the picture stays in your mind and the information tags along with it.
4. LinkedIn articles - these have space for a cover photo at the top - again, grab people’s attention with informative and eye-catching imagery
5. Create beautiful and unique email newsletters
6. Pricing guides for your clients - I always tell my students to “make the business of paying you a pleasurable one!”
7. Other digital resources for your clients (opt-ins and online course materials)
8. Promotional flyers
9. Business cards - pop a photo of yourself into your email signature and on your business card to help people remember who you are. Think of all those networking events that pass by in a blur where you end up with a stack of cards with no idea of who half of these people are. Even if you don’t remember a name, you’re way more likely to remember a face, making that follow-up email all the more personal and meaningful.
10. Email signatures - as above! Reinforce that connection with a thumbnail photo of you in your email signature.
11. Blog posts (break up the monotony of paragraphs of text with relevant images)
12. Workshops / presentations / talks - because no one wants to sit through 50 slides of just text!
13. Social media ads - paid advertising that packs a punch! If you’re paying for social media ads you need them to work hard for you. Scroll-stopping imagery is part of the secret sauce to seeing a real return on your investment.
14. Podcast graphics - your podcast usually needs some sort of cover photo for the platform you’re using (Apple Podcasts / Spotify / your website etc.). Polly Alexandre has a different graphic for each podcast episode, most of which feature a beautiful, aspirational photo of Polly in Ibiza.
15. Pinterest graphics - Pinterest is a search engine as opposed to a social media platform - people are searching for inspiration and saving ideas. Create pin-worthy graphics with the help of your suite of photographs.
16. YouTube header and other social media banner / cover photos
17. Video thumbnails (tutorials / webinars / short-form videos on social media like Instagram Reels)
18. Contributor photos - if you’re asked to write a guest blog, to speak publicly, or be a podcast or Instagram Live guest, send your favourite headshot to whoever’s organising or / and promoting it.
So there you have it - 18 ways to use your personal branding photographs. Which will you try first…? If this list has made you think you need to up-level your visual marketing, whizz me a message and let’s talk! I’d love to hear from you.