Small Business Marketing Headshots
Years ago in Los Angeles, a man was famous among his circle of friends for saying that in his car he only used right-hand gas. That is, he only went to gas stations that were on the right-hand side of the road so he could pull in, get his gas and go without the inconvenience of having to cross traffic. The name on the pump didn’t make the slightest bit of difference to him.
Marketing is about appealing to people’s emotions then connecting those emotions to your product or products. Hopefully, you can create some brand loyalty along the way and you want to create the kind of brand loyalty that will override any inconveniences that might stand in the way.
Small Business Loyalty
Small businesses face an additional obstacle in their efforts to create brand loyalty due to their size and relative obscurity compared to larger competitors. That means you need to work smarter, not harder to market your company.
PPC – pay-per-click – ads depend on the keywords you choose but also on the images and pictures that you use with them. The right ones will catch people’s eyes and draw them to your website when they click on your ad (you’ll pay the site the ad was on a small fee each time someone clicks on your ad). The wrong keywords and pictures will evoke the opposite reaction. You won’t have to pay and PPC costs, but you won’t get any customers either.
There are numerous tools every small business owner should know and use. One of the most important of them is the headshot. It’s a professional picture of a person where the person is the center or focus of the shot. Most of the time the picture is a close-up from the head to the waist or chest.
Where To Get Headshots
An estimated 1.6 billion people around the world make digital purchases each year, and that number is growing all the time. Professionally done headshots on your ads will help you grab a piece of the pie for yourself. To get them done right you can visit JA Headshots to see what they have to offer.
They have professional photographers on staff with fully equipped studios. They can examine your appearance, your natural skin tone, hair color, eyes, and so forth to determine what colors to use in the background, what you should wear, how you should wear it, how to style your hair, and how to stand or sit in order to create an image that matches your company brand.
Social Media Presence
Forbes published a study that found people trust companies more when they have a social media presence than when they don’t. Your social media accounts, along with your PPC ads should all be part of your small business marketing using headshots to create visual interest and draw people’s eyes. The sense of intimacy created by a good headshot is part of the emotional appeal that is the precursor to closing a sale.
Helping The Photographer
You can’t do the photographer’s job for them but you can make their job a bit easier by taking some easy steps before you get to the studio.
- Get Some Sleep
Entrepreneurs are often up until the wee hours of the morning nursing their infant business along, but those long nights will show in your face when the camera lens is staring back at you. Getting the right headshot is an important step in marketing your company so treat it as such by getting a good night’s sleep the night before your photography session. Your face and body will look refreshed in front of the camera and you’ll feel refreshed too – which will make a huge difference in your expression.
- Bring A Friend
Sitting in front of a camera with a relative stranger behind it directing you to turn this way or that is a nerve-wracking under the best of circumstances. Bring a close friend with you who can crack some jokes with you and create a relaxed atmosphere in the studio.
- Avoid Trends
Unless you’re in the fashion industry, avoid anything trendy, whether it’s your clothes or hairstyle. Trends change as often as the weather and your headshot will quickly be outdated before you know it.
- Posture
Good posture; straightening your back, squaring your shoulders, and lifting your chin, will do wonders for your attitude. You’ll project an image of confidence and competence for the camera that customers will love the moment they see it.
If you help the photographer by looking your best, the pictures will turn out better than you ever imagined.
