Scrolling through my Facebook feed a couple weeks ago, I had to stop and read a story about the first American woman to win the Boston marathon in 33 years. It wasn’t the headline that caught my attention – it was the photograph showing Desiree Linden breaking the tape on the finish line with both arms outstretched in victory!
What made this post so compelling was because it was an authentic moment – a story about a woman who pushed herself to the limit to achieve something that only a super small part of the population has ever done. It made me want to read more!
I felt… engaged!
Are you getting enough engagement on social media? If not, maybe it’s the photographs you are using. Here’s why your photos don’t engage your audience:
- Using too many selfies?
Why do you take selfies? Is it to show your audience what you look like and your awesome brand, right? I’m guessing that if you are taking selfies, you are also wasting a lot of time to get the “perfect” one. Using selfies for all your posts is an overused tactic. Let’s face it, how can you truly stand out if you are doing what everyone else is doing?
- Your images don’t show you interacting with your clients
How easy is it to be working IN your business while simultaneously taking photos of yourself working with your clients? Show your prospective clients and customers what it’s like to work with you. Show them images that capture the authentic moments that occur while you are fully engaged in what you are doing.
- Your images do not show enough about who you really are.
It might be scary putting yourself out there but if people don’t grow to “Know, Like and Trust” you, they likely won’t buy from you. It is important to inject a part of your personality and interests into your feed to give LIFE to your brand.
- You are using stock photos
If you’re using stock photos, it’s obvious that those photographs are not of you or your business. My advice? Just leave them off your website and social media channels.
- Your images are not high-quality
Unless you are a professional photographer, you did not go into business to take photos. Pro photographers spend lots of time learning about exposure, composition, creativity, lighting, posing, etc. Unless you have done that too, it’s likely that your photos aren’t going to turn out as you imagine.
Want to stand out from the crowd? Here’s your homework:
- Get a professional HEADSHOT and use the same headshot throughout your social media so that people who find you on different channels KNOW, at a glance, that you are the same person.
- Post images of yourself working in your business, doing what you do best. Not staged, but actually working, perhaps with clients or on a particularly visual project. People LOVE behind the scenes stories – it makes them feel like they are right there with you.
- What stories can you tell? Maybe you love dogs. Well, get photographs of you playing with your dog, going on a walk, giving it a bath and then share with your audience. You will find more engagement on posts like this than you would ever imagine.
- Seriously consider hiring a Personal Brand Photographer to do all of the above FOR YOU. I could go into all the reasons why this would be totally awesome for your business, but hey, that’s a post for another day…
Want to learn more about how to get the best images for your Personal Brand? Contact me for a no pressure, completely free, 30-minute discovery call. We will talk about how to select the best stories to tell, how to creatively express the moods and emotions you need to show your audience and how to prepare for a personal brand photography session.
Cheers!
Melissa
