The Professional Headshot: Your first chance to make a great impression.

As a professional photographer at Tripp Photography, I have been asked many times why someone should invest in a corporate headshot. Frankly, there are many reasons why you should replace that old social media avatar of you on vacation with a professional image. Firstly, unlike a “selfie,” a professional headshot will always be clear and if your photo is clear, it is more likely you will be remembered when seen on various websites, social networks or in person. Other reasons include:

 

Branding

A professional headshot helps keep your brand consistent – ideally, you should have a image that is consistent across all networks. This doesn’t have to be the same image, but it should be of the same consistency, clarity and professional level so people will know it’s you, even if the image is different.

The image should represent YOU. You represent your brand and your business – and as such, so does that image. A professional headshot shows others that “you mean business.”

 

Trust

A professional headshot builds trust. If I receive a new friend request on Facebook and the person is local, has several mutual friends and has a quality professional image, I typically do not hesitate to accept their friend request.

 

Recognition

Keep in mind that a professional headshot should be re-taken every few years, because if your photo is more than five years old, believe me, your friends and clients will notice. We have all seen photos of Realtors who had their picture taken in the 70’s and STILL use that same image! No one is brave enough to tell them that it needs to be updated… well, here you go, “It needs to be updated!” Think about it: there is nothing worse than someone not recognizing you at a networking event even though you have been “tweeting” them for months because they were expecting someone much younger.

 

Professionalism

If you own and operate a business and your profile picture is low-quality, has someone cropped out of it (but you can still see their hair and a shoulder), was taken with your iPhone, has a harsh shadow on the wall behind you, is pixelated, has been over-edited, or is of a cartoon version of you, then you could be saying to potential clients and connections: “I am not a professional. I am brand new. I am not making enough profit to afford a professional photo. I am afraid to show my real face (I have confidence issues). I don’t care. I think my old one is good enough. I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. I just don’t know any better.”  

A professional image is simply another way you can invest in your business’ future. Taking the time to get a professional headshot done tells people you take your business seriously, you are confident, and that you are trustworthy.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at studio@tripphotography.com    

-Christine Tripp

www.tripphotography.com

Christine Tripp became a professional photographer in 2001. As an instructor, Christine has helped hundreds of eager new photographers learn how to use their camera properly and has shown them how to make money with their photographic art. Whether she is behind her camera or teaching how to take great pictures, Christine’s proven skill, talent, patience and friendly demeanour is just a few of the many reasons she is a well-known and much-liked Ottawa photographer. Connect with Christine on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Where is your online audience?

It is easy to say that your audience is online, but where online is your audience? Contrary to popular belief not everyone is on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and even if they are, is your audience engaging or do they just have an account for the sake of having one?  Where your audience is often depends on what your business is and who you are trying to reach; for example a plumber may not have as much success on Pinterest as say a florist because their audiences are not the same.

Before you Start

Before creating that Facebook page or Twitter account ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• Who is your ideal client or customer? Are your audience teenagers, post-secondary students, parents or seniors? Are they small business owners, contractors or teaching professionals? Ask yourself who will express the most interest in your product or service. Who do you want to reach? This will help you determine where your audience is “hanging out” online.
• What kind of content best suits your audience?
• Do you want to post pictures, video or text? When thinking about what kind of content you would like to post, it is not only important to consider what kind, but also your time constraints. Writing a sentence or two about your business takes a lot less time than creating videos about it, even though video may be more beneficial to your business’ overall marketing plan.

Where to Start

A quick Google search will result in a plethora of websites all claiming to know what social networks various audiences are using, but the best way to know for sure is to test a network yourself.  Start with one or two social networks and give yourself time to build up your audience by engaging and posting quality content.

Research

Every business has a competitor. Look them up online – what social networks are they on? Which ones are getting the most engagement? How are they drawing engagement – what is their main source of content, pictures, video or something else? Also look at their website, is there anything that differentiates them from competitors, including you?

How do you know what social networks to test?

Think about it. Is your business visually based, i.e. a florist, makeup artist, cake decorator or photographer? If so then you want to start with visually-based social networks such as Instagram and Pinterest where you can post images of your work.

If your business has to do with writing, editing, or bookkeeping you might want to look at conversational social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn where you can post tips, articles and advice. 

And if your business is more hands-on or instructional, such as a life coach, chef or nutritionist than you may not only want to look at places like Twitter and Facebook where you can start a conversation and give advice, but you might want to also create videos on YouTube, Instagram, Vine and also pin them to Pinterest.

There are no fool-proof guidelines as to what social network will work for your business. Sometimes what works for one business, will not work for another – even if they are the same kind of business.  Remember – your audience is not the same as my audience. While finding the right audience has always been challenging, it’s never been easier to build one, as long as you’re willing spend the time, be patient, keep track of the results, and be persistent.

How did you find your target audience? Leave us a comment and tell us how and where you’ve targeted your audience(s) and how well it’s worked for you.

#WWCBookClub - chatting Lean In & the March book selection!

Last Thursday night, we held the very first Twitter chat of the #WWCBookClub where we discussed Lean In. Here’s a recap:

March Book Selection

Our March book is just as exciting as the February book. This month, we’re going to read Youtility, by Jay Baer (Kindle affiliate link; hardcover affiliate link). Karen saw Jay speak last November, so she knows this book will be useful for everyone in our audience!

We hope you’ll join us in reading Youtility as you find out how to create smart, useful marketing without hype!

Lean In to what you truly want out of life

I’ve done a lot of reading in 2013, but the book that had the most profound impact on how I think about my past, my present, and my future is Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. 

I read many reviews of the book when it came out; mostly the negative reviews, in fact. I have a sort of morbid fascination with negative reviews, to be honest. What bothered someone so badly that they took the time to share it? Then I ask if their views sound even remotely rational. One scathing review of Lean In by a former Facebook employee convinced me that I had to read the book. 

Yep. I decided to add the book to my reading list based on the most negative review I read. 

Some of the most common criticisms included:

1. Comments about Sheryl Sandberg’s socioeconomic status and her inability to relate to women who struggle to support a family.
2. The belief that Sheryl Sandberg thinks every woman should want to rise to the C-suite. (One that I thought myself before I actually read the book.) 
3. Affront that women may be contributing to lack of change due to limiting beliefs they’ve internalized from a young age.
4. Affecting change for women in corporate America will not help women who slog away at minimum wage in entry level or unskilled positions. 
5. Her watered-down, oversimplified definition of feminism barely scratches the surface of the issues women face.

Having read the book, I have my own views on each of these criticisms:

Every perspective is worth hearing, whether you agree or not

One of the things I love so much about social media is the exposure I have to a huge range of different perspectives. I follow people who have a variety of different lifestyles. I don’t think it’s fair to discount anyone’s perspective simply because they have more money than I do. And even if Sheryl Sandberg can’t relate to someone who has more financial struggles, it doesn’t mean she hasn’t made valid points worth considering. How many times has a financial advice book written by a man been met with criticism that he can’t relate to the average man? What about career advice from men? Are they required to relate to the average man if they are affluent and have been all their life?

Then why is this criticism laid on Sheryl Sandberg and other women like her?

Be comfortable with your choices

Sheryl Sandberg believes that women aren’t adequately represented in the c-suite of Fortune 500 companies. I agree with her. When I watched her TED talk, I thought she was saying women should aspire to more in general. I had a problem with her views in that 15 minute talk, but her book goes into a lot more detail about her perspective. Her passion is clearly supporting women who want to climb the ladder to the c-suite, but she’s also supportive of every other choice women make professionally. My view is that women who don’t aspire to the c-suite need to own their choices and not feel inferior because of them. Doing the work of raising a family is no less important than running a corporation and no one has the right to make any woman (and more and more men) feel that it is.

Limiting beliefs exist, even if you don’t realize it

As I read Lean In, my eyes were opened to how many limiting beliefs I personally hold that have held me back at various points. I had a really strong role model in my mother, but I have still held back on negotiating at times when it was silly not to. I chose not to ask for what I wanted because I was encouraged by people I trusted not to ask: “If you ask, they may withdraw the offer.” I let fear rule my decisions. I know women who have stayed in jobs they hated because they had “secure” work and they wanted to have a family. They didn’t feel like they deserved better when they were already planning to take time off. These examples don’t even touch on the “I don’t have the skills/education/experience to do ______” beliefs. Women minimize their abilities far too much, and often give too much credit to others. We have to identify these beliefs and work on changing them - if not, cultural and structural change on the organizational level will only take us so far. For me, this was the most important message in the book.

Change takes time, but it has to start somewhere

Is it possible to affect change for women at the bottom of the ladder if you’re at the top? I believe it is if the people at the top are trying to make changes for those at the bottom. But if Sheryl Sandberg wants to be an example and speak out for women who are attempting to climb the ladder to the c-suite, it will impact those who are in entry level jobs and minimum wage jobs if that is their aspiration. For those who don’t aspire to senior executive status, they can lean in to what they do want. There’s no reason we should all want the same thing.

Focusing on one aspect of feminism is a smart tactic

Taking action or taking a stand and loudly proclaiming you’re a feminist is one thing. However, the issues that feminism deals with are so complex and numerous that focusing on a particular issue strikes me as more effective. Will Sheryl Sandberg supply all the answers to achieving equality in the c-suite? It’s doubtful. She’s only one person. However, she’s added valuable input to the conversation and introduced ideas (new or not) that many women may not have previously considered. 

Since reading the book, I’ve often had “Lean In moments” when I talk to Lara or clients now because I want so much for our business and my clients’ businesses not to be held back by doubt or limiting beliefs. 

My biggest takeaway from Lean In was the importance of supporting other women. I make a point of telling my friends who stay home with their children how much I respect what they do. I absolutely love working with women business owners to support them in their success. I am honoured to be part of several communities where (mostly) women are helping other women and encouraging them to Lean In to their dreams in so many different ways. It’s a great feeling to be part of so many communities that are supportive and uplifting. 

Have you read Lean In? What did you think?

The challenge of consistent content delivery

What’s the challenge?

Not enough businesses plan ahead.

What topic do you want to discuss today? How about tomorrow? Next week? Next month? How do these topics help you achieve your overall business goals? Did you write them down?

Many business owners feel they have to sit down for X amount of time per day and “do” social media. While I think setting a dedicated time to check in is a good thing, it’s not necessarily the best time for you to scramble to put a blog post together, promote it on Facebook, Twitter et al and then try to squeeze in some actual social interactions. 

Instead, why not block off a half day once or twice a month to bulk schedule your foundation content? Does that sound overwhelming? Here are three steps to make it painless.

1) Create and use an editorial calendar.

Your editorial calendar is where you can decide whether you want to have themes to focus on - monthly, weekly, and/or daily. Here’s a sample of our editorial calendar:

See how organized it can make your process? Sign up for our newsletter and I’ll send you the Excel file!By taking an hour to plan out about 6 months of themes, you will create a plan that guides your work.

2) Write the content.

Set aside a fixed time when you can sit and write uninterrupted. Use this time to write blog and other social media posts that fit your themes. Don’t forget to update the editorial calendar as you do the writing. 

3) Schedule the content.

Since you’ve already put everything in your editorial calendar, scheduling it all out is a pretty quick process. I recommend scheduling no more than 1-4 weeks in advance so you can easily make adjustments. Sometimes things happen that can change the focus you want to take. That doesn’t mean that content isn’t still good - it just means that it may be put off for a bit.

Bonus tip: Be present.

Scheduling your content is okay, even though some have differing opinions. However, scheduling content does not mean that you set it and forget it. I’ve met with clients who do this and they’re very unsatisfied with the results of their efforts. Get on social media and be social. You don’t have to tell your life story, but don’t push out content you want people to read without being there to talk to them about that and other things as well.

What other tips do you have for organizing and minimizing the time you spend on social media?