How Bad Business Headshot Can Drive Away Customers

How can your business attract customers and grow? We’d like to think that the quality of your product or service matters above all.

Sure, it matters. It might even be the most important factor once your audience knows about you. But before that, first impressions can rank just as important as selling your products and services to audiences. In fact, even a bad business headshot can lose you significant business.

The Importance of First Impressions

Here’s a shocker to start it off: first impressions matter. You probably already knew that, but you might not know just how important they are in marketing. The first time your potential customers see a visual representation of you as the owner of your business, they need to see you as professional and credible. 

Here’s a fun fact. Your looks and professionalism is the single most important factor for your audience to decide whether or not they will like you. And that’s not all. According to the review of a recent study by Business Insider,

Our first impressions of people in photographs influence our perception of those people even after we’ve interacted with them personally.

Let’s recap. Your audience will decide on whether they like you, and whether they will find you credible, based on their visual first impression of you. And that impression sticks with them, even after they learn more about you. Which brings us to the importance of headshots in today’s digital environment.

Headshots in the Digital Age

Any business owner knows just how important the internet has become in marketing your product or services. Most of your potential customers will begin their search for a company like you either through a search engine or social media.

When they do, your strategy should be designed to get your brand name and benefits in front of them. But when that happens, you need to make sure to nail that first impression.

Especially for small business owners, that means establishing a personal connection – generally, through personal photos rather than highly stylized graphics or images. On social media and on your about page, showing your face helps you make your business more relatable to your audience.

Now, think about the now ubiquitous Google search. When searching for your company or personal name, relevant images will be pulled into the results page as well.

Before they even start reading your online presence, they will have a visual first impression of both you and your business.

Imagine that first impression being a selfie you took or a phone image taken by your significant other. Neither will look professional, or communicate the type of professionalism that you need to convey. And when it’s the first thing your audience sees, you risk losing them before you even have a chance to convince them about your brand benefits.

Grow Your Business By Improving Your Online Presence

No business owner wants the above scenario to occur. So now, imagine the opposite: a visual presence that helps to immediately communicate the credibility you need to draw your audience in. Rather than making them cringe, you awaken their curiosity as they ready themselves for more information.

That’s exactly what professional headshots can provide. Get them just right, and you can use them as a canvas to convince potential customers that your business and its product or service is worth further consideration above its competitors.

It might seem minor. But once you consider the psychology behind first impressions, and just how important visuals have become in the digital age, you begin to recognize the importance of professional, high-quality headshots. Schedule your appointment today to take your first step toward business growth.