You Are the Face of Your Brand

November 6, 2012June 7, 2019Wendy Terwelp 5 Comments

Editor’s note: Updated 6/7/2019

Who would you, your customer or a potential employer hire? The silhouette above or one of these smiling faces below?

Your image is part of your brand. Having your smiling face in your social networking profiles helps build your “know, like, and trust” factor. People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

Not only that, have you ever said, “I know the face; I just can’t remember the name…”

Your face, your professional headshot, helps people remember you.

When attending networking events, you leave with loads of business cards, many with names, contact information, and logos, but no photo. How do you remember if the name you found on LinkedIn is the right person you met when the profile has only a silhouette?

It’s frustrating.

That smiling mug of yours is part of your brand, use it!

Having your face in your social networking profiles helps people connect with you and know that it’s YOU they met at last week’s event or conference.

Photos matter because — science.

According to LinkedIn, members who include a profile photo receive 21x more profile views and up to 36x more messages.

Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov found it only takes 100 milliseconds to form an impression of someone just looking at a photo of their face. And 80 to 90 percent of that first impression is based on two qualities — trustworthiness and competence.

Social Psychologist Amy Cuddy explains:

When we form a first impression of another person it’s not really a single impression. We’re really forming two. We’re judging how warm and trustworthy the person is, and that’s trying to answer the question, “What are this person’s intentions toward me?” And we’re also asking ourselves, “How strong and competent is this person?” That’s really about whether or not they’re capable of enacting their intentions.”

Trust and likeability play a role in helping you build your brand, your connections, and more.

I’m asked all the time if people really need a professional headshot in their social-networking profiles.

YES, you do. No excuses.

And if you’ve got an excuse for no photo, see if these sound familiar:

“My head is too big.” It’s been said that Oprah has a large-sized head, and she seems to be doing just fine.

“I want to lose weight before I pay money to get a professional headshot.” And “People say the camera adds 10 pounds. In my case it adds 50!”

Ask yourself this, have you got networking meetings coming up in the next week? How about interviews? Sales calls? Speaking gigs? Ballgame? Hiding behind no photo online detracts from your brand and gives the impression you don’t know how to use basic tools like LinkedIn.

You’ll still be seen in real life regardless. Embrace it. You are fabulous just as you are now. Pop that pic in your profile. Later, when you lose your planned weight, that warrants a brand new headshot of skinny you.

Did you know most people Google you before they meet you?

LinkedIn is typically on page one of those search results. Having a current photo in your profile means that when you arrive, people will immediately recognize you and know that you are the person they were scheduled to meet (not you from 2004, but you 2019).

“I don’t have any money for a professional headshot.” Find a well-lit space in your home or apartment and a light-colored empty wall. Wear something professional, smile big, and have your friend take a photo — or several so you can choose your favorite. LinkedIn now has some tools in their mobile app to enhance your photo. Use them. Save a bit every week and you can invest in a professional headshot soon.

People relate well to facial photos.

People like to do business with people, not a logo or your cat.

Your photo is part of your brand image. Be sure it’s aligned with your professional goals and your personal brand.

On LinkedIn, it’s important that your profile picture is professional versus a crazy pose, wedding or group photo. The photo needs to be of your head and the top of your shoulders, like the above photos. A white background is preferred.

One client told me about wanting to use a service based on someone’s recommendation.

“I Googled him before we met. He had this crazy picture on LinkedIn with his mouth open and head turned sideways. I wasn’t too sure about heading for the meeting after that.”

You can do some fun expressions on Facebook if you wish. With any profile photo, keep in mind the “Mom and Boss Test” — if you’d be embarrassed if your mom saw the photo or fired if your boss did, err on the side of “professional.”

Twitter’s profile-picture spot is very tiny. Keep that in mind when uploading your profile photo. For Twitter, I recommend having just your face in the profile photo. Your whole face, not your eye or a tiny picture of your full body. It’s too hard to see.

Recruiters say, “We will judge you not just on your profile, but your overall mastery of LinkedIn (especially for PR, sales, marketing, human resources and recruiting jobs). We look for a professional headshot, a powerful summary, at least several hundred connections, a complete employment history (including descriptions) and a good list of relevant groups.”

Final Thoughts on the Face of Your Brand
Book your professional headshot, add it to your social media profiles, and let’s see your fabulous face online!

Wendy Terwelp, Opportunity Knocks, is a recognized career industry leader, dubbed a “LinkedIn Guru” by The Washington Post. Named in the Top 15 Career Masterminds (along with Richard Nelson Bolles, author of “What Color is Your Parachute?”), Top 100 Career Experts to Follow on Twitter, ATD’s “Best on Career Development,” and “Top 10 Career Helps” by Inc. Magazine, Wendy speaks about networking, social media, branding, and personal branding for career management to organizations worldwide. Wendy is also the author of Rock Your Network®.

Recruiter LinkedIn Secret: Follow Companies Where…

October 24, 2012January 24, 2013Wendy Terwelp Leave a comment

Guest Expert, George Blomgren,
MRA, The Management Association

The other day, a recruiter colleague shared a tip with me. He told me that when a candidate applies for a job with his company, if that candidate otherwise looks qualified, he looks to see if the candidate is following his company on LinkedIn. If not, he won’t consider that candidate.

Rather an extreme attitude, but it illustrates a best practice. Recruiters assume that the main reason you follow a company on LinkedIn is that you want to work there. So smart recruiters use their company’s followers on LinkedIn as the “low hanging fruit” for their hiring needs. So, take a moment to follow the companies you want to work for!

Editor’s note: Great tip George! The same holds true if you want to get on a company’s radar for your business. And if you’re running a business and want to attract great employees, ensure your company has a company page on LinkedIn.

George Blomgren is the Director of Recruiting Solutions for MRA – The Management Association. George has 20+ years of talent acquisition (aka recruiting), and operations experience. Prior to joining MRA, George ran the advertising and marketing department for a fast-growing network of local employment websites.

Networking 101 – Starting Conversations

May 2, 2012July 9, 2019Wendy Terwelp 6 Comments

“I know networking is really important, but how do I get the conversation started?” said an attendee at one of my presentations. In the words of Dale Carnegie, author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years trying to get people interested in you.”

Translation: Ask the new people you meet about themselves. When in a group or at a party, listen carefully to the conversation. See where you might be able to jump in. It may be something as simple as an exclamation, “You’re kidding me!” that gets the ball rolling.

I recommend preparing in advance of the event by setting networking goals and having at least three open-ended questions you can ask any person at the networking event.

Here are open-ended questions that encourage conversation:
1) What brings you to today’s meeting [event, conference, barbeque…]?
2) What one or two things would you like to take away from this event [conference, meeting, party…]?
3) What’s the coolest thing that’s happened to you all week?

NEVER ask: “Do you know anyone who’s hiring?” Or “Do you know anyone interested in buying [insert your product here]?”

If you’re at a business event, get a business card from the new contact and jot down some notes from the conversation. It can be as simple as, “Big Elvis fan.” That way, the next time you see the person or call the person, you can start the conversation with, “Hey, did you see the new 2-CD set that came out on Elvis? Has all the songs, plus a 32-page book. Cool.” Then, once they’ve exhausted their excitement of the big event, you can jump into the “real” conversation, “So, what’s going on at the office? Did they create that position we talked about at Bernadine’s Memorial Day party?”

Your goal is to create real and helpful connections, NOT close the deal on a job offer, nail the sale of your product or service or collect the most business cards in the room.

Wendy Terwelp advises and coaches clients in the art of networking, turning networking pain to career gain. What to fine-tune your networking efforts and have more confidence in any networking situation? Let’s talk!

Networking Before, During, and After ASTD ICE 2012

March 29, 2012Wendy Terwelp 1 Comment

I’m heading for the ASTD International Conference & Expo (ICE) 2012 and was asked to write a blog post for them. After writing the post, I though my readers could use these tips at any conference or event they have coming up. Enjoy! And I’d love to hear your tips.

Get fired up to attend this year’s ASTD International Conference & Expo! Here are some tips to help you get the most from the conference through networking.

Before: Plan Ahead

Have goals. Many times people attend events without a plan and that’s when it becomes a waste of time. Instead, plan ahead. Who do you wish to meet at this event? If you wish to meet speakers, name them. Who needs to know about you? How many new people do you wish to meet? (I recommend meeting at least three new people.) Plan ahead to ensure you connect and meet your networking goals.

If you’re shy, bring a friend. Introduce them first, and then introduce yourself. Sit at a table with one person you know – and at least three people you don’t. Get to know the new people.

You’ll remember to do these things if you have made a plan in advance. Set networking goals.

Use social media to schedule meetings and gatherings ahead of the conference. Check out ASTD’s LinkedIn page. You’ll see several people are already starting conference discussions. Follow the #ASTD2012 hashtag on Twitter. This will keep you up-to-date on pre-conference and at-conference happenings. Follow people using the hashtag who seem interesting. If they follow back you can direct message (DM) them, contacting them directly and set up a meeting at the conference. I once planned a guest-spot for my conference presentation using Twitter’s DM feature. It’s terrific when you’re not in the same state – or as many attending ASTD’s International Conference and Expo – the same country.

Pack/bring plenty of business cards. Yes, there are cool electronic tools, like Bump and Evernote Hello, however, most people still use business cards and are familiar with them. If you’re unemployed, create your own cards using gotprint.com or vistaprint.com. Have a tagline on them that brands you. Ensure you have all your contact information on the cards so people can connect with you. For those currently employed, have your staff order you extra cards. Bring at least 100 cards (more is better). You’ll use them for drawings as well as for networking. And, if you meet someone you click with, you don’t want to say, “Gee, I ran out of cards going for the iPad.”

During: Engage!

Have a sound bite ready. When people ask, “So, what do you do?” in a gathering of trainers, instructional designers, e-learning gurus, you want to stand out from the crowd. Do so by stating a benefit you provide your learners. (More tips can be found in my website’s newsroom: http://knocks.com)

Get a business card from those whom you meet. On the card, jot down at least one unusual or interesting thing you learned about each of the new people you meet on the back of each person’s business card. You can find out something unique about each person you meet by asking open-ended questions.

For example, “Is this your first meeting?” is not an open-ended question because the person will either say “yes” or “no.” Instead ask, “So, what brings you to tonight’s event?” or “What’s one thing no-one knows about you?” or “What’s one thing you’d like to take away from this conference and bring back to your employer?” And so on.

Also list the date and name of the event (or conference session) where you met.

Use social media during the conference. Twitter is one of my favorite tools for this. At last year’s ASTD ICE conference, Marcus Buckingham tweeted that you could see him at a specific hotel and that he’d be wearing a red baseball cap. At TechKnowledge, a fellow Wisconsinite tweeted that he’d be wearing an Aaron Rodgers jersey and where he could be found. Several Wisconsinites met up with him at the conference. And there’s the Red Feathers group who connected through social media, then attached red feathers to their name badges for easy spotting, and connected during the conference.

After: Follow Up

Follow up. On the back of the business cards you received, list the action you plan to take to follow up with your new connection. For example, you promised the person you’d send them an article on the topic you just discussed, do it!

I typically recommend you send this within 24 hours. If you’re at the conference, send it when you return. You’ll have made a note on the person’s business card, so you can remember and do what you promised.

Use social media to stay connected. Because ASTD has such a vast membership in their LinkedIn group, if you did miss getting a person’s business card, you may be able to connect with him or her using LinkedIn. Additionally, if you clicked with the people you met during the conference and want to stay connected later, LinkedIn is an easy way to do so. Plus, you can learn more about each person via their LinkedIn profile. (Note: if you haven’t updated your own LinkedIn profile in some time, do so before the conference!)

Pick up the phone. Sometimes we can get so busy or so used to using social media, we forget to make it personal. Picking up the phone for a brief call does wonders in solidifying business relations with your new connections.

For those wishing to connect with me at the conference, I’ll be in the career center and presenting “Rock Your Network®,” an interactive networking presentation where you’ll learn how to create an effective sound bite and apply what you learn immediately. Follow me on Twitter @wendyterwelp, use the hashtag at the conference #ASTD2012, and be sure to check out the ASTD group on LinkedIn. See you there!

Rock Your Career®

Are you ready for your next big gig?®

Brand Your Business

Networking 101 – Starting Conversations