As the old saying goes ‘people buy from people’, so why don’t you put your picture on your website? Yes I can see your grimace, no surprise, most of my clients have the same reaction, but it is time to re-think.
Build trust, credibility and empathy
Images of you and your staff quickly establish credibility and stability for visitors to your website. New visitors want to be reassured that you are a real business, not just an anonymous web page. A picture of a human face immediately starts to build a sense of connection and will strengthen positive feelings towards your brand. Good examples of this are the BBC profiles, used for many of their correspondents and experts. Semi-formal shots, that look directly at the viewer, immediately establish that tone of serious enquiry.
Make your staff approachable
Unsurprisingly, Apple are another company that use great staff images, to reinforce their brand and give an approachable face to their support and team profiles.
Use your imagination for creative ‘about us’ pages
Staff and team pages don’t have to be overly formal. Blue Sky Resumes use a more creative approach for their ‘about’ page, breaking away from the standard head and shoulders shot.
Claim authorship of your content
Google now allows you to link your web pages and blog posts to your Google + profile. This adds your profile image into search results for these pages.
A profile image makes you stand out in long lists of search results and can increase the number of visitors to your website. Check out the article on the Copyblogger website, explaining the steps you need to take. http://www.copyblogger.com/claim-google-authorship/
Avoid stock images
Don’t substitute your own images for a stock people images. It always surprises me how many team pages use a header with an obvious stock image at the top. Your customers are not stupid. Keep it real and credible.
Now is the time to break away from that tradition reserve and shyness and start building stronger connections with your prospective and current customers.
