Welcome to Social Media

What Does Your Profile Photo Say About You?

May 30th, 2009

Kathryn E. Eyring

Haven’t we all been told about the importance of “first impressions?” When we look at someone’s profile picture, we make a “snapshot” decision on whether we want to engage with that person as a prospective friend, customer, or even a date—depending on the type of Web site on which we are viewing the photo. Therefore, we need to consider our photo in two ways. First, how do we want to be perceived—what do we want to say about ourselves? And second, who do we want to take an interest in us?

What will they think
when you hide
behind the face of
an Iguana?

Keeping the first question in mind, do we want to be thought of as a silly cartoon, an ugly beast, a child, an animal, or a design? Some of our viewers will never meet us in person so when they picture us in their minds, they’ll conjure up whatever image we’ve provided to them on our profile. Consider this an opportunity to present yourself in accordance with the reputation you are trying to build.

Considering the second item, shouldn't we present ourselves in a way that will appeal to our prospects? If we want to be a magnet for professionals, should we display ourselves as anything less than professional? On the other hand, what if we are trying to reach an artistic audience? In that case, we might want to showcase our creativity where it will be appreciated.

Social media is used by people of all ages and walks of life. Even though we want our friends to view us, we should consider all potential viewers. Is it “safe” for our employer to see us in that photo? Our next profile viewer might be a best friend or an enemy, a spouse or an ex, an employer, an employee, a neighbor, a family member, or a complete stranger. So let’s be smart and think a little bit about that image we display to the online world.

Kathryn Eyring, owner of Knockout Marketing, provides on site assessments and training to businesses to help improve their initial presentation or first point of contact to the public. Provides training for a wide variety of topics to improve employee presentation to customers. Topics include projection of confidence, posture, body language, conversation skills, and more that all lead to better customer relations.

Topics: Discussions

Tags: image, impressions, profile photo

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