I NEVER LIKED FACEBOOK. I never cared what someone was having for lunch, who they were dating, where they just had their nails done or how cute they think their kid looks in a bunny suit. People tell me it’s a great tool to catch up with friends you haven’t spoken to in 40 years – that is until you do connect and suddenly realize why you didn’t want to talk to them for the last four decades in the first place.
That being said, LinkedIn seems on the other hand to be a valuable tool, especially in the business world. Sure every now and then someone will use it to try and sell a house or flash an engagement ring, but for the most part it is firmly rooted in the business world and a valuable marketing tool. But, like most things, it only works if it is used properly.
Let’s start with your profile photo. What’s the best profile photo for your LinkedIn, and what is the worst? The best is either a professionally done headshot or something that suits your expertise. If you are a creative person then by all means be creative. But don’t put a dog in the picture with you unless you run a doggy-day care facility, or a photo of you lip-smacking a mackerel unless you’re a fishing guide. Ugly pants are OK, but only if you are a golf pro. Courtroom sketches? Don’t think so, unless you’re on trial for murder – and then it’s doubtful anyone is going to want to connect with you anyway.
Worse than having a bad photo is having no photo. Bottom line: unless you are in the Witness Protection Program or look like the Elephant Man, get a photo. If you do have a photo and it scares small children, get a new photo.
Forbes magazine says “invest in a headshot taken by a professional. Don’t use a photo your mother took of you at last year’s family beach outing. Don’t use a selfie. And make sure you’re facing forward or to the left (looking into your content). When you’re looking off-screen, it sends a subtle message that you don’t believe your own content.” All excellent advice.
LinkedIn has said that search results with photos beside them are seven times more likely to be clicked than entries without photos. So, that recruiter looking for someone with your job title will probably not click on your name unless there is a photo beside it in the search results listings.
Every time a potential employer or business contact clicks on your profile it’s like being interviewed in his or her office. And when’s the last time you went on an interview with a paper bag on your head or your face painted in the colors of the New England Patriots?
Here are four basic rules when it comes to a profile photo:
n Make sure the photo is actually you. (Unless people on the street mistake you for Kim Kardashian or George Clooney, don’t use their photo.)
n Is the image what you truly look like? (It’s the person you should see when you look in the mirror.)
n Use a photo with a relatively business-friendly pose. (A photo of you playing Twister doesn’t cut it).
n No pets or children or other “bodily distractions” should be in the photo. (No pets, no cleavage, no pets with cleavage.)
Save the photos of you wearing a hat with two beer cans attached to it for your Facebook page. Because unless you are looking on LinkedIn for a prospective employer or client that has “chugging beer and crushing cans with your forehead” as a job requirement, you are not giving the impression that you are a serious person looking to make an impact in the business world. You have to think of your LinkedIn profile photo as your business card. Be proud to show it around. •
Steve White is the owner of Steve White Public Relations in Norwell, Mass. He can be reached at www.SWhitePR.com.
