Strengthen your brand with photos

Exceptional photos are a part of good personal branding. I’d like to explain how you can use good photos to strengthen your own personal brand.

In a way, we are all working on our own personal brand. We enhance it every time we make a decision or communicate with others. But...

What does personal branding actually mean?

Wikipedia doesn’t really have an answer to this question. Its entry reads as follows:

“Personal branding involves finding your uniqueness, building a reputation on the things you want to be known for, and then allowing yourself to be known for them. Ultimately, the goal is to create something that conveys a message and that can be monetized.

Whereas some self-help practices focus on self-improvement, personal branding defines success as a form of self-packaging.”

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_branding

There are a number of reputed personal branding specialists on the market, such as Ben Schulz and Tijen Onaran. They’ve both dedicated themselves to personal branding and I find that they do a great job of addressing the issue. So it’s worth following these two authors and their publications.

But let’s get to the point.

How can you use good photos to share your brand with the outside world?

What some of us already knew, the rest of us realized when the pandemic broke out. Nowadays, most initial contacts in the business world take place digitally. And people generally research the participants in their next meeting beforehand by googling their names. The results instantly reveal how the other person ticks and who you can expect to have opposite you. And this is exactly where you can score points with good photos of yourself that tell your story in images. But what sort of stories should you tell? What can you illustrate/express with images?

The first impression

We (i.e. everyone) can judge people in a split second on the basis of various criteria (of our own). An extravagant / provocative / elegant / weird / conservative appearance acts as a natural initial filter. Anyone who doesn’t like your “look” won’t get in touch. And that’s good. Nobody wants to be liked by everyone these days. Or do they?

Your skills

By using suitable photos, you can also give others information about your skills. A good personal branding photo shoot is designed and structured to emphasize these very skills. You can plan specific locations for different photos with the photographer.

Your values

Little hints can be incorporated into the photos to convey your values. For instance books in the background, a carefully selected location or your aura – there’s a way of expressing everything that people need to know about you.

And where should you use these images?

That’s simple – wherever you need them.

• Your website/blog posts
• Social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube thumbnails )
• Consultant photo
• Presentations
• Offline media (interviews/specialist articles)
• Pitch decks
• CV

With a stock of good photos of yourself, you can easily communicate effectively and authentically for two to three years on all online and offline platforms. In my opinion, that’s an unmissable opportunity.

Due to the current situation, Connecta Bern will again be held as a digital event in 2021. Connecta is renowned for shining a light on the diverse nature of digitization and this year will be no different with content presented across the three formats of Connecta Blog, Connecta TV and Connecta Talk. Find out more here: www.swisspost.ch/connecta.