I’ve been a photographer for most of my life and often get asked to photograph executives, engineers, marketing personnel, and many other individuals for their websites. I’ve witnessed a trend in that not only do companies want photos of their staff, they go so far as to ask for staged shots for their websites. The staged photos are then placed throughout their website to enhance the look and fell. I think that many people just assume that the photos were purchased at stock photography websites although anyone doing business with these companies on a face to face level, either in person or via video conferencing technology would know that they aren’t.

I’d like to focus on the idea of putting individual photos next to an employee’s name (or your own name if you’re the business owner). Business of all sizes are deciding to place staff photos on their profiles (such as on LinkedIn.com) as well as the corporate website. Here are some perspectives to consider:

Pros

• Pursuasion is a big one in my book.  When people visit your website they’ll often check out the company profile page(s). The Internet is a cold place and adding a photo often adds a personal touch. It can help your credibility and transparency which are both parts of the overall pursuasion section of the Internet Success Model™.
• People tend to trust and buy more from attractive people so you’re among that crowd, it could help you.
• People love looking at people. Having your photo displayed may leave a lasting impression.
• If you work in an industry where trust is especially important such as banking, investing, and high end sales, adding a photo can set a client’s mind at ease.
• Photos in social media profiles tend to attract a lot more attention. This can help with branding you as a professional.

Cons

• Privacy is rapidly growing into a major issue. Putting your photo online can be seen as an invasion of privacy.
• Knowing about how attractive people generate more sales and the Halo Effect, I’ve seen some companies use stock photos to represent actual employees or as made-up people in their testimonials.
• Staff come and go frequently and so adding and removing photos on a regular basis can be time consuming and a general pain.
• Small businesses often consider the hiring of a professional photographer to get a real headshot as a waste of money.
• Some people simply aren’t photogenic and placing their photo may turn people off.
• It could be dangerous (especially for women) to show what you look like.
• You may want to appear younger than you are (that’s what Photoshop is for!!).

Where Should it Go?

In most cases, I don’t advise placing a large photo of you on the homepage of your business website. If you rely on the Internet for the bulk of your business, you may simply want to place a photo on the about us page and leave it off of the homepage.

What Should It Look Like?

In most cases I suggest leaving your wife, kids, dog, and material goods such as a high end car out of the photo. One reason for this suggestion is that people like to work with others who they feel are similar to them. By adding those items, it sets you apart and fills in the gaps of differences in their minds where they would otherwise have filled them in on their own, possibly in a more connected light. Secondly, you want to come across as professional, not overly casual.

I recommend keeping your Internet presence as primarily business-focussed,  avoiding posting all of the personal details of your life. (I’ll blog about that another time.)

Placing your photo on your website (and social media profile) may or may not work for you. It could be that your business niche isn’t one to do that kind of thing. Or, you could be a pioneer when it comes to taking the next step toward pursuading people to buy from you.

Consider your own situation. What do you do and why?

It’s no secret that the Internet continues to influence our lives in ways that people haven’t even recognized. The Internet as we know it has come a long way since its fairly humble beginnings in the early 1990s. It has become the single most important and influential factor for everything from politics to sales. Our leisure time is spent surfing the net more than ever before and marketers are continually looking for new ways to sell to you during your downtime. Why should you be concerned with search engine marketing (SEM)? Find out here!

What is Search Engine Marketing?

The full answer to that question can be an article on its own. For purposes of brevity and relevance, I define search engine marketing as an approach to Internet marketing where the goal is to attract attention to and promote a website in the search engine results pages (the “first page of Google” is an example of a search engine results page).

The methods used to increase a website’s visibility using SEM typically comprises of two main approaches: Search engine optimization (SEO) and paid advertising (usually by pay per click, or PPC, advertising).

Active Versus Passive

One of the most important aspects of search engine marketing is its intrinsic nature as targeting active searchers. Image the scenario where you are watching your favorite program on TV and see a commercial for baby diapers. If you don’t have a baby, you’ll probably ignore the ad. Nonetheless, the advertisers are doing their best to target their commercials for the intended audience. In fact, studies show that even if you have a baby, you’ll probably ignore the ad the first few times you see it since it is commonly believed that consumers have to see your ad at least seven times before doing business with you.

Now compare that to being found in the search engines. As my clients have heard me repeatedly emphasize over the years, when someone is searching for something online, they want something that’s beneficial to them. That benefit can take the form of information (written content), a photo, an e-commerce store where they can buy the products you sell immediately, your company’s phone number, your store’s opening hours, free blog software, and so on. All of these and more are beneficial in one way or another to the end user.

The beauty of the search marketing industry is that someone actively sought that beneficial item and got it almost immediately. Search engine marketing is represents a direct way to go after a “mini-captive” audience. With SEM, you can forget passive advertising and focus on active buyers

A Controlled Environment

The entire life experience during the few minutes (or even just seconds) that someone is on your website is limited to what you present to them. Consumers are all eyes, ears, and mindful of what you are offering them. You have their undivided attention and you get it the first time they find you. No purposeful repetition is required. You create the unique shopping experience for the consumer, whether you run an e-commerce store or you’re a realtor looking to get more people to buy their homes through your services.

Ready to Convert

Additionally, it’s not just that you have an active Internet surfer on your website, in many cases, you have someone is ready to sign up for your newsletter, buy your products, call for your service, and so on. Each day, millions of consumers seek what you have to offer and are screaming “I want to buy from you.”  Are you ready to take them on?

Local Versus Global

In addition to the inherent benefit of search engine marketing to companies looking to market their products online, such as being open to the entire world, businesses can take advantage of local markets. Your company can go from local to global (and vice versa).

You can target large audiences in  local region or small audiences on an international basis. Either way, people who find you want to get answers to their questions quickly and they primarily use search engines and to a lesser extent social media to do so. For example, if you’re considering the purchase of a digital camera, you’ll likely read reviews of the ones hat best suit you based on what you find on a search engine results page. If you can control what appears, you’re SEM plan can generate a tremendous increase in sales.

Measurable

Consider that using a pay per click and/or search engine optimization strategy is more measurable than almost any other form of marketing. Especially the former. You can start with a relatively small budget and assess the results of a PPC campaign fairly quickly. Further, knowing how to analyze and use website statistics can help you go a long way toward increasing sales while getting a return on your investment.

Mobile Access

While search engines continue to dominate as a starting point on your computer, they are also growing rapidly in the mobile world. This just adds to their importance as places to focus on when you spend your Internet marketing dollars.

Small Businesses Look Big

Businesses with visibility based on high rankings in any capacity (website, social media profiles, product reviews such as on Amazon.com, etc) often look larger than they may be. That can prove to be beneficial for sales.

The Next Step?

The Internet is a continually evolving creature. Search engine marketing should be a serious consideration for any company looking to stay in business in the coming years. Moreover, keeping up with the times, using current methods and approaches to marketing products and services online is primary importance. Your competitors are doing it. Don’t get left behind.

When is Free Acceptable?

There are some circumstances where getting something for “free” is acceptable like birthday parties and similar events. Other than that, when I hear the word free, I shy away, assuming it’s something sketchy. Maybe I’m just an educated consumer or perhaps a realist.

Online Promotion Takes Experience

To be successful at Internet marketing, one must spend a large amount of time and gain appropriate experience in the field. Online advertising and promotion is certainly not for everyone. It has become an increasingly complex process and people new to the industry often have a difficult time wrapping their heads around it (which is why I’m writing a book… to simplify it).

Everyone who works hard at something should expect to be rewarded for their efforts. So, the most experienced and in many cases, the best Internet marketers are those who’ve been around for some time. These same people will want to earn a good living as they help you, the business person, earn a good living. 

Free Internet Marketing

Still, far too many people in this business and marketing consumed world equate free with something worthwhile. While it’s true that people could live their entire lives off of craigslist, it stands to reason that the free section is the ultimate expression of the Internet offering freebies. But, it ends there.

Conventional Wisdom

Conventional wisdom says that you need to spend a lot to get something good. If you want to have a great Internet marketing campaign, you need to hire a great Internet marketer and pay them what they’re worth. Now think of the logical opposite. That is, if you get free Internet marketing services, how good could they possibly be?

Closing Comment

Stay away from free and cheap Internet marketing companies. They have the potential to do far more damage than you might understand at face value.

Well, it turns out that Internet marketing and especially SEO remains a great investment for small and medium sized businesses. Companies that were benefiting from SEO before disaster struck in 2008 are still reaping the rewards of high rankings and great conversions. If you find that your company is one of the millions that is losing the Internet marketing war, I suggest you read these surefire ways to conquer the recession blues and increase leads and sales.

People may be making less money and be out of jobs but they’re still browsing the Internet in mad numbers. In fact, probably more people are wasting, err, spending time online as a result of extra leisure time. That’s the beauty of the Internet… it isn’t going anywhere! That’s reason #451 why you need an Internet strategy. I’ll write about the some other time.

There’s a lot to say about Internet marketing during a recession but I’d like to focus on key aspects that can help companies beat the hard times.

(1) Start a Website

If your business doesn’t have a website, it’s time to make one. Spending on a fully optimized, attractive website that converts website visitors into users will be great now and later. If you already have a website, it may be time to grab more market share in the search engine results pages by launching a second optimized and useful website.

(2) Re-design Your Website

Adding to the first point, if business is slower than usual, you should spend some time looking over your website and your competitors’ sites and call an SEO consultant to help you strategize and head in the right direction. (Full disclosure: I am an SEO consultant who helps companies find the right direction.)

(3) Become Big Brother

It’s time to look over your website statistics in detail. Analyze who’s doing what on your website. Track conversions. Look at trends, patterns, and successes. Watch every move and replicate and expand what works.

(4) Socialize Digitally

You’ve heard of social media and blogging. It’s time to actually get involved. Comment on people’s blogs, get involved in forum discussions, and other formats.

(5) Special Offers

Offer clients special offers by way of direct one-on-one emails and through newsletters. If you have a client list of email addresses, send them an email with new offers. Remember that it’s typically easier to retain current clients than it is to get new ones. If you don’t have a newsletter in place, it’s time to start collecting email addresses.

(6) Email a “Hello”

Instead of emailing special offers, just send a personalize “Hi, how are you?” type of email. Customers who have time and/or need your services may bite. Reaching out by email doesn’t have to be all about sales. It’s about communication and relationship building.

(7) Improve Your Content

During the best of times, website content is typically lackluster but overlooked because there’s no perceived need to improve it. During a recession, you need every advantage you can get. Re-write your website’s text. Hire a professional copywriter who can create useful yet sales and marketing rich text. If your website relies on product photos, try taking new ones or better yet, hire a professional photographer to photograph your items.

(8) Spend

Now is not the time to cut back on your advertising dollars. If you have a solid product or service, and plan to be in business for years to come, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain from maintaining an Internet marketing budget. Working on your Internet presence during a recession can reap great financial rewards later by way of customer retention and word of mouth marketing. Yes, this is true during the the good economic times but it’s also true during the bad ones.

(9) Try a New Angle

Is your angle stale? There are hot topics out there that your products and services might fit into. Does your widget apply to other areas but you’ve never marketed them as such? Try it! Add a new section on your website about a products applications that would generate interest. The eco-friendly/green movement is hot. Is your product eco-friendly? Tell everyone on people’s blogs, review websites, forums, and so on.

(10) Add Sales Tools

During a recession, companies have to excel at customer service. You can make it easier to help people using tools such as a live chat feature.

I was going to also add a #11 – buy a book but I decided against using that in my official top 10 list. How peculiar is it that I’m advocating the purchase of an Internet marketing book?! I’m working on my own right now so I figured I’d plant a seed! LOL!

To me, recession-proof marketing online involves building a solid foundation with a long term plan. Yes, we’re in a recession and you need the business now. I understand that. However, despite what far too many people in the business community think, nothing of value on the Internet comes instantly. If you want to benefit financially from the Internet, you need to think ahead. So, when it comes to marketing and recession, be prepared to spend some time, money, and effort. It will pay off in the short-term and long run.

Best of luck with your online marketing during these difficult times.