Reading Seth Godin’s blog as usual this morning, and he’s reminded me of the importance of pictures.
In January I was having a chat with Ken Wilson, Director of Professional Development at NAMM, about his selection process for some of the companies involved. NAMM is a huge organization for music merchandisers, and they put on two trade shows a year. One in Anaheim, CA and one in Nashville, TN.
Ken’s job basically is to make sure all of that works, and I’m thankful I’ve gotten to know him a bit through my friends Jen Lowe and Alan Friedman and through giving some talks in NAMM’s Idea Center.
I was talking about how important I think pictures are on a company web site in terms of allowing people who only know you electronically to make a connection with you and praising Friedman Kannenberg for doing this very thing. Ken said he picked a company to come and talk at NAMM over their competitors because they had photos on their site and he could see the people he was going to be working with.
It’s so important, people. Yes, your work is important. Yes, your reputation is important. But for people who don’t know you personally yet, that little photo on your site could be make or break. Humans are designed to tell a lot about one another through their faces. That’s why mysterious people wear masks. If you let people see you smiling and looking professional and awesome, they will connect with you personally a lot faster than if your site just has your pertinent info.
So come on, good lookin’! Take a photo and put it up on that web site!
