The word online marketing or “personal branding” is important but there is a lot of confusion about what exactly it is. I receive numerous calls from prospective clients who think branding is simply a logo, brand colors, and fonts. Your personal branding playbook is so much more than that! As a Boise Headshot and Branding Photographer, I hope to shed some light on what is a personal brand and why it’s so essential to small business owners.
What exactly is a personal brand and why do you need a personal branding playbook?
Your personal brand includes your name, your face, and how you make people feel. Although it sounds simple enough, there is a lot of planning and strategy that goes into each element. Today, I want to highlight why developing a personal brand is vital to brick-and-mortar and online businesses.
The bottom line . . . people no longer simply buy goods and services. In today’s world, people buy from personalities. These individuals have taken the effort to develop an emotional relationship with their audience (potential clients) over time by forming a “know, like, and trust” characteristic. The fastest way to establish this connection is through personalized business photography.
Three reasons why you should invest in a personal branding photography session for your business.
- A robust online presence will give you credibility! Statistics show that if a company’s creator uses social media, 80% of the customers trust it more and 77% are more willing to buy from it.
- Your brand will be more relatable and show a human side. In today’s world, people want to see the faces and personalities behind the services and products they are buying. The good news is that the fastest way to do this is to have high-quality imagery that shows your personal side!
- Consistency levels up your brand. Your online presence should be on brand and consistent across all online platforms, including your website and social media. Again, the good news is that quality on-brand photography is the number one way to create and maintain brand consistency across all platforms.
You may have nailed down your brand, colors, and typefaces, but if your imagery doesn’t match, you’re doomed. Maintaining brand consistency required that all of your visualizations work hand in hand.
How to make a cohesive visual representation of your brand through brand photography?
Brand Colors (Choose two neutrals and a pop of color.)
Your brand colors are key when planning your branding and brand photography. The colors you pick for your brand photo sessions will make a strong statement about who you are and what you are all about. I encourage you to take some time and do a little research on your brand. Think about how you want your future clients to FEEL by asking yourself the following questions.
Gender: Is my brand traditionally masculine or feminine?
Tone: Is my brand playful or serious?
Value: Is my brand luxurious or affordable?
Time: Is my brand modern or classic?
Age: Is my brand youthful or mature?
Energy: Is my brand loud or subdued?
Now, what are your current brand colors? Do you have a brand board or Pinterest board for inspiration? In general, you want to pick two neutrals and a pop of color for your branding photography session. If you are still struggling to choose your brand colors, take a stroll over to your closet. What three colors are popping out right now? What three textures do you see most often?
Now put your mind’s eye into your home. What three colors are popping out at you from your interior design? These are good indicators as to the colors you could begin to incorporate into your brand and branding photography session.
Finally, keep in mind that colors stimulate emotions and feelings. But it’s not only about feelings! Colors can prompt physical responses such as increased heart rate or greater focus. The colors you’ve picked are making a strong statement about who you are.
A Branding location that is aligned with your vibe
Choosing an on-brand location is essential when you are planning your personal branding session. First, consider the questions that we posed in the brand color portion of the blog to make sure that your location is representative of the tone, values, and energy that you want to project. A hip/urban photoshoot will have a very different vibe than a boho/mountain shoot. This is why it’s important to do some research on your band and talk to your photographer before scheduling your session.
Next, pretend we are peeling back the curtain of your work and personal life. What portions of your day and week do you want to share? These elements need to be represented in your branding session, and the questions below will help you get started.
What are you passionate about the most in your business?
What makes you feel alive?
What are the activities that you do on a workday?
What are the benefits of working with you?
How do you interact with your clients?
What areas of your personal life do you want to highlight?
Finally, what local aspects do you want to highlight?
Many small businesses target local clients and if that’s you, you want to make sure that you have local content in your branding! Incorporating a local flavor will create that warm + neighborly connection with your audience. An example from my own business would be the following.
Like an Eagle, Idaho business owner, I know that Boise and the Treasure Valley people love to be outdoors and enjoy the beautiful mountains year-round. If the mountains are your vibe, highlighting outdoor activities throughout the seasons in your branding photography would create an instant connection.
Boise is known for its food culture and farm-to-table scene if the outdoors are not your thing. The town is filled with festivals, farmers’ markets, amazing local restaurants, coffee shops, and microbrews. All of these places would be great backgrounds for a local brand photography session. Build that local connection! Incorporating these local places is to make your clients feel at home. It’s also a way for them to relate to and treat you like their neighbor.
Branding props for content creation.
Props are essential to any brand and they are THE secret ingredient to a successful brand photography session. Props are a terrific way to give your images more personality and dimension, and they can also assist you in feeling relaxed and at ease during the photoshoot!
Branded props are great to start incorporating your brand into your session. Branded props allow you to talk about your business without actually talking about business. On a side note, I can’t tell you how many people have approached me in a coffee shop to ask for a business card simply because of my branded laptop cover!
A few of my favorite branded props
Drinkware, laptops covers, and writing materials such as journals and pens. I also always suggest a logo t-shirt (under a denim jacket for ladies) for a few shots. Again, the point is to talk about your business through your brand photography without actually talking about your business.
Think about the tools you use in your business every day. These props create endless content creation! Incorporating props into your branding photography allows you to talk about your business naturally. Think of all of the pieces of micro-content that you want to create for your audience.
Do you want to educate them on a particular aspect of your business or client experience? What items that you use in your business could you use as a prop to create that content creation? As a photographer I could use my camera, lighting gear, posing guide, and client welcome guide as props to create content about branding sessions and the client experience.
Finally, as you’re choosing props for your branding session, think about how you can best represent your work and the products or services you offer. I recommend having the items packed and ready to go at least one day before the photo shoot. And if you’re still unsure what to use, talk to your photographer! They will be more than happy to help you figure out exactly how best to show off your brand identity.
Invest in YOU – You are the unique element in your brand!
I know it can be tempting to look at all of these elements and then scour the internet for stock images that feel “on brand” to you. However, the truth is that the internet is full of stock imagery that lacks soul and personality. I promise, that your customers are becoming increasingly aware of stock imagery and can spot it right away. Your stock imagery will leave your potential clients lacking and wanting more as they are not building an emotional connection with your brand. The bottom line is that any business can use stock photos. It does not provide your brand with its own personality, and it gives the target buyers a false image of what you have to offer.
You are the unique element of your business!
After working through the questions above, you should feel like you have in-depth knowledge and understanding of your brand, your imagery and aesthetic, and the purpose of the marketing content you are creating.
Hiring a professional personal branding photographer will help grow the business for the business owners who value their brand. I realize it is a significant investment, but it is worth investing in your future. You have a special gift to share with the world! You are doing your future clients a massive disservice by not showing up in your branding photography or using sock imagery that lacks soul. I promise your investment in solid professional branding photography will make you shine online and establish you as the go-to professional in your market!
Contact us today, and we can discuss your professional personal branding needs. Have we connected on social media yet? If not, what are you waiting for? You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I would love to connect with you and know more about you as well! I hope you will send me a DM so we can continue the conversion offline!
Shelly Niehaus Photography is a Boise, ID-based branding and headshot photographer. Shelly specializes in professional headshot photography, personal branding photography, and lifestyle photography. Shelly serves the greater Treasure Valley area including Boise, Meridian, Eagle, and Nampa.
