A picture is worth a thousand words

Today’s post is about recommending a great tool to help you use the right LinkedIn photo and elsewhere on-line. Apologies, that you get 3 of me above...the reason will become clear!

It may not seem reasonable and fair, but we all form perceptions of others from what we experience of them. In person, this is a combination of the visual – appearance and body language, as well as voice. However, on-line it is often a static photo that gives an impression of someone and that impression is formed quickly.
How many times, have you decided to contact someone or not, where some of that decision has been influenced by a photo you saw of them on-line? Most of us have made a decision on that basis.


So, it is important to think about the photo you use and what it conveys. One where you have been cropped out of a holiday snap (for instance), is rarely a good plan!
To help you, I wanted to tell you about a great website that helps you think about which profile photo to use, whether that be on your company’s website or on LinkedIn. You can even use it if you need a photo for non-work purposes, such a dating! It’s called Photofeeler.


What you do is upload the photo, select for the purpose e.g. business and then input your job title. People in the Photofeeler website then vote against different criteria.


For my photos above, people voted on to what degree they would think me:

  • Competent

  • Likeable

  • Influential

in the context of being a Personal Impact & Professional Relationships Expert. The results get shown as a % for each adjective. For the free version of the site, you can only test one photo at a time, but the others stay there, so you can compare later on.


So which one of my photos do you think scored highest for each criteria (each one is a percentage in its own right i.e. the 3 don't add up to 100)? Why?


If I get some responses, I will let you know the answer!


Why not test some of your profile photos and see what others think www.photofeeler.com? Remember, any photo you use needs to resemble you now, so that if someone meets you in person, they are not surprised. Consistency is one of the key elements for positive personal image. I hope you find this useful.

I am receiving no benefit for suggesting photofeeler.com.