Getting Visible in your Business

I am really passionate about helping people (particularly women) get visible in their business. I do this by giving them awesome photos that they are proud to show off and I encourage them through their photo shoots, so they are filled with confidence. Most women relax into the shoot and end up really surprised at how much they enjoyed it. I think, especially as women, that it feels self indulgent and arrogant to get our photos taken, but that simply isn’t true. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get visible in your business, but I know it is also very hard for a lot of people.

I want to talk to you about why it is so important and how to do it without the fear or the cringe (hopefully!). I’ve been showing up on Instagram for 4 years now, but I wasn’t always as confident as I am now. What I don’t know is if I’m more confident or if because I’m older, I actually give less of a sh!t! Either way, if you let your insecurities, comparison and overwhelm hold you back on social platforms, you will never move forward and make progress. Instagram is where I like to hang out, and that’s where a lot of my ideal clients are too so I’ve found it’s worth investing my time there.

So let’s talk about why we should get visible, how you can do it and some of my top tips on how you can take your visibility to the next level. 

Tanya of Apple Blossom Flowers wanted a second photo shoot with me of her in action, installing flowers for a wedding at Ashridge House in Hertfordshire. This has provided her with a great bank of images so her wedding couples can get an impression of what her installations are like, and she gets to feature in the photos too!

Why is it Important?

As business owners we all know the importance of showing the face behind the business, but are you terrified of getting visible in your business? You are not alone!

Why is getting visible so important? Did you know that people remember twice as much visual information than they do written words? TWICE as much! When I post photos of myself and personal experiences they get the most engagement by far. Try it out and I guarantee you’ll find the same.

It also takes seven times of seeing you and your marketing message before a prospective client will buy.

So, as a small business, it is vital that we put ourselves out there and shout about who we are and what we’re doing. If people are going to buy from you, especially if it’s a personal service (rather than product based), it’s important to know if your personality is going to be a good fit.

Every day we are bombarded with images and marketing material so your images need to stand out more than ever to convey who you are and what you do and ultimately attract your dream clients!

We all know the importance of making eye contact when we talk to someone, and the same goes when people are thinking about buying from you – if you can see who you’re buying off it builds trust and they’re more likely to buy.  Before your client reads anything, they will look at an image so that is a really powerful tool you should be using to your advantage. If your client sees a friendly warm face on your website or Instagram feed, then when they want to buy a product like yours, your face is likely to pop into their head first.

Obviously, it’s important to show up on your website – there should be at least one photo of you so people can see who they’re working with, but it’s not a place that people frequently come to. It’s vital to work out where your ideal clients mostly hang out and start with that. It could be Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Tik Tok so start hanging out there and work out what they like seeing.

One of the key things to remember is that no one knows what you know. You can really get back to basics here even if you think it’s obvious, it’s not! Somehow my kids grandparents still take photos with loads of the floor in – they just don’t frame things how I would and they probably don’t even notice they’re doing it! Not only does no one know what you know, but no one does it like you. As long as you keep focused on how you can add value to your ideal client, they will be more likely to engage with you. AND, keep banging that drum because not everyone sees everything you share.

It’s a huge cliché, but people really do buy from people (the reason it’s a cliché is because it’s true). Doing things like making eye contact with your audience builds trust. I am a huge believer in being authentic and being yourself – don’t worry that not everyone will like what they see – you won’t be for everyone, but that’s ok, because you want to find your dream client that gets you – so DO YOU! You have to accept that you’re not for everyone and that is absolutely ok. For example, I do outdoor photography, not studio photography – that’s my jam and people who book me know that their family will get a woodland adventure or that their brand shoot will be where they hang out on their local high street. I recently spoke to a fellow business owner that told me how someone said to their face that they didn’t like some videos they were posting and she was never going to get clients as she wasn’t professional enough. He was so far from her ideal client that she just didn’t care what he thought and she had lots of positive enquiries from people that did like her style. So, try to worry less about being judged, as the people you want your message to land with will receive it in the way it is intended!

I like to use a variety of images of myself so that I can appeal to my small business clients as well as my family clients.

How do you get Visible?

There are many ways to get visible – networking, PR, getting on a podcast, getting a feature in a magazine, or speaking on local radio.

I primarily use Instagram because it’s a very visual platform which is obviously great for me, but it’s also where my ideal clients hang out. I also feel like it’s an easy way to show off my genuine personality and I post a lot on stories where I don’t have to just post professional photos which is what I feel on my gird.

If people are following you on social media, it’s very likely that they like you and what you’re selling. Unless you’re a huge influencer, people aren’t there to judge you or troll you. I don’t look at other people’s accounts and judge what they’re wearing or how they’ve done their hair so the likelihood is the same of people looking at you. Remember that a lot of people lurk on social media (my husband is a prime example) – just because they’re not reacting to what you post with likes or comments, doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy your content!

I think if you’re genuine, it will show and people will appreciate that more than anything else. Besides, it’s ok to have flaws, everyone has them, it makes you real and relatable. If someone books your services and then meet you and you’re not like you portrayed yourself, that might not go down very well. If who they meet, is pretty much who you are online, you’re going to get repeat business from them and they’re going to recommend you to their friends.

I know that showing up makes a lot of people cringe, but I think this is just because people this it’s self indulgent and most people hate the sound of their own voice! I firmly believe that if you come across as genuine, people will not find you cringey. Find an account where you like what they share and be inspired by them and create similar content in your field and see if that helps avoid the cringe. There’s nothing permanent that can’t be removed though and stories only last 24 hours so what is the worst that can actually happen?! I have about 1200 insta followers, but only 150 odd views on my stories! People can just scroll on if they get bored or don’t like it and you will go straight out of their head! Honestly, there’s just no need to overthink it.

So, how do we build the confidence to show up if we’re starting from absolutely nothing? Start small. Take small steps to build up to a bigger goal like talking on stories for example or doing a Live. You wouldn’t expect to run a marathon one day having done no training so you warm up with a couch to 5k and build up from this.

There’s often people sharing challenges on doing things like showing up on LinkedIn for example which can be really great for accountability and to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Think about what your goal might be for the month/ quarter or the year and think about the steps you need to take to get there.

My advice is to start with sharing a photo of yourself in a happy place locally or holiday. Initially this could be you in a wider scene so that you don’t necessarily dominate the image. You wouldn’t even have to look at the camera (though eye contact is best).

I think it’s really important to think about your boundaries – don’t feel like you have to share your personal life – this is absolutely personal choice. Getting visible does not mean you have to share images of your kids either. It’s more than ok to set yourself boundaries with this and only do what you’re comfortable with. The key is to decide how much you want to commit to posting and then be consistent with it. Over time it will become a habit – the sort of photos you take on a daily basis that you can share about your day. Everything is content and people love to be nosey and hear about mundane things – it makes you relatable remember!

My Top Tips

Start with a simple introduction – you are completely unique after all.

Here are a few ideas for different introductions:

• Simple who you are, what you do and where you are.
• What you did before you started your business and how you got where you are now – people find this fascinating – it is completely unique to you so will make your brand stand out so your followers can connect to you emotionally.
• Make it fun – do a ‘Top 5’ and ask your audience to share there’s – food, movies, music, cities etc.
• Share your favourite local businesses – take the pressure off you and share some love!
• Share some random/ silly facts about yourself.

You want potential followers to stop scrolling because they see an eye grabbing image. If they notice this, they ‘might’ visit your profile, look at your top 12 posts and decide if they will follow or not. It is such a powerful tool to have an ‘about me’ on your website and pinned to your Instagram profile with a photo of you so people know who they are working with. It’s lovely to have a logo, but if your face is your profile picture, it’s going to be so much more memorable.

People love to be nosey and find out more about the face behind the business – be human and genuine and your personality will soon come across.

Share a bit of behind the scenes on your Instagram stories. You don’t even have to show your face at this point – show your desk set up, where you go for your favourite coffee or a view on a walk that inspires you. People love animals if you have pets. Sharing things about you that are relatable gives more of an emotional connection with your audience.

If you connect with your audience regularly it will keep you at the top of their thoughts so when they need your services they’ll come to you or recommend you to someone. This is also why it’s important to have a headshot rather than a logo as your profile picture. Your audience will see a human and if you’re on stories, your face will keep appearing at the top of their feed, keeping you on your potential client’s radar. I’ve noticed more regularly that people are also using headshots on their business cards (which I do!) and as part of their email signature – it all makes you more memorable.

Think about what you like to see on other people’s accounts and often it is the most simple things that you can share. So many silly things I share get lots of positive reactions on my socials – people LOVE to know what you’re watching on TV for example and at Christmas I shared some snazzy ice cubes I made for cocktails and so many people commented to say they were inspired and made them too!

If you’re an introvert you can even talk about that – lots of people will feel the same way so if you talk about it, you’ll be relatable and this could convert some followers to having a meaningful relationships with you and builds your community. Depending on your profession having an emotional connection can be really important. If I share things about my kids being annoying, my family clients relate and know that I’m just a normal Mum and I’m not going to judge them or their children on a photo shoot. I know of stylists and decluttering experts that have had clients cry on them because the services they offer can be very personal and emotional. If someone thinks they might be emotional, they want to know that they can feel vulnerable with the professional they’re working with.

This said, I recently saw a luxury wedding photographer state that she shares just 5% of her life to get her ideal client – drinking champagne in a swanky London bar or her hanging out at a private members club, because this gets the clients she wants. She doesn’t show herself shopping in Tesco with no make up on! It’s not how I work, but this is where you can be selective with what you share depending on your ideal client.

You need to find your angle – everything on socials is orchestrated to an extent – not fake but not completely real either so it’s a balance on showing yourself as genuine, but also professional! But if people don’t ‘get you’, you might not want to work with them anyway right?

Another way of getting visible is to share other people’s content and tag them – this could be doing a shout out for a business you’ve used, anything that just resonates with you and therefore might resonate with your clients. Share when you go to events (networking for example) and tag people. If everyone tags each other, you’ll get more eyes on your business. Share positive things to inspire people. Basically, keep adding value and your followers will keep watching you – people have told me they’ve been inspired to go on a walk when I’ve shared a view I’ve seen on a run. It’s not photography related, but it inspires my ideal client and keeps them engaged with my content. Make sure you respond to messages and don’t ghost people when they do leave comments – remember it’s called ‘social’ media, so be social!

Once you’re ready you could share a story where you talk in the background, again no need to show your face yet. Eventually you might feel ready to say hi to the camera – use a filter if that helps or do it when you’re wearing some make up and feeling more confident. You only have to say ‘hi, how was your weekend,’ and build up slowly to saying more about what you have to offer, and you don’t have to post your first take, practice until you feel comfortable.  I haven’t always been as comfortable in front of the camera as I am now, but honestly, the more you do it, the easier it gets. You just have to start!

Don’t overthink it! I can almost guarantee that if you show up on stories, all you’ll get is a whole lot of love and you’ll wonder what took you so long!

Don’t’ be afraid to repeat yourself – people always see different content.

And like I’ve already said, no one know what you know and no one does it like you!

Carli had lots of great ideas with her socials in mind for her Capture & Connect shoot. We included her signature pom poms, a photo with a large amount of space so that she could add text in her socials and a photo of her interacting with someone. Getting variety during a photo shoot means you can share more across a wide range of platforms.

Professional Photos

Obviously as a photographer I’m bias and know what a great investment professional photos are. It’s a great way to attract your dream clients and show off your business. You can get a bank of images to share across lots of platforms and they will become part of your brand so you can be instantly recognisable. It shows your client that you take your business seriously and you’ll end up with images you are proud to share rather than an embarrassing photo from 10 years ago of you at a wedding or on holiday.

A professional photographer should give you confidence during your shoot. They should find the best light and the most flattering angles, and be cheerleading you all the way. This is all part of the investment you make.

Photos of you get the most engagement on Instagram so having a good quality one is going to have even more impact. It helps you stand out from your competitors and elevates your brand. HR Katie has had several shoots over the years and now feels that her images are part of her brand and she often incorporates her headshots into the graphics she does on Canva (as you can see below)

“The photos Tanya took for me were integrated into my branding from day one. It’s so useful to have a bank of great pictures for my social media, as well as top quality headshots for PR opportunities. It’s been a fantastic investment for my business.”

I’d love to know if any of my blog resonated with you and makes you feel like you might be able to implement some of my tips to get more visible in your business. If you’d like to talk about getting some professional photos done to get you started and help with your confidence, I’d love to be the one to do that so please get in touch to talk about your needs tanya@aldcroft-photography.co.uk