Social media has changed Internet marketing forever! Today I want to take a few minutes to talk about profile pictures. Last week I had a quick conversation with one of my downline business partners about Facebook Marketing. She had spent about 2 hours trying to decide what picture to use for her profile image and called me for some advice. Now, first of all, spending 2 hours on a profile pictures is a great way to waste your time and keep you from actually growing your business (but we can talk about busy work later). It is always interesting to me to see how people choose to represent themselves. So I wanted to share 5 quick tips to remember when picking a profile picture.

1. Relax! and be yourself. Look at the picture of our friend on the left. He’s clean, professional and laser focused. The only problem with this picture is that we are marketing a HOME BASED business! I don’t know about you, but when I market from home, my patio or sitting on my couch … I really don’t plan on wearing a suit and tie, as I’m sure most of us would not! So be REAL. Wear what you normally wear. Be clean, wrinkle free, and decent. You want people to know who they are really working with. Don’t dress up, don’t dress down, be you.

2. SMILE Smile in your pictures, have fun, enjoy who you are and LOVE WHAT YOU DO. Let’s look back at our friend’s picture again (above, left). If I had to take a guess, I would probably say he’s struggling in network marketing, just missed a few credit card payments and took this picture at 6:30am, right before he left to work. That’s not the guy I really want to lead me to success. No one wants to ride in the car with flat tires, so SMILE … regardless of how many teeth you have!

3.  Use YOUR picture, No Icons. Your picture should be of you. I don’t know how many people really want to work with the “snarling bulldog” guy or with the “Cute baby picture” woman. Show people who you are, this helps to build confidence with your potential business partners. If you use an icon or picture image many people will feel that you are hiding behind your computer. People want to work with and follow people, not cool images. 

4. NEVER post your MLM Logo. Using your logo next to or in place of your picture is a great way to come off like a salesperson and drive away tons of potential valuable relationships. If you want to have a job for the rest of your life … do this. For the rest of us who are serious about networking with others re-read tip #3.

5. Keep the picture “up-to-date”. Any picture you use should be within the last few years or should “reasonably” represent you. Don’t use a 1980′s magazine cover shot or you college photo if you are class of 1989. Keep your picture current and honest.

These guidelines are not rocket science, just simple basic rules to follow. Remember: First impressions are everything and in our world, a picture can be worth a thousand prospects!

Free image by: Arvind Balaraman/FreeDigitalPhotos.net