Page 35 - Visual Marketing
P. 35

It’s beautiful, but it looks like it  People make judgments about           Success Metrics
belongs on Match.com—it’s not         you within the first 3 seconds of
the you we met today.”                meeting you.” Villalobos adds,     • Since embracing the Michelle
                                      that she finds most people are         Villalobos personal brand and
Why It Works                          much more comfortable working         the “Sharpie Girl” portrait,
                                      with a person rather than a busi-     Villalobos has added 15 new
Villalobos decided to prac-           ness. “The Sharpie picture was        corporate clients, including Burger
tice what she preaches and            the catalyst that has made my         King, Everglades National Park,
selected a photo of herself that      image the personal brand for my       LexisNexis, and Constant Contact.
emphasized her creative side.         company.” Villalobos changed
Fortunately, during the photo         her URL from MivistaConsulting     • Villalobos’s mailing list has
sessions with photographer            .com, her business name, to           grown from 2,500 names to
Gio Alma she was warming up           MichelleVillalobos.com to reflect      more than 9,500.
with her trade tool of choice, a      her personal brand, and she
handful of Sharpie markers. She       now receives 45 percent of her     • In the past year, revenues have
initially dismissed these photos,     new business leads from Google        nearly tripled.
“I thought the Sharpie pics were      searches.
silly, obviously not something                                           Takeaway Tip
I would use professionally,”
says Villalobos with a chuckle.                                          When you are selling you (i.e., your services as
And yet, she realized that they                                          a consultant or other professional), then having
captured the side of her that                                            a standout photograph is crucial for marketing
resonated with clients. Villalobos                                       online. A little creativity can transform a plain
says, “I’m blown away by how                                             vanilla head shot into one that people will remem-
much my headshot has done                                                ber based on the pose, facial expression, or props
to boost my business online . . .                                        you use. Make your photograph a friendly and
                                                                         accessible face for your personal brand. Clients
                                                                         and prospects will respond and will remember you.

                                      MUCH MO RE THAN JUST A W E BS I TE 14
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