A common fight I have with all my clients is about their refusal to put their picture on their company website’s landing or even About page. In fact, not only do the clients themselves balk at my suggestion, their marketing teams do as well. Well, there are now 4 different pieces of research that supports my claim. Here’s the scoop:

Why The Pushback

“Chala, we want the company to look bigger than it is and it just doesn’t look professional to have my picture there” is the common refrain I get. This is what the excuse is but often, there’s an underlying insecurity about the idea of such blatant visibility. Especially among my women clients. After all, Dove soap research revealed that 82% of women feel uncomfortable or have hidden while having their picture taken. Is it any surprise that they’d be reluctant to be on the landing page?

Even Consumers Want Human Pictures

A research conducted on e-commerce sites found that the use of human pictures compared to control test sites with no pictures performed better. Not surprisingly, even for a consumer facing, electronic purchasing platform where one would think that other factors such as technology, ease of cart use and product features and benefits would be the motivators of trust, Initial trust was found to be most enhanced in the sites with human pictures. Interestingly, in specific cultures such as Saudi Arabia, human pictures portraying Saudi Arabian locals scored even higher in trust. Higher trust meant higher purchases.

Your Employees Want You To Be Visible

In yet another research conducted with senior executives, 81% of those surveyed said they considered what they called “CEO visibility” as critical to a company’s reputation. Mostly, they were referring to CEOs who gained said visibility through speaking and media appearances but equally important is visibility on the company’s marketing collateral including-yes-the website.

Stop Fighting

So, listen to the stats and the facts and get your mug out there if you’re a CEO. It will only benefit your company and gain the trust of your website visitors on sight. What I call the ‘Visibility Demons’ of fear, shame and false-humbleness are waiting to keep you from showing yourself in your company’s marketing fully. When you step into the open and are so visible that people start to recognize your face without even knowing your name (as happens to me all the time, at every conference or event or even airport I’m at!) it is a powerful ice breaker with your prospects.
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