Visuals are vital to your business. And in this day and age, everyone needs to have an online presence. I recommend that this is a website. When you start talking to a new person about your product, they will probably ask for your website. Even before asking for a business card. But if they ask for a business card, you’d better have a website listed on it. And when I say website, I’m talking about a personalized website. I’m not talking about the company website. So if you sell thirty one bags, you need a website for YOU. Not just the main site with you listed as the host seller. DOes that make sense? Because why would your potential audience want to buy something from you versus their aunt who also sells it. You want a website that connects that person to you. Where you can show who you are as a person and why this product can change their life.

And one single image isn’t going to do that. You want your image over and over again. In marketing, we are told that you need to be introduced to a concept or a product or an offering at least 7 times before someone is willing to make a purchase or before that trust is created between you and your client. So why are you making it more difficult for your audience by not showing your face? By not being the first person that pops up in their heads when they need a service?

I was working with a woman the other day and she said that she was having the hardest time selling her service. She works in the wellness and energy healing field. But she was so confused that people weren’t booking her. She said, “well everyone was saying that I needed a website, so I got a website.” So now she has a website and was looking to get a headshot. She just needed one picture of her on the site. “Then,” she said, “her clients would start to book her because they knew who she was.

WRONG!

She was on the right track, but there’s no single headshot that is going to make it so that strangers on the street are going to book you. Sorry. That’s the hard and fast truth. You need more images. And the more of them that have YOU in it, the better.

So I asked her, “How are you showing what it is you do to your potential clients?” And she said that she hired an expensive copywriter to write up this complicated process to try and explain how exactly everything worked, and as she was telling me, my eyes started to glaze over and confusion set in. If she couldn’t convince ME, who was talking directly to her, how was a website, no matter how amazing the copy is going to do that for a half interested party?

“What you do is complicated,” I told her. “And confused clients, don’t buy. You need to show them exactly what you do and how you do it.” Your client needs to feel like they picture themselves in that image, working with you. That will be worth more than a million words by the best of copywriters. 

Here are the 10 images you need for your website

1.Classic head and shoulders headshot of you smiling and looking at the camera

2. Overall image of your workspace

3. Full-body image of you in your work environment

4. Images of you doing your service

5. Flat lay images of items that you work with

6. Details of your workflow

7. Variety of images of you looking at the camera

8. Variety of images of you looking away from the camera 

9. Waist-up image with white space on either side of you (See episode 32 and episode 41)

10. Professional

*Bonus* 11. Behind the scenes

Grab your free download at: www.britbennion.com/episode43

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What makes a good hero image. So if you had a chance to listen to last week’s podcast, I talk to you all about how you can use your brand images once you have them. And I specifically talked about creating and finding your HERO image. Now unless you are a web designer or marketer, you might be scratching your head when I say the term Hero image. So let me briefly recap.

A hero image is the single, big, eye catching image that is the first thing that pops up on a website. You can find it in any industry and it really sets your website apart. It generally fills the entire width of the screen. Many times you’ll see text or a call to action button overlaid on top of it. Now why do we like a hero image? Well...because when done right it can help immediately draw your viewer into your site and keep them there longer. That’s really what we want to do….drive traffic to our website, but then have them stay on there as long as possible. We want them to explore, learn, and connect. Whether that’s through a purchase, booking an appointment or a discovery call, right?

The average viewer decides in less than 3 seconds whether or not to navigate off of a webpage, so that’s ALL the time you have to engage them. A whole bunch of text or a small, pixelated image, or a Video that takes forever to load isn’t going to do you any good and chances are they will just nativate off of your site before they can even figure out what it is you do. A quick caveat. Video on your site is extremely valuable. It just has to be done in the right way. I’m not going to go into that now, but just like a crappy photo, crappy video is going to hurt you more than help you. 

So what makes a stellar hero image? 3 Things.

1. Great content
2. Great connection
3. Great information

You want your image to POP, connect immediately with the viewer, and provide that quick burst of information letting them know that they are exactly in the right place. If you are a personal brand, it had better be a huge picture of you and your face. And I always suggest having your face looking directly at the camera. Your viewers will connect with you when they see your eyes, so it’s super important to have you looking at them. 

If you are NOT a personal brand, then you want to make that connection in a different way. You want to showcase the outcome, transformation or lifestyle that someone will achieve by interacting with your brand.

Always make sure that your photo is high quality. That means good light, good composition, and correctly sized for web. You don’t want it to take forever to load or that defeats the purpose and you don’t want it to look crappy so that people think you don’t take your business seriously. 

Make sure that your hero image is something that people can instantly recognize what it is that you do or sell. Or make sure to add eye catching text to reinforce that. 

Okay….if you’re looking for a great example of this, head on over to my website at brittanybennionphotography.com You can check out my hero image and see what these are all about. Once you understand this, you’re going to start seeing hero images all around and really understand the purpose behind them.

Thanks for checking out this bonus episode see you next week!

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When I work with my personal brand photography clients, I’ve heard heartbreaking stories of them having their photos taken previously but then they never ended up using them. 

When you are spending the time, energy, effort, and money to get your branding photos done, then you 100% want to make sure that you are using them. 

You can learn more about Intentional Content Creation, and about what it takes to prepare yourself for your session BEFORE the camera starts clicking. 

But what do you do with your photos AFTER you have them? Let's learn 5 different ways to use your personal branding photos.

1. Hero Image

What is a hero image? In the brand and design world, a hero image is the term for a large, eye catching image that usually is prominently displayed underneath the navigation bar on your website. If you want to see an example of a hero image, check out my website at www.brittanybennionphotography.com It’s right there. 

 2. About Me Page

Be SUPER creative on your about me page and have multiple images on it. Keep them professional looking, but if you have some fun, personal ones then add them. Don’t just stick to a headshot that looks like you’re the newest real estate agent at Keller Williams. Get creative, laugh, have fun with this one.

3. Service and Processes

In our digital world, you want to take your client on a visual journey. Show exactly what it’s like to work with you. Think about your onboarding process. Really break it down. What images can you use to help your future client envision themselves working with you? This builds your know, like, and trust factor so that they are more likely to convert.

4. Advertisements, Announcements, Marketing

These are images of you pointing or making a face full of emotion. I talk about these kinds of images in more detail on episode 32: Why you need goofy photos in your business. So dig into that episode for all sorts of ideas. But even if you don’t have images of you with a bunch of white space where you can shout to the world that you’re having a BOGO sale, that’s okay. I’m sure you can find images that use can use as a workaround. Get creative. I know you can do it!

5. Social Media Feeds

I always recommend either having the exact same profile picture across all of your platforms (or at least a photos from the same series across your platforms). You don’t want your clients wasting any brain space trying to decide if you are the same person on Instagram as you are on Tik Tok or LinkedIn or Facebook. Let’s make it easy for them. It may not fulfill your creative juices, but the consistency is what we’re going for. 

As for your social media feeds, I want to make sure you have at least 1-2 photos of you in your 9-grid on instagram or in the 3 most recent posts on FB and LinkedIn.

So let’s recap. Here are the 5 ways to use your branding photos

1. Your Hero Image
2. About Me Page
3. Services / Processes
4. Advertisements, Announcements, Marketing
5. Social Media

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What does it mean to repost a picture? Well….to break it down SUPER simply….when you put a picture up one, it means you’ve posted a picture. If you put it up again….we’ll you’ve reposted it. It really is that simple.

I give you that definition because I don’t want you to get confused with reposting OTHER people’s content. That’s when you take content (whether or not you have permission) from another person’s content and repost it on your feed or site.

There are some times when it’s okay to repost other people’s content. In fact, many people WANT you to do this because it increases their reach. And YOU will probably want to have people repost YOUR material because it allows you to grow your audience. But I want you to make sure that you never repost material as your own or use it in places that aren’t acceptable or legal. Got it? Deal!

Reposting isn't just about putting up the same image from IG to Facebook, Or to mass schedule a piece of content to be released across all platforms….twitter, facebook, instagram, linkedIn, TikTok, all at once.

Let’s talk about reposting the same image of you multiple times on the same platform. For example, using the same image over again in your instagram feed.

The first time that I saw someone do this I was confused….mostly because I thought that they were cheating. I mean, if you are building a visual brand, then you should have new, updated images and never repeat an old image, right?

Wrong. Dead Wrong.

This wasn’t a bad strategy….in fact it’s a great strategy and let me tell you why. The power behind branding comes with brand recognition and brand recognition is built on repetition. 

In copywriting, you hear that you should repeat your messaging over and over again. The same thing applies to your images. You can use the same image over and over and over again.

But not all at once, or posting the same picture every single week. Use your discretion with this. But don’t be afraid to use an image of you in multiple places - multiple times. All this does is reinforce your consistency and branding. In fact, it will help you to show up because it removes the barrier that a lot of us face with knowing what to post or having something to post. 

Now this may be a dissenting view from others out there, and I get it, because I used to think that too. But remember, if only 10% of your audience sees a piece of your content on any given day, and they need to see it at least 7 times in order for it to stick, you’ve got a lot of opportunities to share that piece of content, even photos over and over again.

One way to share the same photo over again is with your social media profile picture. I suggest having the same profile picture across all of your social media platforms, or at least make sure that your images are so on-brand that they are SCREAMING that it’s you. Because then people will connect you across those platforms. Then they aren’t trying to hunt and peck to find out where they can find you on a different site or platform. In the same way that it’s great to have continuity with your names, you can do the same with your photo. While you may feel like you’re sick of using the same photo, your audience won’t be. It will actually help them build confidence and recognition in your brand.

So go ahead and start posting. If you have a picture that you love, or that converted really well, give it a few weeks and then post it again. Update it with valuable, relative, timely content, but add it to your image and go from there. Whether it’s a blog post, instagram post, article content, or anything else, you can repost your images. 

Remember, smart marketing isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It

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How to discover your niche and what steps you can take to get really clear on this.

You might be saying, I already have a business so I don’t need to know who or what my niche is. But before you turn this off, I want you to listen because I’ve worked with SO many entrepreneurs and every single one of them has benefited from talking through this with me.

Because your niche doesn’t always stay the same. Your business is growing, changing, evolving and so should you. 

So, whether you are just brand new and trying to figure out your niche, or you’ve been at this a while and need to reevaluate or hone in a little more, I want you to go through these three steps.

1. Ask yourself: What talents or skills am I good at? What do I enjoy doing? What will people pay for?

2. Narrow it down

3. Do Your Market Research

Now if you want to dive even deeper, I recommend picking up a book called Choose by Ryan Leveque. He goes through a process what he calls the single most important decision before you start your business and walks you through how to really get clear on who and how you serve someone.

Niche now doesn’t not mean niche forever.

The most successful companies start out niche and expand from there, once they have the leverage to test out new products and services. You will too, but having a core offering is what will allow you the stability to do that. 

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A brand is a way to market yourself, service, or product in a way that connects directly with your ideal clients.

Do you get nervous or stressed when you hear the word marketing? Do you want to run and hide when you think of having to be salesly and pushy about what it is you do? 

This is where branding can save you. Branding is the easiest, simplest way to market yourself and service without feeling stressed, overwhelmed, sleezy or slimy. 

Because when we talk about branding….we are talking about building an experience for the perfect customer to have when they interact with you or your company.

I’m talking about a more holistic approach to who you are as a company, what you provide, how you provide that, and the feelings, emotions, and overall experience that are connected to everything.

So how do you create an awesome brand experience for your clients?

My purpose is to help women entrepreneurs grow a successful business by having the confidence to show up visually for their brand. I feel deeply about women finding success in their businesses and I feel very deeply that you are perfect just the way you are and by showing up authentically, you can make a difference in the lives of others. 

So everything that I do, everything that I create is centered in that one purpose. 

Next is to tell a story. This is where you get to draw your clients in. Let them get to know you. Let them get to know the kinds of people you work with. We, as humans, learn and remember best when we have been told a story. When you connect your product or service to your ideal clients through story, they will internalize it and connect it on a bigger level than they would otherwise.

Next is to be consistent. By being consistent, you build up that strong loyalty base that you need to create the foundation of your business.

Finally, make sure that you are putting customer experiences before sales. Make the experience of working with your client or offering an amazing product and customer experience your number one priority. This will create customers for life that turn into raving fans.

So let’s review quickly. To create an amazing brand experience you need to:

1. Know who you are and what purpose you have
2. Tell a story to connect with your clients on a deeper level
3. Be consistent in your message in how and where you show up
4. Put customers before sales

This is just scratching the surface of building your brand to serve your clients and create a business and life that you love. If you want to dig into this and really start to see the results, you have got to join me in the Brand Builder’s Bootcamp. Doors are closing in a week and you DON’T want to miss out on this experience. If you are ready to make the change in your business so that you start to get seen by the right clients and customers, if you want to relieve the headache and pressure of what to post and where to post and how to connect with your customers, if you want a roadmap that will allow you to double your business over and over again, like I have, then run….don’t walk….run over to brittanybennionphotography.com/brandbuildersbootcamp for all of the details.

Links Mentioned
What Is A Personal Brand?
How to Start Your Personal Brand the Right Way
Brand Builder's Bootcamp

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This episode is the Ultimate Guide to Instagram Reels. I’m wondering...have any of you had a chance to explore Instagram’s new feature? I spent the past week doing just that and have had such amazing results that I had to share with you. Not only has my own instagram engagement increased over 700%, but I had a Reel go viral with over 8K views in one day. 

So here’s what you need to know
Reels is Instagram’s version of Tik-Toc and consists of short, 15 second video clips. You can add music, pictures, video, and graphics to make your Reel fun and engaging. 

You can record and edit the 15 second video right inside of Instagram and then share them to your stories, feed, and the new Reels tab.

You don’t have to dance or act crazy. Ask yourself, how can I use this for my business?

So if you haven’t explored Reels yet, then you need to hear the quick and dirty of how to use it.

You can find the reels option in one of two ways. Either by swiping right from your IG home page or clicking the camera in the upper left corner of your IG home feed. At the bottom you’ll see the option to create a live, story or REEL!

Scroll to the Reel feature and you’ll see four unique options pop up on the left side of the screen. A music note, speed icon, effects feature, and timer.

Let me break these down for you.

IG has made it easy for you, so when creating your reel, start from the top and go down to the bottom, using what you want and leaving the rest. 

Music
Speed
Effects
Timer

Listen to the episode for all of the details.

How you can use Reels in your business

Video is all the rage and all social media outlets prioritize video. So if you haven’t been creating videos, it’s a great time to jump in and explore. 

Instagram reels allows you to create content that is fun, authentic and connects you to your audience. 

Reels are fast, easy, fun and full of quick content. They don’t require a lot of time to create, but you can really get your point across so your audience is more likely to engage with you on the video. And engagement is the name of the game for Instagram.

Now I’m all about being intentional with your content, and IG Reels is no different. So here are a few ways in which you can use IG Reels for your business.

*bullet points

*teach a lesson

*Show behind the scenes

*Style a popular dance or Reel in your own way that’s specific to your industry

Use quotes, words, speak, images. Teach and educate.

As always, don’t reinvent the wheel when creating new content. Repurpose your content for reels. Use those tips that you talked about in your last blog and create a fun reel with you pointing at new tips or tricks you want to teach. Educate with images or entertain with a new twist on  popular videos. The options are endless.

But like I said before, Instagram is rewarding early adopters and you can really see you engagement grow by jumping in now. 

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Many of you have told me that you struggle in the styling department. I get you. When you are preparing for your branding session or showing up online or doing anything for your business you want to look your best.

Styling yourself, or even know what your style may be preventing you from having a personal branding session or showing up in your business all together.

I've brought in Personal Stylist Sister Team, Jill and Mary of What to Wear Collective to help guide you!

They have a combined 20 years of styling and fashion experience, including styling for TV, corporate and professional executives, as well as working as a Personal Stylist at Nordstrom. They are a go-to authority for professional women who need the right clothes and accessories to feel confident, especially in an era of needing to shop online.

They have pivoted and expanded their services to include digital products, such as: Mini courses, eBooks featuring shoppable Capsule Wardrobes, and they also offer 1:1 style coaching through the 8-week signature program they are developing: Style Confidence Accelerator.

Listen to the episode of all of the juicy details on how to put your best foot forward! 

Head on over to the What to Wear Collective website and check out all of Mary & Jill's offerings below. 

• Website: www.Whattowearco.com
• Facebook Page:  www.facebook.com/whattowearinfo
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/whattowearco/
• Closet Cleanse: www.whattowearco.com/closetcleanse
• Wardrobe Essentials Mini-Course: http://bit.ly/2T7Jwau
• Style Confidence Accelerator: Contact Jill + Mary: [email protected]

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Are you finding yourself now working from home and are afraid of going crazy? Especially if you have kids that are doing virtual learning?

Many of you have to adjust your lifestyle in order to work from home because of pandemic. This is something we can all relate to and connect with.

I have worked from home exclusively for over a decade now. So when Covid-19 hit and businesses were shutting down, it didn't bother me because I've had years of experience in this. 

So if you're stressed or feeling like you don't know how this is going to work out, I'm here to hold your hand to give you some of my best tips and advice on how to get through this.

1) Set Boundaries

One of the very best ways for you to be able to build your personal brand while working at home is to have a designated place in which you are working. 

Anyone can do this. I've got 5 kids and we live in a tiny, million year old apartment. If I can do it, so can you. And the more I talk about how to navigate a space for you to do work in the more stories I hear from people who are making it work in itty bitty places.

Create an office oasis. Even if this means throwing some paint up on your wall or hanging up your dream board. Make it a space that makes you happy so that when you go to work you can show up happy and working. 

Then let your family know that this is a non-negotiable: if you are working in or sitting at your spot (even if it's a little space on the couch) then that means you're working. You're not "momming" or meal planning or doing X Y and Z. This is where you are getting your work done.

2) Time Block

I actually learned this technique from Jordan Page. She is a mommy blogger, has eight children and works from home in a very successful business. All because she time blocks.

Essentially, you are assigning certain tasks to certain times of the day. All which flow in a natural pattern. This increases your productivity because you aren't multi-tasking and you can deep dive for a set amount of time. Then when you are done, you are done and focus your time and energy on something else.

For example, in my "morning block" I always set aside 2 hours of work. This way I know I'm accomplishing some serious work before the day gets away from me.

I would encourage you to work on blocking out your time and realize the natural patterns that you have in your week and keep those the same because then you're going to increase your productivity around your business and family life.

3) Batch Work

Batch working is doing the same type of repetitive work in one sitting so that you can increase your productivity rather than breaking it up across the week or month. 

Think about the things you do on a regular basis with your personal brand and business. Can you group them all together and batch it? 

• Can you write all of your emails in one setting and then schedule them out throughout the month?
• Can you take all of your personal branding photos in one session and use those images throughout the next quarter?
• Can you schedule your social media posts on Monday and then not worry about them for the rest of the week?

Once you start to think of ways in which you can batch work, you actually free up time to do the things you love and enjoy.

Links Mentioned

Posed For Success FB Group

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In our visual world, it can be easy to have self-doubt within it comes to posting about yourself or your services online.

Building up confidence in yourself allows your customers to do the same. 

Here are four daily rituals that you can do to build confidence in yourself and business.

1) MOVE YOUR BODY

Most people don’t equate exercise or moving your body with doing better in your business. For many years I thought that it was counterproductive for me to take time for myself to exercise because I thought that I should have been working on my business. 

Instead, when you move your body, you are able to change your perspective, mind and energy.

You don't need to do anything crazy - walking, stretching, yoga. Just move your body. This will help you clear your mind and open you up to more productivity and confidence in your business. 

2) GET DRESSED

When you choose to get dressed everyday and show up for work then your confidence is going to skyrocket. 

While sweats may sound super comfy, if you are serious about your business, you need to reflect that in your self care.

When you show that you care for your self, your clients and customers will be more willing to invest in you.

3) SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO BOOST YOU UP

You are the average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with. This is so true when it comes to building your business and gaining confidence. 

When you start to up level the people you spend time with you will up level your life and business. 

4) LEARN SOMETHING NEW EACH DAY

Strive to learn something new each day. By doing this and willing to change your mindset about learning and growth, you'll be more confident in trying new things. This leads to innovation and growth in your business.

Links Mentioned

Mindset

Carol Dweck: The Power of Believing You Can Improve

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