Where Does Audiance Engagement Come From
Written By Brian Gayley
The word takes me back to Captain Jean Luc Picard standing on the bridge of the starship Enterprise right before a battle to take out the invading foe. The camera closes in on his face, his eyes narrow, his jaw tenses and he boldly utters that one simple word: Engage.
Alright, I’m not a Trecky, but that scene exemplifies exactly what I mean when I say engagement. As a professional with an online presence you have an audience. Your audience is anyone who may view your image, read about your experience, and make a decision based on that. How you engage your audience plays a big role in whether you are selected by your audience or passed up for another professional. It’s a simple case of click or scroll. When you are found online that is as simple as it gets. Does your audience find you interesting enough to click, or do they scroll to the next because you simply don’t stand out in the long list of options.
My headshot photo session is designed to accomplish 3 things. Anyone who is a client has heard me say this during their session. Those 3 basic elements are:
1) CONFIDENCE. I want to coach you on how to appear confident. When a potential customer is looking for a professional to provide a product or service they want their professional to be confident in their field.
2) PERSONABLE. Yes, you can be both confident and personable. Too much confidence becomes intimidating. You need to be able to communicate in your image that you are someone who is a team player, able to work with your audience to provide what is sought out.
3) ENGAGED. There’s that word. How do you engage with someone through a photograph? The first 2 items in the list come from various elements of your expression. If you book a headshot session with me the first thing we will do is learn how to form an expression that says I know what I’m doing, and I can work with you to provide what you seek. But there are also things we can do that can either direct that expression to our audience or look past them. Engagement is a simple positioning of your head and body that directs your expression towards another. Think about human interaction. What is more engaging? Speaking with someone side by side facing the same direction, or standing opposite one another speaking to each other. The same conversation is happening, but which has more impact?
Consider your online presence. Consider your headshot on your website, Linkedin, Business Card, Email Signature Line. If all things were equal and you are competing with like professionals, are you portraying a person who is confident? Personable? Are you engaged with your audience?
