Your LinkedIn Profile photo should not be an afterthought. Invest in a professional headshot to show your best face to the world.
The human brain processes images 42,000 times faster than text.
So your profile photo literally makes an instant impression, and it's processed by the lizard brain. That part of the brain is full of cognitive bias, primitive instincts and emotions.
People connect with other people. So please don't be tempted to use your logo instead of your face. Apart from looking dumb, it's against LinkedIn's terms & conditions.
If your photograph is seen just 21 times a day online, you have 7,665 opportunities a year to make no impression, a bad impression, or a good impression, before you have even opened your mouth or anyone has read a word of what you have to say for yourself.
Aside from the many aesthetic considerations like the quality and size of the image, the lighting, way you dress, the background focus and colour, and the way it's cropped, there's still usually a crucial decision to be made - which photo portrays me best?
Which image conveys my personality and character most effectively to the outside world? Asking friends, family and work colleagues to select the 'best' image of you may throw up all kinds of contradictory signals - and those that know you best are often not the most objective critics.
Step 1: Choose two or three headshots you feel best portray you, and have them loaded onto your computer ready to upload.
Step 2: Sign up for a free account at PhotoFeeler.com where you can choose either to buy credits with a fast-track paid option, or, by voting on other people's photos, you gain credits to use the free service.
Step 3: Upload your photos and submit them for human beings to vote on, and to appraise your photos.
Then, just listen to the wisdom of the crowd.
The photo on the right says I'm only 11% likable.
I found that my preferred photo (also preferred by my wife) was not the one best rated on Photofeeler.
So the photo I chose for my profile (before I grew a beard) was the one that the crowd liked best - not my choice. I'll take 39% more lik(e)able over a 3% increase in influence any day.
Once you've uploaded your photo, it's important to remember that you can set options to control who can see your image. Click the visibility icon as shown below.
Check settings (Click to zoom)
Nobody feels confident connecting to an anonymous image, so it's worth remembering that for making new connections, it's considerably more effective to have your profile photo show - so make it at least visible to LinkedIn Members.
I choose to have my photo visible also to search engines and other services.
Remember that you can also adjust your photo to zoom in and crop it, and to adjust contrast, saturation and colour if needed.
I am not a big fan of LinkedIn's filters, but you can use these to enhance an image that perhaps lacks impact otherwise. You can even straighten photos where the horizon is off kilter, or see if you can get more profile hits with your face upside down.
