Using faces on your website

[Nuno]

Interesting little experiment, which probably applies to websites too:

"The team changed the disabled parking signs so they had a photo of a person in a wheelchair on them looking right at you.

This did not reduce abuse of disabled spots –it totally eliminated it.

Cameras in the parking lot showed not a single person parked illegally while the new signs were up. What happened after the photos came down?

Just two days after the signs came down somebody parked in a disabled spot… You can change how people act just by “putting a face on something.” In some cases, literally."

 

[zigojacko]

I don't trust many organisations online unless there is some kind of personalisation or facial representation of the business.

If business owners want to remain anonymous, then that doesn't sound like a great start to building a relationship or any level of trust.

 

[Paul Murray]

I don't trust many organisations online unless there is some kind of personalisation or facial representation of the business.

If business owners want to remain anonymous, then that doesn't sound like a great start to building a relationship or any level of trust.

The first thing I do when I'm looking into a client/competitor/whoever is look for a picture, mainly because I'm nosey, but also because it's nice to know who you're dealing with, especially if you have to meet them face-to-face for the first time.

 

[KM-Tiger]

... mainly because I'm nosey,

I think it's natural curiosity.

My office address is my home, and I've had prospective clients tell me what a nice house I have as they have had a good look on Google maps and streetview.

As you say, you want to get some idea of who you are dealing with.

 

[KM-Tiger]

And to digress, you never see photos of the people you are buying from on the average ecommerce widget-selling website.

Are the ecommerce people missing a trick here?

 

[ryedale]

Our meet the team page gets 10x as many views as any other

The women get far more views then the men !

A few people have said they came to us because of it - gave the company a more personal feel.

 

[SwindonSteve]

And to digress, you never see photos of the people you are buying from on the average ecommerce widget-selling website.

Are the ecommerce people missing a trick here?

Well I don't know, walk down any high street and look at the faces walking in the opposite direction. That'll be enough to put most off their breakfast...

Seriously though, I agree with the whole 'here I am, this what I do' principle and it does influence me positively in some circumstances.

Let's be honest though, if you've got a face that looks like bulldog licking crap off a cactus, you're probably not doing yourself a favour having it plastered all over the internet as a representation of your business.

 

[yellowlawn]

Sadly, people can also be very judgemental when seeing a face before deciding to do business with them. You could be loosing out on a business process guru all because you saw there face on the company website and thought "Hell no".

 

[SwindonSteve]

Sadly, people can also be very judgemental when seeing a face before deciding to do business with them. You could be loosing out on a business process guru all because you saw there face on the company website and thought "Hell no".

True.

But circle around and it's back to the question: should I or shouldn't I.

 

[JElder]

One possible issue is that it can make your company look smaller. This may not be a bad thing, but if you want to look bigger, a meet the team with four faces, including the cleaner, might look a bit small.

Of course, many organisations have a page for the senior management only, which gets around this problem.

It's a good idea to add to the 'about us page'. You can link to your Linkedin profile as well, which is really useful in certain industries, such as consulting - just make sure it's up to date.

 

[Nuno]

Is it worse to look small or to fib and look big?

 

[Maxwell83]

It might work against you depending on what the prospective customer 'expects'. e.g. An asian/black face may put some people off depending on what proportion of people out there are small minded enough to judge a person's ability by their ethnicity.

Similarly, you might look too old or too young for what it is you purport to do.

 

[Small Biz Geek]

The About page might be the best page on your site for building the relationship and getting trust. This is the best page to include a photo but having said that I run websites that are successful that do not require an About page.

if you're a consultant, I'd say it's crucial to display a photo of yourself, and possibly a video or audio recording too.