How to create the best profile picture

Having done plenty of work on the written elements of my personal brand, its now time to take a look at … well … how I can look my best? Because online networking is so common nowadays it really helps to publish a picture wherever you write, which aims to serve two primary purposes:

• People who know you recognise you instantly
• People who don’t know you yet begin to get a great impression of you

And actually, these two things can meet together in a third, combined purpose

• People who know you remember you in a positive way

We are so used to picking up visual signals when we deal with people that a tiny static image next to something we write can have a tremendous impact on the way that people feel about us when we read it. This is why it is so important to get your profile picture looking as good as you possibly can.

There are two elements to getting a great profile picture – having the right image, and publishing it well. There are actually two great articles on the Personal Branding Blog that can help you do this:

1. To get yourself the ideal picture to start with, have a look at 11 Rules for Best Personal Branding Results with Avatars
2. Once you have captured the best of you in a file, here are precise “mechanical” instructions for how to prepare that file for upload so you look the best you can on all the popular social media sites: The 2009 Personal Avatar Size Reference Guide
   . And even better, it explains a tool you can use to do all the hard work for you!