Estimated complete time: 1-3 hours
Section 2: THE official how-to for profile images.
Fair warning: this assignment may take some time, so it might be a two-cup kind of job.
The rules.
The rules are pretty simple:
- If you’re a business, use your business logo.
- If you’re a person, use your headshot.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of businesses/coaches/bloggers/etc. who try their hand at the “let’s fit everything we possibly can into our profile image.” Yeah…that doesn’t work. Let’s talk about what’s wrong with that. First of all, when I’m scrolling down the newsfeed, I can’t see the microscopic print in your profile photo. Second, I’m more likely to gloss over it because I don’t recognize the image/brand. The result? People scrolling past your post without stopping to engage or even look at it will have an adverse effect on your algorithm. What that means is Facebook will show it less frequently to your audience because it thinks that your content isn’t important. In general, not using your logo or a consistent headshot will make you look less authentic. No matter what your business, there’s really no excuse to not show your logo or headshot.
The dimensions.
We’re opening a bold bag of coffee here. There are so many different dimensions out there–it makes my head spin! But lucky for you, I keep tabs on the changing world of social media profile dimensions!
So I made a Google Drive folder with many social media templates in it. I’ve included Photoshop files as well as Pixlr files. Haven’t heard of Pixlr? Go sign up for a FREE account at pixlr.com/editor–it’s a FREE cloud-based clone of Photoshop that’s created by AUTODESK. Their cloud-based version allows for layers, and they have a Chrome plugin, a mobile app for iOS and Android, and a desktop version for prettying up your images (sorry–no layers here). (Of note: I’m not getting paid to tell you about either Adobe or Pixlr…I just believe in them enough to tell you about them!) The Photoshop files are named with their dimension sizes in case you want to make your own (making more work for yourself, I see?) in your preferred platform.
Just remember to turn off the instructional layers before saving your .jpg images from these templates! (.png files are too big for the web, silly!)
And…action!
No checklist today. Just use the templates for the social media sites you use and get crackin’. Don’t forget your favorite beverage. 🙂
Up next: Section 3.
Once you’ve completed this, you are ready for Section 3: Your 140 characters. See you then!